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More UK business travellers attracted to rail
Saturday, 03 Feb, 2010
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Increased use or rail by business travellers has seen online train booking specialist Evolvi Rail Systems boost sales to almost £250 million last year.
The company, which works with eight of the top ten UK travel management companies, saw sales rise by 12% to £246 million in 2009.
It helped its TMCs arrange almost four million journeys for their clients through its advanced online technology.
Rail consistently out-performed other corporate travel sectors over the last 12 months, the company claimed.
The company’s trade relations director Jonathan Reeve said he believed three principal factors underpin its increasing appeal.
“Firstly, more businesses are measuring travel ‘end-to-end’ and there’s no doubt that infrastructure investment by TOCs has improved journey times, while facilities such as WiFi and quiet carriages have made a huge difference to productivity.
“Secondly, booking rail travel through desk-top solutions has never been easier. This has encouraged more businesses to include rail within their corporate travel policies, which in turn means better cost control and access to the best available fares. This trend towards smarter procurement is borne out by a faster growth rate in transactions compared to ticket value.
“Thirdly, major companies have a statutory obligation to collect and analyse GHG footprint data = Evolvi’s technology makes this straightforward.”
Managing director Ken Cameron said: “Given the difficult trading conditions for business generally over the last 12 months, these are positive results that reflect the strength of our partnerships with the TMC community and the effects of the investment by train operating companies in creating a business-friendly environment for travel.”
Evolvi sees continued growth in the self booking tools which enable TMC customers to drive ticketing and fulfilment through their desktops. There are now 1,500 Evolvi ticket printers sited in the workplace.
“In the years to come, there will certainly be technological challenges to address, particularly when it comes to next generation ticketing such as near field communication and smart card systems for businesses,” said Cameron.
“But we are well placed through our partnerships with TMCs and the rail industry to deliver the most appropriate solutions demanded by the corporate sector.”
by Phil Davies
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