• 42% of employees want better multi-modal travel options for work journeys
• More than a third say they are already making multi-modal journeys for leisure travel
• Two-thirds (64%) of companies aren’t encouraging multi-modal travel
• On average, U.K. workers can only make a quarter (26%) of their business journeys by public transport alone

New research* from Enterprise Rent-A-Car reveals that nearly half of U.K. office workers who make business trips (42%) would like their employer to make it easier for them to use a mix of transport (multi-modal journeys) for business trips. And around 85% think they and/or their employers should be incentivized to encourage multi-modal journeys, with tax breaks or similar rewards.

Currently, employees are making more than twice as many multi-modal trips for leisure purposes - 37% - as opposed to 18% who had only used multi-modal transport for work, indicating there is an opportunity for companies to adopt more multi-modal options to satisfy employee travel needs.

However, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed (64%) say their companies don’t currently encourage – or don’t know if they encourage – multi-modal travel, with most relying on employees to use their personal car for work trips (87%).

When asked why they had used multi-modal journeys, respondents said because they were less expensive (33%), fast (27%), relaxing (22%), more environmentally friendly (20%) and safe (20%).

The research showed younger Generation Z workers, born between 1996 and 2015, are especially keen on multi-modal travel: almost nine in 10 (88%) of Gen Z employees had made a multi-modal journey in the last 12 months, compared with only 57% of Baby Boomers (those born before 1964). Gen Z are keener to avoid using their own car for a business trip (60%) compared to 41% of Baby Boomers.

When it comes to traveling for work, 58% of all business trips are taken in a private car, and the majority of those surveyed (81%) said they use their own car for at least some of their business trips every year.

"The private car still has a role to play in business travel, but there is an opportunity to increase multi-modal journeys, as today, nearly six-out-of-ten work trips are being made in private cars," Enterprise Head of Mobility Solutions for U.K. & Ireland Oz Choudhri said.

“Companies may be missing out on opportunities to reduce costs, risk and environmental impact while improving employee retention by giving more flexible, accessible and affordable mobility options.”

The rental car and car clubs: a key player in multi-modal business travel

Those surveyed said that, on average, nearly seven out of 10 (68%) of their business journeys were not possible by public transport alone.

"This new research highlights that there is now a great opportunity for the establishment and growth of the shared mobility ecosystem," Choudhri said. "This could result in the creation of even more multi-modal mobility hubs, where workers are able to pick up a car when and where they need one, whilst using other modes of transport as part of the same trip."

One-in-five (21%) of respondents said they lived within easy walking distance of a car rental branch and one-in-four (24%) within easy walking distance to a car club vehicle, suggesting that some form of multi-modal journey involving rental may be possible for millions of office workers in the U.K.

Particularly in rural areas, multi-modal journeys may not seem viable. However, there is currently an Enterprise Rent-A-Car location within 10 miles of 92% of the U.K. population, across 450 locations. Enterprise Car Club vehicles are available 24/7 and located within 500 meters of 180 mainline and regional stations, across 1,500+ rural and urban locations.

Having this choice, flexibility and access gives employers more opportunities for multi-modal business travel.

"We’ve integrated our network of locations and vehicles into the wider private and public transport ecosystem, with the ambition to be part of mobility solutions that meet the needs of business travelers today and tomorrow," Choudhri added.

* This survey was commissioned through Opinium Research and analyzed the travel habits of 1,000 U.K. office workers who travel for business in their own country to visit customers, suppliers or attend events by car and is representative of an estimated 11.5 million employees across the country. This was part of a larger study of 4,000 office workers in Germany, France, Spain and the U.K. that sought to understand the changing trends in business travel trips made by car and the challenges and opportunities this presents for businesses.