Ground transportation, including everything from local cab companies to chauffeurs, is a fragmented and difficult sector to manage for the travel buyer.

Before choosing your ground transportation provider, think carefully about the services that you need. Consider everything from whether you need a short notice ‘on demand’ taxi or a pre-booked service to what geographical coverage you need.

Once that’s decided, you should think about what vehicles you need. Finally, consider the types of places where your passengers will be going.

Businesses are continually looking for ways to save money and get the best deal. Ultimately though, in ground transport, you get what you pay for and the cheapest service is rarely the best.

It might be easy to choose the lowest price, but remember your company has a corporate responsibility to the person that’s travelling. Check that your service provider operates in all the countries on your itinerary. Make sure their local chauffeurs have been carefully selected and can speak English. 24hr service is essential, along with local knowledge. Check health and safety policies.

Once you have chosen the best ground transportation services, how do you book and monitor usage?

Use of technology is increasing in this sector, with ground transport booking platforms managing networks of business taxis, chauffeur cars, MPVs and coaches.

Most are service partner neutral and do not own any vehicles, but by using technology together with ground transport management expertise they deliver corporate clients a high quality end-to-end service.

As well as a booking platform, the aggregator supplies comprehensive MI, including full monthly reports on journeys, down to individual bookings; car sharing opportunities; and CO2 figures.

By using technology you can get a handle on spend and make notable savings in the process.