Business Travel Executive, December 2015

Thoughts from the Field Business Travel Executive DECEMBER 2015 21 Travel managers who are members of the Business Travel Executive Buyer Think Tank share their perspectives and expectations about the mobile revolution impacting ground transportation I definitely see the industry changing to embrace this disruptive technology Black car services that can do both on demand and reservation based services will be the ones that will thrive Rosemary Maloney Account Management Specialist Jarden Egencia The black car and taxi industries innovation have been very stale for a long time The threat by sharing services simple use of technology to solve problems seems to have lit a fire under the antiquated black car industry David Smith Regional Travel Manager Americas Amdocs Global Services Uber and Lyft have brought new competition and an innovative approach to a very conservative business Traditional suppliers will have to step up to the plate or they will disappear Mark H Ziegler Senior Travel Manager Americas Global Travel Services NetApp If we continue to shift to a traveler centric travel model i e the traveler making their own reservations etc then black car companies will need to shift to an ondemand more retail model in order to compete and stay relevant Kevin McDonald Senior Director Strategic Procurement PPD are already doing millions of business rides each week on the platform he says Uber for Business started last August and were starting to work on products that appeal to consumers and the companies themselves Crowley notes Were continuing to build products that make it easier for the end user or traveler to ride and easier for the business to manage and get insights and make the experience seamless across the board Amit Patel director of enterprise strategy at Lyft says corporate travel spend is shifting towards an increasingly mobile experience which has unlocked a new set of ground transportation suppliers including Lyft The smartphone is such an essential tool to business travelers that weve seen they increasingly cant imagine booking rides or organizing ground transportation expenses without it he says Increases in employee demand and unmanaged travrushed making convenience and ease ofuse of paramount importance The industry has realized that the old way of doing business simply isnt realistic any more and that a real time network with massive coverage is now table stakes for ground transportation he says But those who are calling the TNCs industry killers are incorrect Max Crowley lead for Uber for Business says the company was started to fill the gaps in the pre scheduled slate of black cars and limos making the experience easier for customers and millions of rides happen each day thanks to its innovative mobile solutions More recently the company has turned its attention to the business traveler We saw there was usage in the business space and we found lots of organic business rides happening We