Innovations in ground transportation will greatly reduce travel stress and could also be good for business, writes Jens Wohltorf, co-founder and chief executive of Blacklane

Travel companies best serve their customers by aiming for the least stressful trips. After all, travel is rarely for the sake of travel itself. It results from something else: a business meeting, a destination to explore, a wedding or the like.

The goal then is for travellers to only think about what they want to do or have to do at their destinations. In other words, travellers should not have to think about their travel arrangements.

Suppliers and customers alike understand this goal of stress-free travel in aviation. Airlines have automated many processes and give customers abilities to manage their accounts online. The components that airlines can control directly, such as ticketing, check-in and in-flight service, typically are smooth for millions of travellers each week - weather permitting, of course.

On the other hand, ground transportation is only now entering an era of innovation that will lessen travel stress associated with these five areas.

1. Online scheduled pick-ups: The predominant options for reserving a vehicle have been car rentals or expensive limousine services. But these serve only a fraction of travellers. Countless passengers need rides from A to B without the hassle and cost of rental cars, and have had to rely on the pseudo-monopolistic airport taxi industry.

Services like Blacklane, Uber and many others, though, are creating new options. By guaranteeing rides with professional drivers, at costs approaching those of taxis, give travellers a new way to eliminate stress to and from airports, hotels and trade shows.

This is especially important for international travel, where safety and security are bigger risks. Customers may lack familiarity of foreign ground transportation providers and could face language barriers, increasing their vulnerability. With a driver awaiting a passenger, booked through a known global brand, travellers can proceed door-to-door knowing what to expect.

2. Integrated booking: Travellers can book almost everything ahead of their trips: flights, hotels, tours, activities and restaurants. The missing links are the first and last miles of their trips. Starting this year, consumer websites and business travel portals are integrating scheduled transportation into their offerings. This removes a step in the travel reservation process, and gives customers a single, integrated itinerary.

Furthermore, both bookings and itineraries will be available on mobile devices. Travel bookings are moving to a mobile-first activity, and reservations certainly need to be available wherever travellers go. Powerful itinerary management gives peace of mind and the easiest way to contact travel suppliers in case plans change.

3. Global consistency: Many international hotel chains have captured what it means to maintain brand quality while respecting and promoting local culture. A professional driver service should do the same. For example, travellers expect multilingual hotel reservation and front-desk staff. Professional driver services present the same need. Similarly, hotel chains can sustain the quality of their beds, restaurants and lobbies, even though the décor differs. Professional driver services must have similarly high-quality vehicles, even though brand names vary based in different regions.

4. Service and price options: A downfall of ground transportation has been local taxi markets. Regulations, expectations and quality vary widely around the world, and there’s typically just one type of vehicle available. Travellers therefore often arrive wary of the experience they will receive and price they will pay, especially internationally. Scheduled services, however, give customers multiple vehicle categories to evaluate, and allow them to pay up front. Travellers don’t have to worry about a driver taking a circuitous route to get a higher fare, or wonder if a local taxi company has a vehicle big enough to accommodate a group.

5. Last-minute changes: Every business traveller knows the domino effects of how a change to one part of a trip affects the rest. The long-term vision is that travel companies automatically adjust your other reservations behind the scenes, without you needing to contact customer service mid-journey. Today, an example of suppliers getting a step closer to that goal is when a professional driver service adjusts passenger pick-up times automatically by tracking customers’ flights. This ensures that passengers know that their driver will be waiting for them no matter how early or late they arrive.

Travellers expect familiarity in their travel experiences, from booking to the journey and accommodations themselves. While airlines and hotels have accomplished much to reduce the stress of travel, ground transportation has lagged. The coming years, however, will transform how we reserve vehicles and travel from A to B.

This is a guest post by Jens Wohltorf, co-founder and chief of Blacklane. His views are his own