New research from Trainline Partner Solutions, the B2B arm of Trainline, has revealed over three quarters of UK SMBs expect to increase both domestic travel volumes (76%) and business travel budgets (79%) in 2025, according to its business travel decision makers.
The research showed business travel is on a continued upward trajectory among UK SMBs. Three quarters (74%) of respondents reported higher business travel volumes for their company in 2024, compared to 2023.
In parallel with this growth, SMB decision-makers are prioritising sustainability considerations within their corporate travel policies. Over one third of decision makers (33%) identified increasing use of rail as a key initiative to reduce its carbon footprint.
Most significantly, the overwhelming majority (87%) of UK SMBs now have a target in place to reduce emissions from business travel – up from a mere 52% who had set targets in the last survey by Trainline Partner Solutions in January 2024.
The vast majority (85%) also have clear policy and financial support in place to encourage use of lower-carbon modes of travel.
While UK SMBs are not impacted by regulations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the growing regulatory environment is already influencing their corporate strategy – emerging as the number one driver for those SMBs that have established policy and financial support for lower carbon travel (34%).
Meanwhile, nearly nine in 10 (89%) of those who work with a Travel Management Company see emissions insights from their TMC as critical for managing their business travel emissions.
Andrew Cruttenden, general manager at Trainline Partner Solutions, said: “It’s a great sign for the business travel sector that the UK’s small businesses expect to continue ramping up their business travel volumes and spending in 2025.
“Now that nine out of ten businesses have established targets to cut their business travel emissions, it will be crucial they support their employees to prioritise lower carbon travel modes like rail.”
He said: “Given rail’s strong sustainability advantage over flying and driving, the onus is on the rail and business travel sectors to make train travel the seamless and natural choice – and at Trainline Partner Solutions we can assist by offering tech solutions that will help make that happen.”
