Reducing costs, rather than sustainability, will be the key focus for business travel managers in 2026. That’s according to the new Uber for Business study.
Research conducted among travel executives in large businesses by Stride Rides revealed that 78% of respondents consider cost saving to be the top priority for the next 12 months. Sustainability was second, mentioned by 55% of respondents.
Over the past five years, Uber for Business’s research has reported a steadily growing focus on sustainability. This year, however, the need for cost savings has surged.
That comes as half of the respondents said travel budgets had been cut by at least 10% in 2025. Just 9% had seen an increase.
More than half (54%) of the travel managers said they were actively tracking their carbon emissions from ground transportation. A further 26% said they would be interested in tracking it, if it was possible.
Spend visibility ranks third in the priority list for 2026, with 33% of respondents saying they will focus on it. Ground transportation was highlighted as a particular problem area, with 54% saying they found spending on it difficult to track. Expense processing is a challenge to 59%.
Andrew Laughlan, Head of Enterprise UK at Uber for Business, said: “As budgets have become tighter, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing a renewed focus on cost saving and spend visibility. Companies need easy access to this data. To address this, we’ve ensured Uber for Business integrates with all the leading expense software vendors globally.”
