The annual mileage of company cars fell by almost a fifth (18 per cent) from 23,340 miles in 1995/97 to just 19,190 in 2010, according to the government's National Travel Survey (NTS). An additional report from the RAC Foundation, labelled 'On the Move', found there was also a reduction in the number of company cars per 1,000 people, although the figures suggest the decline has began to level out. Despite some industry experts suggesting developments in modern technology offer an alternative to traditional face-to-face meetings, the RAC report contradicts the NTS's findings which note "circumstantial evidence of some mileage having been transferred from company cars to private cars among the employer/manager group and also other groups." The recent Fleet200 survey also found that 40 per cent of fleets expect their mileage to reduce further in 2013, while 16 per cent of fleet operators predict their mileage will rise. Much of the decline in the first half of the last decade was attributed to changes to the company car tax regime. Meanwhile the subsequent recession resulted in a further reduction of company car mileage. John Lewis, chief executive of the BVRLA, said: "The figures show us that the company car tax regime is successfully taxing some people out of private use. "Increasing numbers of people are deciding not to take a perk car or are not claiming free fuel from their employer for personal use." But although workplace trends are changing to enable working and communication from home and at remote locations Mr Lewis believes the decline is only largely being felt in the capital and among younger drivers. "Overall car use is only really declining among the young and in Greater London," he added. "This is largely due to issues such as congestion, lack of parking and the cost of motoring, particularly insurance. All these factors bode well for the continued growth in demand for pay-as-you-go mobility solutions."
