Settling into the deep leather seat in the back of a black Mercedes, I heaved a sigh of relief. I was finally off my flight and into my Blacklane transfer from JFK to my hotel in Jersey City. Chicago to New York isn’t an excessively long flight (in fact, it’s fairly short), but with a child kicking my seat, a manspreading neighbor and a baby crying in front of me, those two hours felt like a full year to me. A sparkling clean, comfortable private transfer from the airport was the perfect way to start my business trip.

PHOTO: © BLACKLANE

Blacklane’s point-to-point chauffeured transfer service uses carbon-neutral vehicles and offers all-inclusive pricing based solely on distance, so you’ll never have to pay extra because you’re stuck in traffic, have one bag too many, go through tolls or travel at peak hours. The service is available in more than 50 countries and more than 200 cities worldwide. Riders need to register on the Blacklane website or app with a credit card but can then see all their rides (including canceled ones) and have the ability to rebook the same route. You can even choose what you want the chauffeur’s pick-up sign to say while you’re booking. Blacklane also offers on-demand rides for up to 12 passengers at once, a service the company says blends the best of limo services and ridesharing into one product.

PHOTO: © DRVN

In a similar vein as Blacklane, Daytrip offers door-to-door transfers in addition to daytrips with sightseeing stops in more than 130 countries, so no matter to what country your work sends you, you can still enjoy the local landmarks. Daytrip’s service proves particularly useful for business travelers in Europe who have meetings in multiple neighboring countries. You can book one car to make the trip but also include hour-long stops in different cities along the way to get out and stretch your legs. Daytrip’s pricing varies based on location, destination, demand, number of passengers and bags, and sightseeing stops. Daytrip doesn’t offer any special pricing for business travelers, but that does make the transition from the end of your work to sightseeing just a bit more seamless.

Business travelers can also use a company called drvn, which focuses exclusively on corporate travel with chauffeured rides and a cutting-edge logistics platform.

“We provide a single infrastructure for chauffeur-driven ground travel that travel managers, TMCs, executive assistants and event teams can use globally, so they are no longer stitching together different suppliers, tools and rules for every city or program,” said Mario Medina, CEO, drvn. “That consolidation allows organizations to standardize service levels; embed policies into the booking process; assign the right access and approvals by role; and see every ride in one place for compliance, reporting and audit needs.”

PHOTO: © DAYTRIP

For travelers that means a streamlined experience that runs smoothly with appropriate levels of professionalism and predictability. Behind the scenes, every aspect of the travel process is managed, whether that means accounting for a delayed flight or managing expense reconciliations.

“In other words, drvn works with business travelers by aligning ground transportation with how serious organizations actually manage risk, cost and continuity today,” Medina said. “Instead of asking companies to adapt to a patchwork of local solutions, we provide one accountable framework they can plug in to their existing travel program. The people who travel for the business and the people responsible for them get a managed, measurable and dependable ground component to match the rest of their journey.”

Rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft offer their own options for business travelers, as well. Uber combines its ride and food delivery options to create a fully manageable business offering that includes employee travel, courtesy rides and corporate meal programs. Managers can add specific employees to an Uber profile, allowing them to use corporate benefits as needed. Lyft offers three options for business travelers: Concierge, Business Travel Program and Lyft Pass. With Concierge, businesses can request courtesy rides for others. The Business Travel Program allows employees to take rides for business and automate their expenses. With Lyft Pass, companies can partially or fully cover rides for employees, depending on their budget.

Back before ridesharing existed, when I was a young corporate worker, I remember taking a limousine from my home to the airport. It was my first business trip; I felt like a pretty big deal. That option still exists for business trip transportation. Limos can pick you up from anywhere, really, and take you to the airport, drive you home or shuttle you from place to place while you’re on your trip. The companies are easy to find — just search for “limo service” with the name of the town you’re in. You can even find them in small towns; so if your work takes you to a tiny place in the middle of nowhere, you’re still covered.

And there’s always a good old car rental. Most airports offer rental cars, as do the vast majority of cities of every size. It’s certainly nice to have your own transportation whenever you need it and not rely on a car service to come get you. That being said, it’s important you have a driver’s license and insurance and that you pay close attention to the driving laws of your location. Maybe you can’t make turns on red, or you have to turn on your hazards when it storms. I recall one business trip in Australia when I thought I had the rental car all figured out, only to realize they drive on the opposite side of the road, so the driver’s side wasn’t what I was used to. And yes, I did crash that car into a wall while trying to turn left … before I even exited the parking garage. All that is to say, renting a car may seem easier on the surface, but it may end up being more complicated than you think.

Some rental car companies, such as Enterprise and National, work together with corporations to offer deals on rental cars for employees on work trips. They offer perks to business travelers that include the ability to skip the check-in counter, access to status matches, vehicle upgrades, flexible pricing and even the ability to earn free rides. Plus, if your company has a corporate account with a car rental outfit, you may not need to rent the car yourself and try to get reimbursement; you can just put the cost on your company’s corporate account.

Business trip travel, of course, isn’t relegated to ground transportation. Most of the time, flights are involved. That’s where Slate Aviation comes in, at least for routes between New York and South Florida. The company offers a shared shuttle service in an all-business-class, 18-seat cabin. Companies flying that many people to an event or a higher-end company looking for a private flight can book the entire aircraft.

After my conference, I hopped into yet another Blacklane car for an early flight back to Chicago. The tinted windows and smooth ride made the drive so pleasant that, even among honking morning New York City traffic, I dozed off until we reached the airport.