British employees drove some 7.3 billion miles on business last year.

The average expense-claiming employee drove 1,936 miles, in addition to normal commuting, took 2.5 train journeys and 0.5 plane trips in 2007.

This lead to their employers footing a £2.8bn bill for their employees’ business travel and accommodation expenses, according to the GlobalExpense Employee Expenses Benchmark Report 2008.

Employees in the media and publishing industry claimed the most business miles and the most taxi journeys last year.

The actual cost of train fares for business trips has gone up by 20% over two years.

In 2005, the average UK train fare paid by businesspeople was £33.76, but by 2007 it had risen to £40.61.

At the same time, there has been a dramatic 25% fall in the amount claimed for business flights.

The average cost of business class tickets fell between 2005 and 2007 by over 28.7% to £1,443.34.

“It is no surprise that business travellers are choosing to let the plane take the strain, even for destinations within the UK, and benefit from much cheaper fares as well as reduced travel times despite the fact that this results in a far higher carbon footprint,” David Vine, managing director of GlobalExpense, said.