Is It Really Worth Commuting? Powwownow Does the Maths

MANCHESTER, England, August 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Leading conference call provider, Powwownow advocates going green in the wake of soaring transport costs -

It was announced last week that UK rail fares are set to rise by up to 13% - the highest increase since records began in 1997. Added to the impact of higher charges for mortgages, heat, light, water, petrol and tax, the average business is likely to have to find an extra £10,500 a year, just to stand still.

In light of this, Powwownow has revealed that by working remotely for only one day a week, individuals could save up to £100 a month, whilst their companies could save up to £2,000 a month - and in doing so, save a staggering 52 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year (using Powwownow's Business Carbon Footprint Calculator)

The findings are based on the cost of a monthly peak-time travel pass, commuting in to central London five days a week from outside zone 4, to a place of work averaging just 20 people in size.

With British commuters still facing the longest journeys to work in Europe - their average trip taking 45 minutes (100+ minutes in London); remote working has risen dramatically by 68 percent in the past 12 months alone, with some 59 percent of employers offering teleworking to staff in 2011, compared to 46 percent in 2008 and just 14 percent in 2006.

A study by PeoplePerHour.com, which quizzed more than 45,000 firms, found that 71 percent of respondents cited flexibility and cost savings for employing non-office based staff. Respondents also claimed they are saving 23 percent on staff costs due to this shift.  

Tough economic conditions and rising costs have been blamed for changing hiring patterns, but the survey found that this trend could be here to stay. Almost 70 percent of respondents said they planned to use freelancers in the next year.

Powwownow CEO, Andrew Pearce says, "It's become remarkably simple and cost effective to work from a remote location in recent times. The advances in technologies such as our conference call services and the likes of Yuuguu help reduce the cost of running a business whilst simultaneously streamlining operations and making matters more efficient. With train fares increasing yet again and the price of petrol still sky high, remote working makes more sense than ever before. It can save you time and money, in addition to dramatically reducing your carbon footprint."  

About Powwownow:

Powwownow (http://www.powwownow.co.uk/) was founded in the UK in 2004, offering customers low-cost conference calling facilities with the ethos of no booking, no billing, no fuss. The customer does not need to book a conference room and never receives a bill from Powwownow. They only pay the cost of their own call, which is added to their standard telecoms bill. The company now operates in 15 countries worldwide including the US and major European markets and recently acquired web conferencing and business collaboration providers, Yuuguu. Turnover for 2011 is predicted to reach £10m.

Find out more about Powwownow by visiting the Powwownow Facebook page and following @Powwownow on Twitter.

Powwownow employs 49 people and is based in Richmond and Manchester.