diff --git a/travis-ci/managers/xenial.sh b/travis-ci/managers/xenial.sh
index 7c7e163e4e7..865d63170f3 100755
--- a/travis-ci/managers/xenial.sh
+++ b/travis-ci/managers/xenial.sh
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ apt-get build-dep systemd -y
 apt-get install -y "${PACKAGES[@]}"
 pip3 install meson
 
-cd ${REPO_ROOT:-$(pwd)}
+cd ${REPO_ROOT:-$PWD}
 
 sed -i 's/2\.30/2.27/' meson.build