6509.33,301-4
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FOREST SERVICE HANDBOOK
Portland, Oregon
FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATION
R-6/PNW Supplement No. 6509.33-97-1
Effective April 28, 1997
POSTING NOTICE. Supplements are numbered consecutively by title and
calendar year. Post by document name. Remove entire document, if one exists, and
replace with this supplement. The last R-6 supplement to this handbook was
R-6/PNW Supplement No. 6509.33-96-2.
This supplement supersedes R-6/PNW Supplement 6509.33-97-1 and R-6/PNW ID
6509.33-95-1.
Document Name
6509.33,301-4
Superseded New
(Number of Pages)
3
3
Digest:
301-4.4 - Provides current mileage rate for use of a privately owned conveyance in
place of a Government-furnished automobile.
/s/ Robert W, Williams
/s/ Thomas J. Mills
ROBERT W. WILLIAMS
Regional Forester
THOMAS J. MILLS
Station Director
R6/PNW SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-97-1
EFFECTIVE 04/28/97
6509.33,301-4
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FSH 6509.33 - FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATIONS
R-6/PNW SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-97-1
Effective April 28, 1997
CHAPTER 301 - TRAVEL ALLOWANCES
Part 301-4- Reimbursement For Use Of Privately Owned Conveyances
301-4.1 - Basic rules.
(a) Mileage payments. Reimbursement for use of a privately owned
conveyance (POV) shall be made at rates based on whether such use has been
determined to be advantageous to the Government or is based on personal
preference.
301-4.2 - When use of a privately owned conveyance is advantageous to the
Government.
Use of a POV in connection with attendance at short-term training, meetings, or
other temporary duty within the local commuting area has been determined to be
advantageous to the Government. Reimbursement for the total distance traveled
shall be made with no deduction for the number of miles the employee would have
traveled commuting to his or her normal duty station. A claim for reimbursement
for such use may be made using form SF 1164, Claim for Reimbursement for
Expenditures on Official Business, and paid through the imprest fund.
301-4.3 - Use of a privately owned conveyance instead of common carrier
transportation.
When a POV is used instead of an available common carrier, such use shall be
considered personal preference and reimbursed on a constructive cost basis. The
cost comparison data shall be documented on the travel voucher.
Regional Office (RO) and Portland PNW employees travel on a regular basis to
many locations in the Region which are more cost-effective to reach by POV than by
common carrier. Accordingly, it shall no longer be necessary to document such use
on an individual basis for direct travel by POV to any R-6 Supervisor's Office or
PNW Laboratory location in Oregon and Washington, nor to any other place in the
immediate vicinity of these locations.
A blanket FS-6500-5 cost analysis has been completed covering travel to these
locations. The Director of Financial Management has copies of these cost analyses
and shall update them periodically. Travelers on official business who travel
directly to the temporary duty site, with no deviations for personal travel that
involve early departures or delayed returns, shall include the following statement in
the remarks block of their AD-616, Travel Voucher: "Approved blanket FS-6500-5
on file."
R6/PNW SUPPLEMENT 6509.33-97-1
EFFECTIVE 04/28/97
6509.33,301-4
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This policy covers all employees of the RO and PNW Experiment Station whose
official station is Portland. Forest Supervisors, PNW ProgramManagers, and the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Manager may make similar blanket
cost analyses for their employees. Blanket cost comparisons only cover travel costs.
Travelers must still obtain advance approval from their supervisor for the method
of travel tobe used. Where the employee elects to use a POV for personal reasons,
any excess travel time (travel during work hours that exceeds what would have
been used for travel by common carrier) must be charged to annual leave, credit
hours used, or leave without pay.
A common carrier shall be considered available if it can be used on a usually
traveled route for the major portion of the distance (at least half) between the
official station and temporary duty station. For example, travel between the RO
and the Colville National Forest is usually accomplished by using a commercial
airline between Portland and Spokane and rental car between Spokane and
Colville. If a POV is used for this trip due to personal preference, the constructed
cost should include the cost of getting to and from the Portland airport, airfare
between Portland and Spokane, the cost of picking up and returning a rental car in
Spokane, and the rental cost of a car of sufficient size to meet the official needs of
the traveler while in temporary duty in Colville.
If two or more employees travel together, the combined common carrier costs may
be used in the comparison cost.
301-4.4 - Use of a privately owned conveyance instead of a Government-furnished
automobile.
(b) Reimbursement based on Government costs. Based on an analysis of
WCF-owned passenger-carrying vehicles, the cost of providing a Government
vehicle is in excess of 31 cents per mile. Therefore, when a POV is used instead of a
Government-furnished automobile, reimbursement for such use shall be at the 31cent rate unless a determination has been made that a Government-furnished
vehicle is needed to accomplish the purpose of the travel.
(c) Partial reimbursement when Government automobile is available. When
an employee wishes to use a POV as a personal preference and there is a
Government-furnished vehicle going to the same location which has space available,
such use shall be reimbursed at the reduced partial reimbursement rate provided in
the parent text.