Chapter 7: Travel & Transportation Support
TRAVEL PAYMENTS
All official travel of AmeriCorps VISTA candidates and members outside the project area, as well as the mode of travel, must be approved in advance by the Corporation State Office. Official travel outside the project area includes:
- Home of record to project site
- Project site to and from Corporation-sponsored training events and conferences
- Project site to home of record upon end of service
The Corporation will pay for official travel only within the continental United States. The exception is travel for AmeriCorps VISTA members who serve in or whose home of record is in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa. All members authorized by the Corporation to relocate from their home of record to serve in AmeriCorps VISTA will be reimbursed for travel and baggage expenses as described in this chapter. All travel payments are subject to collection to offset debts owed to the federal government (see Chapter 5).
TRAVEL BY COMMERCIAL CARRIER
AmeriCorps VISTA candidates or members authorized to travel by air, train, bus, or boat will receive a prepaid ticket and be reimbursed (from home of record to destination and return) for miscellaneous travel expenses, such as taxi fares, parking fees, etc. Members will be reimbursed for actual expenditures after providing receipts to their Corporation State Office. If expenditures exceed $75 one way, a receipt or verification of expenses is required. Verification, for example, may be a notation of parking costs per day. All travel by commercial carriers will be at the lowest rates available. In exceptional circumstances, members may have to purchase their own tickets, which will be reimbursed at the lowest commercial carrier fare available.Mileage costs incurred by members for travel between home and the commercial carrier station will be reimbursed at the federal mileage reimbursement rate.
TRAVEL BY AUTOMOBILE
AmeriCorps VISTA members that are authorized to drive their cars (from home to destination and return) will be reimbursed at the federal mileage reimbursement rate, plus $10 for every whole multiple of 100 miles. This covers per diem expenses while en route. If the candidate or member is a passenger in the vehicle, or drives a vehicle for which the sponsoring organization covers mileage reimbursement, the candidate or member will be paid only $10 for every whole multiple of 100 miles traveled. Mileage is computed according to the Rand McNally standard mileage guide. Reimbursement rates for members driving to Alaska may vary depending on project location, travel routes (highway vs. ferry), and sponsoring organization agreements with the Corporation.If a candidate relocates and uses a privately owned vehicle to attend the Pre-Service Orientation and the car is not authorized for use on the project by the Corporation, the candidate will receive the cost of common carrier or the federal mileage reimbursement rate, whichever is less.
TRAVEL BY RENTED AUTOMOBILE
There are occasions when the Corporation requires AmeriCorps VISTA members to rent a vehicle for travel to and from a specific training. If you are authorized by the Corporation to rent a vehicle under this circumstance, you are covered by the Military Traffic Management Command government policy. You should inform the rental company that you are on government business in order to receive the government rate.TRAVEL BY MOTORCYCLE
AmeriCorps VISTA members traveling on official business by motorcycle or motor scooter are reimbursed at the federal mileage reimbursement rate for such vehicles, plus $10 for every whole multiple of 100 miles traveled.FOOD AND LODGING EXPENSE
Per diem (the daily expense allowance for food, lodging, and miscellaneous expenses) may be authorized for conference or consultation travel that the AmeriCorps VISTA member is required to make during service. Members will be reimbursed for actual expenses not to exceed the federal government's standard per diem rate. The Corporation State Director will adjust rates for high-cost cities on an individual basis. For example, if the member attends a conference at an expensive facility and is required to stay there, additional per diem may be authorized.REIMBURSEMENT
To claim reimbursement for all travel except closeof-service travel or service-related travel, you must complete part I of the AmeriCorps VISTA Payment Voucher, Form 531 (see Appendix B). The Corporation will complete part II of the form, and the U.S. Treasury will directly deposit the funds in your account.TRAVEL PAYMENT AT END OF SERVICE
The Corporation will pay for travel from your place of assignment to your home of record at the end of service. In the tenth month of service, you will receive the AmeriCorps VISTA Future Plans or Early Termination Request Form (see Appendix B) to indicate the mode of travel to be used in returning home. (Refer to Chapter 11 for more information about end-of-service travel payment.)
BAGGAGE SHIPMENT WITHIN CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES
If you must relocate at least 50 miles from your home of record to serve, you are authorized a baggage allowance for shipment of personal effects between the home of record and the project site both at initial assignment and at end of service (see "Discretionary Allowance" section in Chapter 5). You will need to notify the State Office prior to your relocation if you are shipping baggage. If you are relocating to some place other than your home of record, the shipping cost cannot exceed the initial allowance amount.
In the event of a transfer to a new project, an allowance is authorized for shipment between the two project sites.
If you are completing service, shipment of your baggage must occur within 30 days of your end-of service date. To receive reimbursement, you must submit a Volunteer Payment Voucher Form with receipts attached to the Corporation State Office within 30 days of shipment of any baggage (see Appendix B). This payment voucher is in addition to the voucher you verified at Pre-Service Orientation.
The baggage allowance, based on direct mileage between two points, is $25 per 100 miles, rounded down to the nearest hundred miles, with a maximum of $500. The weight of the shipment is not considered in determining the reimbursement. In all cases, members must provide receipts.
The baggage allowance is directly deposited by the Corporation into the member's bank account within 30 days after the member submits receipts.
BAGGAGE SHIPMENT BEYOND CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES
On initial assignment, termination, or transfer, you may request a government bill of lading to pay for the cost ($500 maximum) of shipping up to 100 lbs. by air freight between your home of record and the project, or between project sites.
You should send a written request for a government bill of lading to the Corporation State Office at least three weeks before shipment is to be made. Addresses where the baggage will be shipped to and from must be provided.
SEVICE-RELATED TRANSPORTATION
For an AmeriCorps VISTA member to perform the project assignment effectively, transportation may be essential. The sponsoring organization is responsible for determining the service-related transportation needs of members. As a general rule, you are expected to use public transportation in connection with your work when it is available and adequate.
When public transportation is not available or adequate, the sponsoring organization is responsible for providing or supporting vehicles used by members in the performance of their assignments. In some instances, AmeriCorps VISTA may assist the sponsoring organization by providing funds for mileage reimbursement or for leasing a vehicle. In these cases, the sponsor makes arrangements with the Corporation State Office.
You are responsible for complying with the sponsoring organization's rules when you operate a sponsor's vehicle, in addition to complying with all applicable AmeriCorps VISTA requirements.
While performing your assigned duties, you may not transport passengers other than those determined by supervisory authority to be directly related to and within the scope of your official responsibilities. There will be a presumption that you are not in the performance of official responsibilities when transporting unauthorized persons.
In the event it is determined that you were performing official activities while transporting unauthorized passengers, the passengers will not be covered by the government for personal injury, and you may be personally liable for injury to the passengers and subject to appropriat administrative action.
AUTHORIZATION TO USE VEHICLE
The sponsoring organization or supervisor must fill out Form V-81, AmeriCorps VISTA Use of Vehicles and Public Transportation, whenever you operate any or all of the following for servicerelated transportation (see Appendix B):
- Vehicle owned or leased by the sponsoring organization
- Vehicle owned or leased by a member
- Vehicle owned or leased by another person and approved for member use by the Corporation State Director
- Public transportation
Form V-81 is needed to provide coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which permits recovery of damages from the federal government when its employees are negligent within the scope of their employment. Completed Form V-81s must be sent to the Corporation State Office by the sponsoring organization before the member uses any vehicle.
LICENSING AND INSURANCE
Sponsoring organizations and AmeriCorps VISTA members are responsible for complying with all laws concerning vehicle registration, operator licensing, and insurance on any vehicles used officially or unofficially by members in the state and locality where they serve/reside. You are covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act (see Chapter 14 )for third-party liability (e.g., damage or injury to others only while in the performance of official duties) and by the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (see Chapter 14) for personal injury. The Corporation is not responsible, however, for any damage to your own vehicle; thus, it is essential that you maintain adequate insurance on your own vehicle.PRIVATELY OWNED VEHICLE
If a privately owned vehicle is necessary to carry out your assigned duties, authorization to use it for service-related purposes must be obtained from the Corporation State Office.
- The Memorandum of Agreement between the Corporation and the sponsoring organization specifies that the sponsoring organization will be responsible for project-related expenses. For such expenses, the member will receive reimbursement directly from the sponsoring organization.
- Before members receive service-related transportation reimbursement, the Corporation State Office must authorize in writing that the member may drive a car for assignment-related purposes. To request such authorization, the member and project supervisor must submit a completed Form V-81 to the Corporation State Office.
- The Corporation or the sponsoring organization will reimburse members for approved service related mileage at the rate established under the sponsoring organization's reimbursement policy, but not to exceed the federal mileage reimbursement rate.
- If the Corporation is reimbursing the member directly for service-related mileage expenses, the member must submit a completed Statement of Mileage Form (see Appendix B) at the end of each month to the Corporation State Office. The Corporation reimbursement is subject to collection for debt owed to the federal government, if applicable to the member.
- If the sponsoring organization is reimbursing the member for service-related transportation expenses through a grant from the Corporation, the member should submit a mileage statement form to the sponsoring organization. The sponsoring organization will reimburse the member within one month.
- If a member is not authorized by the Corporation to drive a vehicle at the project for assignmentrelated purposes, Corporation funds cannot be used for the vehicle's operating expenses.
VEHICLES OWNED OR LEASED BY SPONSORING ORGANIZATION
Vehicles owned by or leased to a sponsoring organization may be authorized for service-related transportation if necessary to carry out your project assignment.VEHICLES OWNED BY ANOTHER PERSON
Ordinarily, you will not be authorized to use a vehicle owned by another person (including that of a relative or another member) while conducting official project-related travel. If unusual circumstances require the use of a vehicle owned by another person, prior approval must be obtained from the Corporation State Director.PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Sponsoring organizations may pay for servicerelated public transportation expenses. However, in exceptional circumstances, the Corporation may authorize a public transportation allowance that will be paid directly to the member on a monthly basis or to the sponsoring organization through a transportation grant. To be eligible to receive such payment, you and your project supervisor must submit a completed Form V-81 to the Corporation State Office for authorization.AmeriCorps VISTA members who work in urban projects are not ordinarily authorized to drive privately owned vehicles for assignment-related purposes. Corporation State Directors may, however, make exceptions to this policy when, in their judgment, circumstances warrant the use of privately owned vehicles.
ACCIDENTS
If an accident occurs while you are driving a privately owned vehicle within the scope of your AmeriCorps VISTA duties, and other people sustain injuries or property damages because of the accident in which you were the driver, the exclusive remedy for those persons is under the Federal Tort Claims Act. If you are injured, you may be eligible to receive benefits to cover medical expenses under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, also known as the Federal Worker's Compensation Act (see Chapter 8 for claims procedures). The Corporation is not responsible, however, for any damage to your own vehicle. (See Chapter 14 for more information about the Federal Tort Claims Act and the Federal Employees' Compensation Act.)
If an accident occurs, you must immediately summon the local police, comply with local requirements, and within two days of the accident, make sure the following actions are taken:
- You must complete Sections I-IX of Form SF-91, Operator's Report of Motor Vehicle Accident, (see Appendix B). Your supervisor must complete Section X, Blocks 71-82c. Sections XI-XIII are completed only if bodily injury and/or fatality occur, and/or damages exceed $500.
- Where appropriate, you must obtain the names and addresses of witnesses and, if possible, obtain a completed Form SF-94, Statement of Witness, from each witness (see Appendix B). When there are no witnesses and, therefore, an SF-94 cannot be prepared, a statement to this effect must be included in the operator's report (SF-91) and certified by the supervisor.
- Make sure your supervisor prepares notes for the files in case you file a claim under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act after you complete service.
In all instances where state laws require an official police report based on the extent of damages, a copy of such report must be included along with the other forms mentioned previously. In all cases involving damage to property (regardless of how minor), an official police report, if available, must be included and attached to the Form SF-91. In any accident where personal injury has occurred, you must notify the Office of General Counsel or vista@americorps.gov within 24 hours.
An original and one copy of all reports noted in the bulleted paragraph, as well as the police report, if appropriate, must be submitted to the Corporation State Office, which will forward the original report(s) to the Corporation's Office of General Counsel. The member, sponsoring organization, and Corporation State Office should retain copies of all submitted forms for their records.
All members and sponsoring organizations are prohibited from making any representations concerning the ultimate liability of the federal government on a particular claim to other parties. The Corporation's Office of General Counsel and, where applicable, the Department of Justice will make the final determination on whether an accident occurred within the scope of your projectrelated activities and the extent of the government's liability. (Travel to and from your home of record to the project site is not covered under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act.)
Members and sponsoring organizations are expected to cooperate fully with the Corporation's Office of General Counsel in obtaining necessary evidence and materials, and with the Department of Justice or U.S. Attorney in the event legal action is taken in connection with the accident. If requested, sponsoring organizations, supervisors, and members are authorized to provide third parties with copies of Form SF-95, Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death, and advise that the claim must be submitted to the Corporation's Office of General Counsel or to the Corporation State Office having authority over the member (see Appendix B).
If a civil action is brought in a local court against either you or the sponsoring organization as a result of an accident, or if you are asked or ordered to testify or be deposed, you must immediately notify the Corporation State Office, which will notify the General Counsel. Copies of all legal documents must be transmitted to:
Corporation for National and Community Service
Office of General Counsel, 10th Floor
1201 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20525
The Corporation is not responsible for any indemnification or contribution to the sponsoring organization for any damages sustained by the sponsoring organization.
