How to determine the best option for driving on UW business, including how to book a rental or fleet vehicle, and use of a personally-owned vehicle.
Authorized Drivers
Any employee who will be operating a vehicle on UW business must be an authorized driver prior to traveling. This includes rental vehicles, fleet vehicles and personally owned vehicles.
No vehicle-related expenses will be paid or reimbursed for unauthorized drivers.
Determining the Best Vehicle Option
When planning a trip, travelers should consider all vehicle options available and determine which is the most reasonable and cost-effective.
Personally-owned vehicles
Typically a cost-effective option for trips under 300 miles.
Personally-owned vehicles
Travelers are reimbursed at the federal government rate for business use of their personally-owned vehicle.
For trips over 300 miles roundtrip, mileage is reimbursed at a lower rate. 300 miles is the point at which the University has determined it is more cost effective to explore other options.
Reimbursable costs
Mileage is reimbursable when travel is required outside of the traveler’s primary worksite (commute mileage is not reimbursable in any circumstances). Mileage reimbursements must be supported by a Google Maps or Mapquest printout or screenshot.
Fleet vehicles
Employees have access to the University’s fleet of vehicles.
Costs for using fleet vehicles, including refueling, are directly charged to a funding string provided at the time of booking.
Car Rentals
The University participates in the Big Ten contract with Enterprise and National which provides significant savings, especially for long-distance, short-duration trips.
- Contrat Rentals must be reserved through Concur.
- Vehicle rentals are limited to midsize SUV vehicle classes and below unless a documented business need requires a larger class of vehicle.
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Payment methods
Rental vehicle expenses can either be paid on a Purchasing Card, paid on a Corporate Card, or reimbursed to the traveler.
Fuel and other related costs
The cost of gasoline to fuel a rental vehicle is payable/reimbursable. Receipts are required for all gasoline purchases, regardless of amount. Travelers are responsible for fueling the rental vehicle prior to returning it to the vendor. If a traveler fails to return the vehicle with a full tank of fuel, the cost of the vendor refueling the vehicle will not be paid or reimbursed by the University.
Additional equipment/services (e.g. GPS, satellite radio, roadside assistance protection) are not payable/reimbursable.
Insurance and Passenger Rules
For information on vehicle rental insurance and passenger rules, see Risk Management.
Personal Use of Big Ten Contract
The Big Ten contract allows for personal use by UW employees; however these reservations are made through a separate online portal, not through Concur. Personal rentals using the Big Ten contract do not include insurance; this can be purchased separately. When combining business and personal use, rental vehicles can be booked through Concur.
If Enterprise and National are not available – either they do not serve a particular location or they do not have any vehicles available – University travelers also have access to the State of Wisconsin’s contract with Hertz. If vehicles are not available through any of these three vendors, travelers can book a rental vehicle elsewhere and are not required to use Concur.
Other Vehicle-Related Expenses
Parking is a payable/reimbursable expense for personally owned, fleet, or rental vehicles when incurred outside of a traveler’s primary worksite.
Tolls are payable/reimbursable. Toll violation fees are not.
Traffic citations, personal vehicle insurance, parking at the assigned workplace, or other expenses not supported by a UW business purpose are not payable/reimbursable.
Policies and Procedures
Contact
Travelers and departmental staff should contact their respective Divisional Business Office for policy or procedural questions.
Divisional Business Offices may e-mail uwtravel@bussvc.wisc.edu with questions.