The University of Kansas maintains a fleet of general purpose motor vehicles. Reservations for vehicles to be used for official travel are to be made through the Motor Pool. (4-3902).
No state-owned vehicle may be parked more than two days (one day for pool cars) in a nearby city or air terminal while the traveler is on an extended trip to a still more distant city.
Actual expenses incurred in the operation of a state-owned vehicle are reimbursable and will include parking fees, purchase of gasoline, oil, grease, minor repairs, and turnpike tolls. Minor repairs should be made when and where necessary to insure safe and efficient operation of the vehicle, but all major repairs should be handled by the department responsible for the vehicle. In such cases, the department will get estimates of the cost of the work and report to the Comptroller's Office before the work is done. Receipts must be obtained for actual expenses. University departments operating state-owned vehicles should make arrangements with one or more oil companies for the purchase of gasoline and oil on credit cards. This will relieve the operator of the state-owned vehicle of the need for paying cash for gas and oil, as well as save the university the federal tax. Such credit card arrangements cannot be extended to cover purchase of gas and oil for private car use.
The University is authorized by the State of Kansas to carry public liability, property damage, and medical payment insurance on state-owned vehicles. Cost of this insurance coverage is charged to departments which have state-owned vehicles assigned to them. Coverage is effective only when the vehicle is used for official business and the driver has been authorized to operate the vehicle. If involved in an accident with another vehicle, the driver should contact the local police. The driver should attempt to get a copy of the police report to establish responsibility for the accident. If a state-owned vehicle is involved in an accident in which no other vehicle is involved, and property of others is damaged, the owners should be contacted in addition to the police. In every circumstance, a telephone report should be made to the Motor Pool, Comptroller's Office, and the driver's department, if practicable, followed by a written report on the insurance forms which are carried in the state vehicle. This insurance does not necessarily remove the need for individual "drive other car" insurance for operators of state-owned vehicles. The cost of personal insurance endorsements may be reduced, however, because of the university's insurance.
FOR ANY ACCIDENT CAUSING ANY INJURY TO INDIVIDUALS, A REPORT MUST BE MADE WITHIN 48 HOURS TO THE KU COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE (ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 864-3790).
Use of a private vehicle for official university business within the state is permissible. Private vehicle mileage can be paid at a rate not to exceed the existing rate for the mileage posted on the official Kansas State Highway map between cities, plus any detours necessarily traveled. The existing mileage rates by type of vehicle are:
| FY 2007 - Mileage reimbursement is $0.43 per mile for private vehicles |
Mileage is claimed from the center of one city to the center of the city visited. No vicinity driving is allowed unless you go on the turnpike, or go to more than one place in the visited city. Any claim for vicinity mileage must be shown on the travel voucher as a separate item. Repairs, gas, and oil must be paid by the traveler. List the trip out and the return trip as separate entries on the travel reimbursement voucher. When turnpike tolls are claimed, mileage must be shown in accordance with the turnpike mileage chart. Parking will be reimbursed if it is incurred in connection with an authorized out-of-state trip and supported by a receipt or indicated to be unattended and no receipt available. Travel vouchers requesting reimbursement for private car mileage must be filed monthly.
An authorized traveler may elect to drive his private car out-of-state and reimbursement shall be allowed for the lesser of: (a) actual mileage traveled from traveler's domicile or official station whichever is less, to the lodging establishment at the destination, plus turnpike tolls and parking charges, or (b) airfare in lieu of mileage, which is mileage from domicile or official station whichever is less, to the airport, plus economy airfare from the nearest air terminal to the air terminal at the destination plus mileage to place of lodging. In addition to reimbursement allowed in (a) or (b) the traveler shall be allowed mileage incurred from the lodging establishment to the meeting place. No terminal expense, such as limousines or taxis, can be claimed. Out-of-state subsistence will be paid only for the number of quarter days which would have been necessary that the traveler used the fastest available public transportation instead of a private car. However, when a privately owned car is clearly required for field work, or when two or more authorized travelers undertake a trip in one privately owned vehicle, reimbursement to the owner or driver only will be at the existing privately owned vehicle rate for the most direct route. Subsistence will be paid to each traveler for the time necessary to complete the trip.
Approvals Required for Justification for Rental Car
Current policy requires a separate justification be submitted with the payment voucher when an employee rents a vehicle at the travel destination. Effective July 1, 1998, the requirement for separate justification for rental cars will be delegated to the agency. The agency will be responsible for approving the use of a rental vehicle, and the separate justification will no longer be an audit requirement for the payment voucher. We recommend that the approval for the rental car be incorporated in the agency's travel approval process.
