Travel Update 17-03

Section 3000.300 (a) states "All travel shall be by the most economical mode of transportation available considering travel time, costs and work requirements. Modes of transportation authorized for official travel include automobiles, railroads, airlines, buses, taxicabs, and other usual means of conveyance."

Ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft have become popular for business travel use. The State of Illinois allows for reimbursement of their use by State of Illinois employees traveling on official State of Illinois business with certain guidelines.

Employees are required to use the lowest cost services that car sharing services offer such as "UberX" and "Lyft Standard". Employees will not be allowed to claim reimbursement for rides obtained by using "Uber XL", "UberSELECT", "UberBLACK", "UberSUV", "UberLUX" or "LyftPlus". Further, employees need to be aware that both services charge users more during times of high demand. Uber’s "Surge Pricing" and Lyft’s "Prime Time" can go into effect anytime there are a large number of users. Both Lyft and Uber will let you know in advance when prime time or surge pricing is in effect. Rides obtained during these higher cost periods are not reimbursable and if taken must be paid for personally by the employee.

As the appointed Travel Coordinator for your agency, it is your responsibility to disseminate this information to all appropriate personnel within your agency. If you have questions, please contact Kelley Wells, State Travel Coordinator at (217) 782-4705 or by email at Kelley.Wells@illinois.gov.