Car Rental
Transportation
Reimbursement will be made only for the method of transportation which is in the best interest of the CSU, considering both direct expense as well as the employee's time. Provided the mode of transportation selected does not conflict with the needs of the campus or this policy the employee may use a more expensive form of transportation and be reimbursed at the amount required for a less expensive mode of travel. State contracted rates and fares should be obtained when such rates and fares are available. A justification will be required when failure to obtain these rates occur. (HR 2008-10, 111.B)
The campus has determined that the use of a personal vehicle as a mode of transportation is not always in the best interest of the campus. A University traveler must use a rental car from an authorized rental car company when the anticipated round-trip mileage exceeds the amount noted in the following table for the planned number of travel days:
Travel Days |
Miles Driven Greater Than |
1 |
100 |
2 |
200 |
3 |
300 |
4 |
400 |
5 |
500 |
6 |
600 |
A justification will be required when a personal vehicle is used in violation of this policy.
Additional information related to automobile travel, including authorized drivers and insurance requirements, can be found in the University Policy and Risk Management Criteria for Driving on University (State) Business.
Rental Cars
The State of California has contracts with one or more commercial car rental companies. A list of those companies and additional information related to renting a car on State business can be found at the Department of General Services Commercial Car Rental webpage: http://www.travel.dgs.ca.gov/CarRental/CCR.htm
To use the State's Direct Bill Account to rent a car please contact Accounting Services at 278-6680 or 278-4019 to obtain Fresno state's account information needed to complete your reservation. The direct bill account will be charged directly to the university American Express account. The traveler is to provide Accounting Services with the rental receipt. Charges for the rental will then be posted against the departmental account referencing the employee and date of rental.
When using the option of paying by the Government American Express Corporate Card the employee will need to provide the rental car company with the State of CA Account Number. Please contact Accounting Services at 278-6680 or 278-4019 to obtain Fresno State's account information.
The State contract is intended to address the business travel needs of State employees and is limited to short-term rentals up to 7 days.
Reimbursement for travel expenditures will only be made when employees use services from the State-contracted companies. In the event that employees rent from a non-contract company, the employee, not the University, will assume full legal responsibility for at-fault accidents, all damages (bodily injury, death and property damage) sustained by others as well as property damage to the rental vehicle. Therefore, if employees are conducting State business and expecting to be reimbursed for rental car expenses, they must use an authorized rental car company.
The only recognized forms of payment are the direct bill account and the university issued Government American Express Corporate Card. Cash, personal checks and personal credit cards are not authorized forms of payment for the State of California commercial car rental rates.
When using a rental car, the State contract between the authorized car rental agencies is only extended if you inform the rental company at the time of rental that the vehicle is being rented for official State of California business.
No cash advance may be requested related to a car rental.
When renting on State of California business from a State contracted rental car company, do not purchase any additional insurance. The state will not reimburse any supplemental coverage.
Rental cars should be filled with gasoline by the employee prior to returning the car to the agency.
