Because FedTraveler.com is an online application accessible from any Internet connection, it can play an important role in disaster response, said Ed Murray, deputy chief financial officer at the Veterans Affairs Department.
“It would have been valuable to VA employees who had to travel to respond to the Hurricane Katrina catastrophe,” he said.
In addition to that remote access, the capability to allow others to make travel plans on behalf of the traveler would have made arrangements much easier for some responders. FedTraveler.com also allows employees with high-level access to approve documents in emergencies when other approving staff members may not be available, Murray said.
— Mary Mosquera
What users can expect
Federal employees who use the Web site FedTraveler.com to buy airline tickets and make hotel reservations for work-related travel should find plenty of similarities between the government-authorized service and commercial travel sites, such as Expedia and Travelocity, said Scott Smith, program executive for the E-Gov Travel Service at EDS, which developed FedTraveler.com.
However, there are some important differences. FedTraveler.com — and the other two government-authorized travel systems — has an automated component called Travel Authorization that checks funding and the user’s authorization to incur travel expenses.
“That doesn’t exist in Expedia and Travelocity,” Smith said.
Also, when the travel is complete, FedTraveler.com files the information in a voucher or expense report, another feature not found on consumer sites.
Travel planning can be complicated. For example, people interested in flying from Washington to Des Moines, Iowa, must choose from 58 airfares, Smith said.
“The challenge for the technologist is to make it as simple as can be,” he said. “We try to help the traveler make the best decision and stay in compliance with travel
regulations.”
— Mary Mosquera
Recent audits of travel records have revealed many examples of federal employees enjoying premium-class travel to distant destinations on trips that should have been booked with less expensive fares under government travel policies.
In a report issued last fall, the Government Accountability Office said agencies spent $146 million on improper first- and business-class travel from mid-2005 to mid-2006. The report cites an example of an executive of the Agriculture Department’s Foreign Agricultural Service who traveled roundtrip from Washington to Hong Kong at a cost of $7,000, while 11 other employees traveled in the same plane in the coach section at a cost of $1,400 each.
Such costly indulgences should become less common when agencies begin using one of three new systems that automate travel oversight under the governmentwide E-Gov Travel Service program, federal auditors said.
Until now, agencies’ electronic systems and manual travel processes have been unable to collect and track travel data adequately or consistently, making it difficult to spot problems until after the trips have been taken and the money spent, auditors said. The new electronic travel systems incorporate internal controls to prevent waste and abuse due to poor oversight.
“Managers should be able to avoid after-travel surprises,” said Ed Murray, deputy chief financial officer at the Veterans Affairs Department. VA recently adopted EDS’ FedTraveler.com, one of the systems available under the E-Gov Travel Service.
The other two systems are CW Government Travel’s E2 Solutions and Northrop Grumman’s GovTrip. Certain features are unique to each of the systems, but the core operating components are the same.
Data from the travel systems interfaces with agencies’ financial and other business systems for better management, said Tim Burke, director of travel and transportation services at the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, which oversees the E-Gov Travel Service.
All 24 major agencies have awarded contracts and are implementing one of the systems, and about 60 smaller agencies are also participating in the program, Burke said.
Cleared for takeoff The government’s self-service travel sites are similar to consumer Web sites. Using the new systems, employees can create travel plans, submit them for approval, book flights and hotels, and receive reimbursement.
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