There are three choices when an agency selects an eGov Travel System. The choices are; Carlson Wagonlit Government Travel’s E2Solutions, EDS’s Fed Traveler and Northrop Grumman Mission System’s GovTrip.
All of the eGov Travel Systems meet the minimum requirements which were defined by General Services Administration (GSA), who awarded the contract. This article will be referencing GovTrip.
GovTrip forces the travelers to comply with the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). The FTR governs the expenses the traveler is allowed to claim and the requirements which must be met in order to conduct official travel on behalf of the Government. An agency can have travel policy which is stricter than the FTR. GovTrip can be set up to reflect some of the agency’s requirements in addition to the FTR requirements. Pre-audits have been built into GovTrip to alert the traveler when they chosen incorrectly or have neglected to provide adequate information.
GovTrip has a built-in reservation module, which allows travelers/document preparers to select their airfare reservations. Travelers must have a valid justification for selecting anything other than a government city pair fare. The City Pair Program (CPP) is maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA). Each year GSA awards the contracts to the airlines. An approving official is alerted if the traveler did not use the CPP and the approving official makes the decision to approve/disapprove the trip.
GovTrip has electronic routing which allows the document to flow various levels of approval electronically, with no need for paper. GovTrip also has conditional routing. Conditional routing is set up by the administrator based on customer needs. An example of conditional routing is the selection of travel to a foreign location. The document will route to an approver who will make sure the traveler is aware of any on usual conditions, traditions or social etiquette which needs to be observed in the foreign city.
GovTrip is a very flexible and robust system and comes highly recommended.
by Debbie Sams
The contents of this message are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the Government or my agency.