The Biden Administration wants to lead by example so they’ve released new travel guidelines for employees of the federal government. It calls for them to use “sustainable transportation for official and local travel, both domestically and internationally.”
This is a significant development as the government is America’s largest employer and spends around $2.8 (£2.2 / €2.6) billion on business travel annually. The White House went on to say that in 2022, government employees took more than 2.8 million flights and rented 2.3 million vehicles.
Speaking of the latter, the new guidelines call for prioritizing electric vehicles when traveling. In particular, “Federal employees will rent an EV on official travel when the cost of the EV is less than or equal to the most affordable comparable vehicle available. Employees will also opt for cost-competitive EV options, where available, when using taxis and ride share platforms.” The White House says this balanced approach will save taxpayer money, while also reducing pollution.
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For medium distance trips less than 250 miles (402 km), federal employees will prioritize rail travel over taking a plane or car. However, this only applies when trains are cost-effective and available.
The government is also calling on employees to increase public transport use when “conducting local travel or upon arrival at the official travel location.” This means they’ll skip taxis and Ubers, and instead take buses or subways.
The moves won’t happen overnight as federal agencies will have 120 days to tell the Office of Management and Budget as well as the White House Council on Environmental Quality about their plans to carry out the new policy.
The White House said the moves will “accelerate the clean transportation transformation, increase good-paying union jobs, and create healthier communities.” The government went on to highlight commitments by Enterprise and Hertz to increase the number of electric vehicles available to rent.
The government also revealed BP Pulse will deploy more than 3,000 fast charging points by 2025, while EVgo will have at least 1,800 EV fast charging stalls in operation or under construction by the end of 2024 in “areas serving environmental justice communities.” Marriott and IHG Hotels & Resorts also pledged to increase the number of chargers at their hotels.
