Use of State Vehicles

The following information is a summary of specific areas of Section 6 of JMU Policy 4303.

  1. Priority Assignments

    Normally, state vehicles will be assigned in the order in which requests are received with priority given to academic functions, official trips by faculty and staff, and trips by recognized student organizations. Forty percent of vans will be reserved for academic use and assigned in order of requests received. Van/shuttle bus service requests for Intercollegiate Athletics will be given priority for the use of 60% of university motor pool vans for the following time frames:
    • Vehicle requests submitted by August 25 for use from September 1 through January 31
    • Requests submitted by November 15 for use from February 1 through May 31.
    Remaining vans and cars will be assigned out in order of requests received.


  2. Carpooling:

    Users of state vehicles are encouraged to form carpools to the maximum extent consistent with the purpose of the travel.


  3. Requesting Vehicles:

    An employee who requests the use of a state vehicle must obtain approval from his or her department head. A member of a recognized student organization who requests the use of a state vehicle must obtain approval from the Office of Student Organization Services. Once approval has been granted, the employee or student should complete an on-line vehicle request through C.A.R.S. software system. See link to vehicle request or on-line manual for specific information requested.

    If a fleet vehicle is not available from JMU Transportation, Enterprise will be notified by a transportation department employee to obtain a vehicle. All Enterprise rentals must be arranged by Transportation Department.

    Each request for a vehicle is considered a "trip". Unique numbers are assigned to each trip. Each trip can have multiple vehicles assigned to it. Each vehicle that is assigned to a trip is given a unique record id called a "sequence".

    A request can be broken down into three separate parts:
    Trip Type - Trip No. - Sequence No. example: R-01016-02 (normal request, trip number 1016, second vehicle)


    4. Sequences are individually billed. Along with chauffeur's costs, incidentals costs and miscellaneous costs, sequence cost totals are calculated by billing the greater of either:
    • Number of days between sequence leave and return and charged a per day cost, or
    • Total number of miles driven and charged a per mile rate depending on the type of vehicle used.

    Currently, requests are created by the customer with an on-line request form called a "Trip Wizard". The trip wizard is broken into three separate parts. The first part is specific to the trip itself. The second part is information about the requester. The third part is information about the vehicle. After all three parts are submitted, the customer is presented with a trip summary page. If everything looks correct, a final submit will send the customer to a "SignaturePage" that needs to be printed. This printout needs to be signed by the Approver (from the second part of the trip wizard), that has signature authority on the Organizational account identified on page one of the trip wizard. This printout will be taken to the JMU FM Transportation Department to acquire keys to the vehicle. Vehicle keys can not be released without a signed "Signature Page".

    The JMU FM Transportation Department will review the trip and assign an appropriate vehicle to each approved sequence. An email is then generated to the requester that the trip's status is approved and that a vehicle has been assigned.

    At the time of vehicle pickup, the customer will be given the keys and a printout called a "Customer Copy". This will have a simple summary of the trip sequence and a field for the customer to enter the ending and beginning mileage. If a chauffeur is used, the chauffeur will be given the "Customer Copy" and the keys. The form automatically changes to show places for chauffeur's hours, incidental costs and other entries.

    When the trip sequence is complete, the customer drops off the "Customer Copy" along with the keys. The Transportation Department will then enter the ending and beginning mileage into C.A.R.S. along with any other costs and chauffeur's hours if used. The trip sequence will then be completed by changing the sequence status to "complete". The "Customer Copy" will be sent to JMU FM Accounting to be processed for billing.

    JMU FM Accounting will then verify the "Customer Copy" against what is in the database and submit the trip sequence for closure. A billing statement can then be printed to send to the customer, along with an ATV to JMU Accounting for billing.

  4. Cancellations/No-Shows:

    If travel plans are cancelled or a vehicle is no longer required, the Transportation Department should be contacted immediately at 568-8147 or 568-7429. Applicable cancellation or no show charges may apply. See vehicle rates/types link for specific charges.