travelling time for work

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Building Your Business
• Business Taxes

When Must I Pay Employees for Travel Time?

Travel Time vs. Commuting Time

Image by Jo Zixuan Zhou © The Balance 2020 

In general, your business should pay employees for the time they spend traveling for work-related activities. You don't have to pay employees for travel that is incidental to the employee's duties and time spent  commuting  (traveling between home and work). Travel time can include both local trips and travel away from home. 

Travel vs. Commuting Time 

Commuting is going back and forth to work. Everyone (at least everyone who doesn't work at home) commutes to a job. Commuting time is personal time, not business time. The IRS does not allow businesses to deduct commuting time as a business expense, and employees should not be paid for the commuting time.     

The Department of Labor (DOL) discusses employees who drive employer-provided vehicles. The DOL considers the time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not "hours worked" and, therefore, does not have to be paid.  

Here's a possible rule of thumb: If your business authorizes a trip by an employee, no matter how the employee travels (car, train, bus, etc.) you should pay for the employee's travel time. 

Travel time for hourly and salaried employees may be counted differently. Pay to employees for local travel time is only applicable to non-exempt (hourly) employees, not to exempt (professional or managerial) employees.     Exempt employees are paid for their expertise by the job, not by the hour.  

Different Types of Travel Time:

Home to Work Travel , as explained above, is commuting time, not work time, and it's not paid.

Travel on Special One Day Assignment in Another City. The DOL says "the time spent in traveling to and return from the other city is work time," but they note that you may deduct the time the employee would spend commuting.

Sara works in an office in your company, but you send her to another city on a special assignment. She leaves from her home, goes to the city, and comes back home the same day. She spends 3 hours traveling (1 1/2 hours each way) from home to the other city. She would normally spend 30 minutes total driving from her home to work and back, so you could deduct the 30 minutes and pay her for 2 1/2 hours of travel time.

Travel That's Part of the Employee's Normal Work. Time an employee spends traveling is part of the job. You must count this time as work time. The time the employee spends going to the first job site, and home from the last job site, is commuting time and isn't paid.  

An LPN (licensed professional nurse) works for a nursing facility and travels between the two locations of this facility, providing care for patients at both locations. Her daily travel time between these locations must be included in her pay because she is not commuting. But she can't count the time driving from home to the first location or the time back home from the last location.

Travel Away from Home. If travel includes an overnight stay it is travel time. The DOL doesn't include travel away from home outside regular hours as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or car as work time. But you must count hours worked on regular working days and work hours on nonworking days (weekends and holidays).  

If an employee travels from Cleveland to Pittsburgh for a two-day seminar at the direction of your company, you must pay for the hours the employee would have worked in a normal workday for each of those days, even if they were on Saturday or Sunday.

Incidental vs. Work Travel: Paid or Not Paid?

• An employee drives to work from his home every day. You ask him to stop on his way and pick up bagels for the staff meeting. This driving time is not paid. Time commuting to work is never paid time; the time to stop for the bagels is "incidental" to the commuting and is not part of the employee's job. 
• You ask an employee to drive to a store on work time to get bagels for the office meeting. If the employee makes this trip during normal work hours, he or she should be paid. 

Also, you might want to contact an employment attorney to discuss these issues. 

Paying for Travel Expenses

In addition to paying employees for travel time, you should pay their expenses for travel. The Department of Labor doesn't require reimbursement for travel expenses, but it makes sense to pay employees if you require them to travel.   Your business can deduct employee travel expenses as a business expense.   If employees mix business and personal travel, you need to sort out the part that is business-related and pay only these expenses. 

State Regulations on Paying for Employee Travel

Check with your state labor department to see if there are any rules which might override the federal rules. Contact the nearest local office of the U.S. Department of Labor for information on specific instances of travel time that affect your business.

Internal Revenue Service. " Publication 535 (2019): Business Expenses ," Page 5. Accessed May 26, 2020.

Internal Revenue Service. " Travel & Entertainment Expenses ," Page 3. Accessed May 26, 2020.

U.S. Department of Labor. " Travel Time ." Accessed May 26, 2020.

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. " Travel Time ." Accessed May 26, 2020.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. " Fact Sheet: Hours of Work for Travel ." Accessed May 26, 2020.

U.S. Department of Labor. " Fact Sheet #17D: Exemption for Professional Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ," Pages 1-3. Accessed May 26, 2020.

U.S. Department of Labor. " Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ." Accessed May 26, 2020.

U.S. Department of Labor. " Opinion Letter FLSA 2018 ," Page 2. Accessed May 26, 2020.

U.S. Department of Labor. " Reimbursed Travel Expense Payments ," Page 1. Accessed May 26, 2020.

Internal Revenue Service. " Topic No. 511 Business Travel Expenses ." Accessed May 26, 2020.

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Ease Back into Traveling for Work

• Elizabeth Grace Saunders

Four strategies for your next business trip.

Transitioning back into business travel after the Covid-19 pandemic isn’t as simple as buying a plane ticket. Individuals are having to remember how to pack efficiently, adjust to time zone changes, and modify their meeting schedules — and that’s on top of monitoring differences in travel restrictions, quarantine requirements, and Covid risk levels throughout the world.

Use these strategies to transition back into work travel. First, evaluate the benefit. Think carefully about where you believe travel would add the greatest benefit versus working remotely. Second, right size the investment. Even as you’re able to fold more business travel into your schedule, question whether all the travel you used to do really needs to be added back in. Third, pace yourself by starting small, and then building up after you see how you feel. Finally, leave margin. If you’ve got important business travel, give yourself more flexibility than you used to do, and make sure you have access to everything you need, like food and car rentals.

In 2020, with the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions, travel dramatically dropped domestically and internationally, with business travel down by 90% at the lowest point in the year. Now, as more and more individuals are returning to the office, work travel is coming back. But it’s not all clear skies. As a time management coach, I’ve seen that returning to business travel can be almost as disorienting after a two-year hiatus as the sudden lurch into fully remote work was. My clients are having to remember how to pack efficiently, adjust to time zone changes, and modify their meeting schedules when they’re now on the road for work.

• ES Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time management coach and the founder of Real Life E Time Coaching & Speaking . She is the author of How to Invest Your Time Like Money and Divine Time Management . Find out more at RealLifeE.com .

Partner Center

DOL Explains When Employees Must Be Paid for Travel Time

Jul 6, 2018

Eighty years ago the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) established federal minimum wage and overtime requirements for hourly employees. The law’s basic tenet seems straightforward: Employers must pay employees for their “work.” Yet for many employers, compliance with the FLSA on issues such as employee travel time continues to be problematic because the FLSA does not really explain when an employee is at “work.”

The FLSA and Portal-to-Portal Act

The Supreme Court initially explained that “work” time means when an employee’s activities are controlled or required primarily for the benefit of the employer. Congress subsequently added some specifics to the Supreme Court’s expansive definition. The Portal-to-Portal Act, an amendment to the FLSA, provides that employee work time does not include:

(1) Travel to and from the actual place of performance of the principal activity the employee is employed to perform; or

(2) Activities that are undertaken before or after the employee’s principal work activity.

Three Scenarios and DOL’s Opinion Letter FLSA 2018-18

Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an opinion letter in response to a company’s questions about travel time pay for a group of hourly employees who repair, inspect and test construction cranes. The employees do not have a fixed work location; they travel to various customer locations each day. They usually work eight to twelve hour days servicing cranes, and generally start work at around 7:00 a.m. Depending on the availability of parts and other factors, the employees may need to stay in a hotel overnight and return in the morning to complete a job. Employees are provided company vehicles that may be used for both work and personal matters.

Three travel time scenarios were considered by the DOL:

(1) Employee travel time from home to the company’s office, using a company vehicle, to obtain a job itinerary and then continue on to various customer locations. Travel time from home to office varies from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on where the employee lives.

(2) Employee travel time from home directly to a customer location; and

(3) Employee travel time by plane on a Sunday from home to an out-of-state destination for a company training that begins at 8:00 a.m. on Monday. The training continues through Friday, with return travel home on Friday after class, or occasionally on Saturday, depending on flight availability.

The first two scenarios involve common commutes to and from work. Under the Portal-to-Portal Act, employees do not need to be paid for time spent commuting between home and work. This generally holds true, even when the employee travels directly from home to different job sites, unless the commute time involved is extraordinary. Once the employee has arrived at the job, however, FLSA regulations require payment for all travel time between job sites during the day. Use of a company-provided vehicle within the normal commuting area typically does not convert the employee’s ordinary commute into compensable work time.

Scenario three implicated how to account for employee travel time away from home, both on the weekend and overnight. Travel away from home is clearly worktime when it cuts across the employee’s usual work day; the employee is simply substituting travel for usual job duties. This also includes travel time on Saturday and Sunday that corresponds to the employee’s normal working hours on other days of the week. The DOL also noted that an employee must be paid for all time the employee is actually required to work while on travel, irrespective of whether or not it falls within the employee’s regular work day.

What Does this Mean to You?

Calculating employee travel time can pose a significant challenge for many employers. There are multiple factors you must take into account, even when an employee is traveling within his home territory. There are no bright lines to establish when an employee has strayed outside his normal commuting area, converting what would have been an unpaid commute into time on the clock. The FLSA requires employers to maintain accurate time records for employees; a failure to do so can result in significant statutory damages and attorneys’ fees.

If you find yourself facing such employee travel circumstances as described here, the employment law attorneys at Bean, Kinney & Korman can assist in evaluating your company’s particular environment and help craft a reasonable solution that will address the situation.

• R. Douglas Taylor, Jr.

Related Practices Areas

• Business & Finance

Related Industries

• Associations & Nonprofit Organizations
• Professional & Licensed Occupations
• Retailers & Restaurateurs
• Small, Emerging & Growing Businesses

An official website of the United States government.

Here’s how you know

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Misclassification
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Pump at Work
• Maternal Health
• Retaliation
• Government Contracts
• Immigration
• Child Labor
• Agricultural Employment
• Subminimum Wage
• Employment of Workers With Disabilities
• Lie Detector Tests
• WORKER RIGHTS
• Resources For Employers
• Regulatory Library
• Interpretive Guidance
• Industry-Specific Resources
• Compliance Assistance
• elaws Advisors
• Fact Sheets
• New and Small Businesses Resources
• Presentations
• External User Portal (EUP)
• Compliance Assistance Toolkits
• New and Small Business Resources
• Publications By Language
• FLSA Compliance Videos
• Know Your Rights Video Series
• Employer.gov
• DOL Enforcement Database
• Workers Owed Wages
• Order Publications
• Laws and Regulations
• Field Handbook
• Administrator Interpretations, Opinion and Ruling Letters
• Field Bulletins
• State Minimum Wage Laws
• State Labor Law Topics
• State Labor Offices
• Resources for State and Local Governments
• NEWS RELEASES
• Travel Time
• Credit toward Wages under Section 3(m) of the FLSA for Lodging Provided to Employees
• Domestic Service Final Rule Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Domestic Service Workers Under the Fair Labor Standards Act: Fact Sheets
• Exclusion of Sleep Time from Hours Worked by Domestic Service Employees
• For Agencies and Other Employers
• For Individuals and Families
• For Workers
• Home Care: Additional Resources
• Medicaid Shared Living Programs
• Paying Minimum Wage and Overtime to Home Care Workers: A Guide for Consumers and their Families to the FLSA
• Rest Breaks and Meal Breaks
• What are the minimum wage, overtime pay, and recordkeeping requirements?

A worker who travels from home to work and returns to his or her home at the end of the workday is engaged in ordinary home-to-work travel which is a normal incident of employment. Normal travel from home to work and return at the end of the workday is not work time. This is true whether the employee works at a fixed location or at a different location each day. For live-in workers, home-to-work travel that is typically unpaid does not apply in this case because the employee begins and ends his or her workday at the same home in which he or she resides.

Travel that is all in a day's work, however, is considered hours worked and must be paid.

Example : Barbara is a personal care aide providing assistance to Mr. Jones. Barbara drives him to the Post Office and grocery store during the workday. Barbara is working and the travel time must be paid. Travel away from the home is clearly work time when it cuts across the employee's workday. The employee is merely substituting travel for other duties. Thus, if an employee hired to provide home care services to an individual (consumer) accompanies that consumer on travel away from home, the employee must be paid for all time spent traveling during the employee's regular working hours. As an enforcement policy, WHD will not consider as work time the time the employee spends as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus or automobile when in travel away from home outside of regular working hours. However, the employee must be paid for all hours engaged in work or "engaged to wait" while on travel. For example, an employee who is required to travel as a passenger with the consumer "as an assistant or helper" and is expected to perform services as needed is working even though traveling outside of the employee's regular work hours. However, periods where the employee is completely relieved from duty, which are long enough to enable him or her to use the time effectively for his or her own purposes, are not hours worked and need not be compensated.

Example : John is a personal attendant for Mrs. Brown, who lives in Atlanta. Mrs. Brown attends a conference in New York City and John accompanies her by plane. John normally works 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Mrs. Brown's daughter takes her to the airport where they meet John for the flight at 6:00 pm. WHD will not consider the flight time as compensable hours because it is time spent in travel away from home outside of regular working hours as a passenger on an airplane if John is completely relieved from duty. If John provides assistance to Mrs. Brown while at the airport or during the flight or must be available to assist or help as needed, he is working and must be compensated for this time.

Direct care workers who are employed by a third-party employer : Such an employee who travels from home to work and returns to his or her home at the end of the workday is engaged in ordinary home-to-work travel that is not compensable work time. However, travel from job site to job site during the workday, such as travel between several clients during the workday, is compensable hours worked. The third-party employer is responsible for ensuring that travel time from job site to job site is paid.

For Agencies

Let's Talk: (844) 800 - 2211

Remembering Shay Litvak Our Co-Founder and CTO

November 1979 - September 2023

When Do Employers Have to Pay Employees for Travel Time?

Deanna deBara

For some small businesses, traveling to meet clients, make sales, and manage day-to-day activities is a must. For others, traveling is valuable for attending conferences, participating in networking events, or undergoing specialized training.

But if it's your employees doing the traveling, do you need to pay them for that time? Whatever your preferences are as a small business owner, the  legal  answer is: that depends.

Let's explore when you need to provide travel time pay for hourly employees, which employees are entitled to that pay, and, if they are entitled, how much you'll need to pay them. 

Who Is Entitled to Travel Pay?

All  non-exempt employees  are entitled to travel pay during normal work hours and when they are actively working outside of those hours. They aren't entitled to travel pay for doing their typical commute, according to the  Fair Labor Standards Act  (FLSA).

Non-exempt employees are typically paid an  hourly wage  and are paid less than $684 per week or $35,568 per year. 

These rules don't apply to exempt employees, and therefore it's up to you whether you want to pay them to travel.

What's more—your state may have some extra rules, so make sure to check your state's Department of Labor or Wage and Hour Division website.

When Do You Have to Provide Travel Time Pay for Hourly Employees?

But when, exactly, are these employees paid to travel? Compensable work time needs to be paid when employees travel:

• Locally: You need to pay employees when they travel locally as part of their regular duties (for example, from your office to a supply store). And if that travel happens outside of the employee's regular workday hours (even if they're only waiting to travel, like sitting at a bus stop or train station)? You still need to pay.
• Between worksites: Employees get travel pay when traveling between worksites. For example, a courier who transports materials between different job sites must be paid for the time spent traveling. Similarly, plumbers who travel between customers' homes are eligible for travel pay.
• For special one-day assignments: You must provide travel pay for hourly employees who travel out of town, even if they return home at the end of the workday—though you can deduct the employee's normal commute time from the total payment. For example, let's say an employee spends a total of two hours traveling to and from a work conference (which takes place during normal working hours). Because her typical daily commute takes 30 minutes, you would only need to pay for 1.5 hours of traveling (in addition to regular hourly wages).
• Overnight: Employees traveling overnight are due travel pay during their regular working hours and any time they spend working outside of those regular hours (for example, participating in late-night conference calls while on a train). You also need to pay employees for traveling during their regular working hours, even on non-working days, like weekends, holidays, or their normal days off.

Bonus tip : The best way to track travel time for your employees? Time tracking software like  Hourly . Workers clock in right from their phones, and the platform automatically tracks their location, hours and what project they're working on—which you can see in real-time. Another perk? You can run payroll with the click of a button.

How Much Do You Have to Pay Employees for Travel Time?

Employees traveling for work need to be paid at least the minimum wage, but they can be paid more or less than their normal pay rate.  

If you want to pay a different rate than an employee's hourly wage, you'll need to:

• Tell the employee they will be paid a different rate before they begin their trip.
• Make sure the hourly rate for travel pay doesn't cause the employee's total pay for all workable hours to  fall below minimum wage  (state, local or federal—whichever is highest) or result in incorrect overtime pay.
• Ensure that you're not violating their employment contract.

This gives you the flexibility to offer a higher rate of pay as an incentive for traveling outside of regular business hours—or, if you decide to pay less than their typical rate (but still minimum wage or above!), it can help make sure that paying for travel won't interrupt your cash flow or cause other financial concerns for your company.

Ready to transform your business into a profit-pumping machine? Learn how with our monthly newsletter.

Subscription implies consent to our privacy policy.

When Do You NOT Have to Provide Travel Time Pay for Hourly Employees?

Exempt employees—like outside salespeople, executives, managers, administrators, and even IT personnel—aren't entitled to travel pay. And non-exempt workers? They're  not eligible for travel pay  when they are:

• Commuting: An employee's commute—the time spent driving from their home to work (and from work to home)—doesn't qualify as travel time. This also includes the time spent driving from accommodations/lodging (like a hotel) to a work location, like a client's office or conference center.
• On break or during personal time : Non-exempt employees aren't entitled to travel pay during breaks (including meal periods and time spent sleeping) or when they can spend their time how they see fit. In other words, you don't need to pay for traveling during the time an employee can go shopping, sightseeing, or out to eat.
• Away from work and not working : Employees on overnight travel or business trips don't need to be paid outside of regular working hours  unless  they're working during that time period. For example, an employee who regularly works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday only needs to be paid for traveling on a Saturday if they travel during their normal working hours (i.e., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)—unless they're working  outside  of those hours too (like answering customer support emails or counting inventory).
• A passenger: You don't need to pay for travel when an employee is a passenger (in any sort of vehicle) and isn't doing work outside of regular work hours. The only exceptions occur when you  require  an employee to drive the vehicle or be actively engaged in working (like riding to a job site while handling customer calls or riding as a passenger in a client's vehicle).
• Choosing to drive themselves : If you offer to pay for an employee's travel method (like airfare, a bus ticket, or a train ticket) and the employee requests to drive instead, the employee is only entitled to travel pay while driving during their regular work hours. In other words, if an employee requests to drive themselves vs. taking public transit, you don't need to pay for travel outside of the employee's regular shift.

In other words, a non-exempt employee  isn't entitled to travel pay  unless they are driving, traveling during their normal working hours, or actively working while traveling.

Does Travel Time Count Towards Overtime?

Yes, travel time counts toward overtime, and you'd owe them 1.5 times their regular rate for any hours worked over 40 while they're traveling.

What if your pay rate for traveling is different from an employee's regular wages? Then it gets a little more complicated. 

In that case, you need to use the weighted average of the two overtime rates to get their final pay. Here's an example: 

Let's imagine one of your employees is pulling a 40-hour week at the office. Their rate? $15 per hour. So that gives them $600 for their regular workweek (that's 40 hours multiplied by $15 per hour). Now, during that same week, they also spent 8 hours traveling as overtime, for which you're paying them $11.25 per hour. This gives them an extra $90 (which is 8 hours multiplied by $11.25 per hour).

Add these together, and their total straight-time pay for the week is $690.

Now, to figure out their average rate for the week (including travel time and regular office time), you need to divide this total pay by their total hours worked. In this case, it's 48 hours in total (40 regular hours plus 8 overtime hours). So, $690 divided by 48 hours gives you a weighted average rate of $14.375 per hour.

But they've already been paid for all 48 hours at their respective rates, right? For the 8 hours of overtime, what you owe them is an extra half of that weighted average rate. That's what we call the "overtime premium." Half of $14.375 is about $7.19. So, the overtime pay would be 8 hours (overtime) times $7.19, which comes out to $57.52.

To get their final paycheck, you add this overtime pay to their straight-time pay. So, $690 (straight-time pay) plus $57.52 (overtime pay) equals $747.52. As a business owner, using the weighted average method to calculate the overtime rate, you'd be paying out $747.52 for this employee's week of work, including their overtime.

Additionally, if you pay for travel time that isn't  required  to be paid (like commuting), you  can't count them as hours worked  for overtime purposes.

Travel Time Pay Best Practices

Handling travel pay can be complex and difficult at first. But it doesn't have to be! Use these best practices to simplify paying your employees for working on the go.

Create a Travel Policy

If your small business sends employees to different locations, you need to establish a written travel policy—and include it in your employee handbook. 

Your travel policy should outline which situations result in compensable travel time (like attending conferences or visiting different job sites), as well as any exclusions where employees won't be compensated (like an employee's regular commute or traveling as a passenger on non-working days).

If you pay a different hourly rate for time spent traveling, make sure to include it in your policy. Then, have employees sign the policy to acknowledge they understand it and agree to its terms—and then add the signed document to their employee file.

Track Hours Traveled

As a small business owner, you need to track employee travel time to follow  labor laws  and make sure their paychecks are accurate. 

Though you can ask employees to record and document the time they spend traveling—which can help you make sure your records are accurate—the responsibility for doing so is ultimately on you.

Pay for or Reimburse Travel Expenses

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) doesn't require you to pay for your employee's travel expenses.

Still, if you're sending your employees out of town, you  should  pay for the cost of travel—like tickets and lodging. 

If you don't, your employees are almost guaranteed to get frustrated that they have to pay for expenses out of pocket—and that frustration could lead to issues with employee engagement and retention.

When writing your travel policy, outline which travel expenses your company covers. If you expect employees to front some or all of the travel expenses, detail your procedure for requesting reimbursement and how to track expenses (like mileage or airfare).

You might also want to provide some form of  per diem  or stipend that helps employees pay for small travel expenses, like food. 

This can either be an allowance per meal period (like $15 for breakfast, $20 for lunch, and $40 for dinner) or a specific amount that the employee can use throughout the trip (like $50 per day or $150 for the weekend). Have your employees save and submit their receipts to avoid taxation. You can also consider a company card to lessen the burden on your team's bank account.

Check With Your State's Laws

In addition to federal law, some state laws apply additional regulations to travel time. This means rules can vary based on the state you operate in. For example,  compensable work time  in California includes riding as a passenger in a vehicle when traveling for work.

But which set of employment laws should you follow? You should apply the set of rules that provide the highest payment to your employees. So, if your state regulations specify that certain activities qualify as compensable—even if the FLSA does not—you need to pay for time spent traveling.

(For guidance about your state's specific laws and guidelines, contact your  state's Department of Labor  and local  Wage and Hour Division .)

FAQs About Travel Time Pay for Hourly Employees

Do remote/hybrid workers qualify for travel pay.

A  remote or hybrid worker  qualifies for travel pay when you require them to travel to your place of business or another venue (like a conference hall, training facility, or client location) and they:

• Live far away from the regular worksite (requiring an overnight stay or significant travel time)
• Are only expected to work on-site by request or on a day they're not normally required to be on-site

However, remote/hybrid workers  aren't  entitled to travel pay when:

• Your policy specifies that both an employee's home/remote office and your office are considered primary work locations
• They are expected to work on-location on certain days
• The time spent traveling to the office is considered an employee's commute (even if they are a remote or hybrid worker)

Do employees who drive/travel as part of their job qualify for travel pay?

The  FLSA requires  you to pay employees their regular hourly wages when they are driving or traveling as part of their job responsibilities. For example, bus or delivery drivers should be paid their regular wages while on the job.

Compensating Your Employees for Traveling Doesn't Need to Be Difficult

Traveling for business can take a toll—both on the road and off. Paying travel time for hourly employees can incentivize them to hit the road when necessary and make up for the time they spend away from their families and lives. 

Once you've determined which employees qualify for travel time pay, implement a clear travel policy (that adheres to state and federal law) and use management tools (like  Hourly !) to maintain accurate records and compensate your employees for time spent traveling.

7 Common Payroll Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

2023 and 2024 Biweekly Payroll Calendar Templates

What are Pre-Tax and Post-Tax Payroll Deductions?

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Office of Human Resources Management

• Practitioners
• Compensation Policies
• Premium Pay

Was this page helpful?

Travel time as hours of work, applicability.

This information applies to GS, FP, and FWS EXEMPT and NONEXEMPT employees.

When is Travel Compensable

Time in a travel status away from the official duty station is compensable for EXEMPT and NONEXEMPT employees when the travel is performed within the regularly scheduled administrative workweek, including regularly scheduled overtime. In addition, travel is compensable for both categories of employees for purposes of meeting the daily and weekly overtime standards when it:

• Involves the performance of work while traveling, (e.g., as a chauffeur or courier);
• Is incident to work performed while traveling (e.g., a courier's travel relative to the spot where further travel to deliver a diplomatic pouch would begin);
• Is carried out under such arduous and unusual conditions that the travel is inseparable from work; or
• Results from an event which could not be scheduled or controlled administratively, including travel by an employee to such an event and the employee's return from such an event to his or her official duty station.

For a NONEXEMPT employee, travel meeting the weekly overtime standard (but not the daily overtime standard) also includes:

• Travel as a passenger on an overnight assignment during hours on nonworkdays which correspond to regular working hours; and
• One-day travel as a passenger to and from a temporary duty station (not including travel between home and the employee's normal duty station).

Who Makes the Determination

Officials to whom authority has been delegated to authorize or approve travel on official business are responsible for determining whether travel outside the regularly scheduled workweek meets any of the conditions for hours of work.

How Much Travel Time is Creditable For Pay

When travel outside the normal workweek constitutes hours of work, the following rules will apply in determining the amount of time in a travel status that is deemed hours of work for premium pay:

When is an employee in travel status . An employee is in a travel status only for those hours actually traveling between the official duty station and the point of destination, or between two temporary duty points, and the usual waiting time which interrupts travel.

When traveling by common carrier . Time in a travel status begins with the scheduled time of departure from the common carrier terminal, and ends upon arrival at the common carrier terminal located at the destination. However, when the employee spends 1 hour or more in travel between the common carrier terminal and place of business or residence, then the entire time traveling between the carrier terminal and place of business or residence (that is actual time traveling, exclusive of waiting time at the terminal prior to the scheduled departure time) counts as hours of work.

Waiting time . Usual waiting time between segments of a trip or at common carrier terminals counts as worktime for premium pay (up to 3 hours in unusually adverse circumstances, e.g., holiday air traffic, severe weather) provided travel away from the duty station is compensable because it meets any of the conditions of this Section.

Authority to Order Noncompensable Travel

Congress has not provided a remedy whereby an EXEMPT employee who performs official but noncompensable hours of travel may be compensated (57 Comp. Gen. 43, 50, 1977). A manager does, however, have the authority to schedule official travel that is noncompensable. As a requirement of 5 CFR 610.123, the manager must record the reasons for ordering such travel in a memo to be filed with the employee's Time and Attendance Report (T&A). A copy of the memo must be given the employee if the employee requests it.

Work performed while traveling . In order to meet the intent of the law as defined in the majority of Comptroller General decisions, work performed while traveling must be work which is inherent in the employee's job and which can only be performed while traveling, e.g., chauffeuring, hurricane reconnaissance performed aboard a plane flying into the eye of the hurricane, etc. Discretionary work such as review of a scientific presentation by a scientist or treaty papers by a foreign service officer enroute to a meeting is work which could be performed in an office independently of travel and does not satisfy the definition of work while traveling and is, therefore, not compensable for purposes of overtime. (B-146288, January 3, 1975)

Work incident to work performed while traveling . Travel which is incident to work performed while traveling must also meet the definition of "work performed while traveling" above. Travel which is necessary to meet another mode of travel is compensable for overtime purposes if the traveler performs work while traveling which is an inherent part of the job and which could only be performed while traveling, for example, a motor vehicle operator who is ordered to travel by plane in order to take responsibility for a truck which he or she is then to deliver to its permanent location (57 Comp. Gen. 43 (1977), or a courier who travels to pick up and deliver a pouch (B-178458, dated June 22, 1973). Travel and incidental transport of files is not within the definition since the transportation of files is work not inherent in the job (B-181632, dated April 1, 1975).

Travel under arduous conditions . Arduous means more than the inconvenience associated with long travel delays, unbroken travel, unpleasant weather, or bad roads. Prolonged travel in heavy blowing snow which makes driving difficult but stops short of endangering the employee might be considered arduous. A distinction must be made between travel which is arduous and travel which is hazardous duty. Each case must be judged on its own merits (B-193623,

July 23, 1979).

Travel resulting from an event which could not be administratively scheduled or controlled . An event that cannot be administratively scheduled or controlled implies immediate official necessity for travel. If it is discretionary when the employee begins travel, not including the minimum necessary time to make travel arrangements, the notion of immediate necessity which is implied by an event that could not be scheduled or controlled is lacking and the intent of the law as defined by the General Accounting Office is not satisfied. Therefore, time spent in such travel would not be compensable for overtime purposes

(B-186005, August 31, 1976).

Within the agency's administrative control . Whether the scheduling or timing of the event that precipitates an employee's travel was within the administrative control of the agency is strictly interpreted in decisions of the Comptroller General (CG). Travel on overtime to and from a meeting arranged at the discretion of two Federal agencies is not compensable since agencies have it within their power to ensure that the employee travels during work time (B-146288, January 3, 1975 et alia).

For the same reason, travel to and from training which is conducted by the government, under government contract or by a private institution solely for the benefit* of the government is not compensable since the government has it within its power to ensure that the start and end times of such training allow the employee to travel on work time (B-190494, May 8, 1978; also, 66 CG 620, 1987).

*In William A. Lewis et al, 69 CG 545 (1990). The CG ruled travel on overtime to and from training that is given by a private institution is compensable because government cannot control the private institution or its scheduling of the course. The Lewis opinion further held that the notion of "immediate official necessity for travel" which prior CG decisions have held must be present in travel which responds to an event that is not schedulable or controllable was established by the start time of the class. To be present when the class began, the employees had to travel on Sunday.

NOTE : The regulations which govern training time which is compensable as overtime and travel to and from training are separate and distinct. The circumstances under which premium pay may be paid while an individual is in training are covered in the section titled Premium Pay and Training.

Meeting abroad - a matter of accommodation . An employee's claim for overtime compensation for travel overseas to be present at the opening of a conference with representatives of a foreign government was disallowed. Although the employee's agency indirectly scheduled the meeting through the USAID Mission, the Comptroller General ruled the lack of governmental control envisioned by law and regulation for travel on overtime to be deemed compensable was not present. (Gerald C. Holst, B-202694, January 4, 1982; and B-222700, dated October 17, 1986).

NOTE : The Lewis decision (see discussion above) precipitated a review of CG decisions with the result that government control of events was sufficient to validate all previous decisions except one: Gerald C. Holst, was overruled. In overruling the 1986 decision, the Comptroller General found the agency to lack control of the scheduling of the meeting to an appreciable degree. Further, the start time of the opening conference established the immediate official necessity for travel. Travel, was, therefore, compensable.

Failure to plan . An employee who travels outside his or her normal tour of duty to perform maintenance on equipment so that the equipment can perform necessary functions in accordance with operational deadlines is not performing compensable travel if the maintenance responds to gradual deterioration which could have been prevented if maintenance was scheduled on a timely basis (49 Comp. Gen. 209, 1969).

Two-day per diem rule . An employee may be required to travel on his or her own time if in order to allow the employee to travel during working hours, the agency would be required to pay two days or more per diem. However, the two-day per diem rule does not of itself support an entitlement to overtime compensation for the employee. To be compensable at the overtime rate, travel must respond to an event that could not be scheduled or controlled administratively and there must be an immediate official necessity for the travel to be performed outside the employee's regular duty hours (60 Comp. Gen. 681, 1981).

Return travel . When an employee performs compensable overtime by traveling to an event which could not be controlled or scheduled, he or she is automatically eligible for compensation for return travel to his or her duty station.

Disparity in hours of work means disparate overtime entitlement . Because FLSA provides two situations in which a NONEXEMPT employee, but not an EXEMPT employee, can be paid for travel on overtime hours, (specifically, during hours on nonworkdays which correspond to regular working hours and for one-day travel as a passenger to and from a temporary duty station), it is possible for a NONEXEMPT employee to be paid for travel when an EXEMPT employee in the same situation is ineligible for overtime pay.

Share this page

Published on 20 Sep 2019

• Travel time to work law

Helen H In-House Employment Lawyer Helen has over 14 years of experience advising businesses on all aspects of employment law.

• Day to Day HR

As a small business owner, it can be tricky keeping up to date with different employment laws. Sometimes it seems as if the rules are constantly changing, particularly around hours and holidays, and this can cause a lot of worries for employers who don’t want to risk a tribunal claim. Today we talk about travel time to work and what the law says.

The laws around travelling for work, and if this counts as ‘working time’, can seem complicated. We’ve put together this article in order to answer any questions you have and restore your confidence that you’re doing things right.

Is travel time considered work time?

To understand the laws around when ‘travel time’ counts as working time, there are two key rulings you need to know about.

1. Working Time Regulations 1998

Does commuting time count as working time? Answer: No.

This UK law (not including Northern Ireland) states that time spent commuting to and from the workplace does not count as part of the working day. This is because employees are not at the employer’s disposal when commuting, and don’t have to carry out any duties while doing so.

2. European Court of Justice ruling 2015

Should travel time for mobile workers be counted as working time? Answer: Yes.

The outcome of this ruling was that any workers without a fixed place of work, who travel between clients and appointments from their home, should have that travel counted as part of their working time.

The reason for the ruling is that these types of workers are having to follow a set schedule and are at the disposal of their employers, carrying out their duties on behalf of the business they work for. They have no control over where they travel to and are not able to spend their time freely.

Therefore, the court ruled that their travel time needed to count as working time so that they would be entitled to the legal amount of rest periods within their full work day.

How to know if the travel time laws affect your business

Whether these rulings affect your business will depend on the nature of how your employees work and how much control they have over their work days. Generally speaking, if your employee has to follow a tight schedule of appointments set out by you or their line manager, then their travel will probably count as working time.

An individual’s travel is unlikely to count as working time if they:

• have the flexibility to manage their own work schedule
• are self-employed
• are a contractor.

Get expert HR advice

Our HR consultants can help guide you through your employee issues.

Like our style?

20th Sep 2019

The Working Time Directive explained

8th May 2019

Holiday pay: When to include overtime in calculations?

24th Sep 2019

Holiday entitlement during notice period

Get help with your HR

Get free employment law alerts.

• Email Address *
• I'm happy to hear from citrusHR about improving HR in my business.

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• A–Z Index
• Operating Status

Resources For

• New / Prospective Employees
• Federal Employees
• HR Professionals

Hours of Work for Travel

Fact sheet: hours of work for travel, description.

In limited circumstances, travel time may be considered hours of work. The rules on travel hours of work depend on whether an employee is covered by or exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). For FLSA-exempt employees, the crediting of travel time as hours of work is governed under title 5 rules-in particular, 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2) and 5544(a)(3) and 5 CFR 550.112(g) and (j). For FLSA-covered employees, travel time is credited if it is qualifying hours of work under either the title 5 rules or under OPM's FLSA regulations-in particular, 5 CFR 551.401(h) and 551.422.

Employee Coverage

Title 5 overtime laws and regulations apply to most FLSA-exempt Federal employees, including General Schedule and prevailing rate employees. Certain employees, such as members of the Senior Executive Service, are not eligible for overtime pay or other premium pay under title 5. (See 5 U.S.C. 5541(2) and 5 CFR 550.101 for coverage rules.)

OPM's FLSA regulations apply to most FLSA-covered Federal employees. (See 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2) and 5544(a)(3) and 5 CFR 551.102.) An employee may determine his or her FLSA status by checking block 35 of the most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) to find out whether his or her position is nonexempt (N) or exempt (E) from the overtime pay provisions of the FLSA. Alternatively, an employee may obtain a determination from his or her servicing personnel office.

Overtime Work

In general, overtime hours are hours of work that are ordered or approved (or are "suffered or permitted" for FLSA-covered employees) and are performed by an employee in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek. (See 5 U.S.C. 5542(a), 5544(a), and 6121(6) and (7), and 5 CFR 550.111 and 551.501. Note exceptions.)

Travel That is Hours of Work Under Title 5

Under 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2) and 5 CFR 550.112(g), official travel away from an employee's official duty station is hours of work if the travel is-

• within the days and hours of the employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek, including regularly scheduled overtime hours, or
• involves the performance of work while traveling (such as driving a loaded truck);
• is incident to travel that involves the performance of work while traveling (such as driving an empty truck back to the point of origin);
• is carried out under arduous and unusual conditions (e.g., travel on rough terrain or under extremely severe weather conditions); or
• results from an event that could not be scheduled or controlled administratively by any individual or agency in the executive branch of Government (such as training scheduled solely by a private firm or a job-related court appearance required by a court subpoena).

An agency may not adjust an employee's normal regularly scheduled administrative workweek solely to include travel hours that would not otherwise be considered hours of work.

Travel That is Hours of Work Under the FLSA

For FLSA-covered employees, time spent traveling is hours of work if-

• an employee is required to travel during regular working hours (i.e., during the regularly scheduled administrative workweek);
• an employee is required to work during travel (e.g., by being required to drive a Government vehicle as part of a work assignment);
• an employee is required to travel as a passenger on a 1-day assignment away from the official duty station; or
• an employee is required to travel as a passenger on an overnight assignment away from the official duty station during hours on nonworkdays that correspond to the employee's regular working hours. (See 5 CFR 551.422(a).)

Official Duty Station

"Official duty station" is defined in 5 CFR 550.112(j) and 551.422(d). An agency may prescribe a mileage radius of not greater than 50 miles to determine whether an employee's travel is within or outside the limits of the employee's official duty station for determining entitlement to overtime pay for travel.

Administrative Workweek

An administrative workweek is a period of 7 consecutive calendar days designated in advance by the head of an agency under 5 U.S.C. 6101. The regularly scheduled administrative workweek is the period within the administrative workweek during which the employee is scheduled to work in advance of the administrative workweek. (See definitions in 5 CFR 610.102. See also 5 CFR 550.103 and 551.421.)

Commuting Time

For FLSA-covered employees, normal commuting time from home to work and from work to home is not hours of work. (See 5 CFR 551.422(b).) However, commuting time may be hours of work to the extent that the employee is required to perform substantial work under the control and direction of the employing agency-i.e., productive work of a significant nature that is an integral and indispensable part of the employee's principal activities. The fact that an employee is driving a Government vehicle in commuting to and from work is not a basis for determining that commuting time is hours of work. (See Bobo decision cited in the References section.)

Similarly, for FLSA-exempt employees, normal commuting time from home to work and from work to home is not hours of work. (See 5 CFR 550.112(j)(2).) However, commuting time may be hours of work to the extent that the employee is officially ordered or approved to perform substantial work while commuting.

Normal "home-to-work/work-to-home" commuting includes travel between an employee's home and a temporary duty location within the limits of the employee's official duty station. For an employee assigned to a temporary duty station overnight, normal "home-to-work/work-to-home" commuting also includes travel between the employee's temporary place of lodging and a work site within the limits of the temporary duty station.

If an employee (whether FLSA-covered or exempt) is required to travel directly between home and a temporary duty location outside the limits of the employee's official duty station, the time the employee would have spent in normal commuting must be deducted from any hours of work outside the regularly scheduled administrative workweek (or, for FLSA covered employees, outside corresponding hours on a nonwork day) that may be credited for the travel time. (The travel time is credited as hours of work only as allowed under the applicable rules-e.g., for an FLSA-covered employee, if the travel is part of a 1-day assignment away from the official duty station.)

• 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2) (General Schedule employees)
• 5 U.S.C. 5544(a)(3) (Prevailing rate employees)
• 5 CFR 550.112(g) and (j), 610.102, and 610.123
• 5 CFR 551.401(h) and 551.422 (OPM's FLSA regulations)
• Decision by United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Jerry Bobo v. United States , 136 F.3rd 1465 (Fed. Cir. 1998) affirming Court of Federal Claims decision of same name, 37 Fed. Cl. 690 (Fed. Cl. 1997).
• Section 4 of the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 84) as amended in 1996 by section 2102 of Public Law 104-188. (See 29 U.S.C. 254.)

Back to Top

If someone travels for their job - Working time rules

• Understanding the Working Time Regulations
• The 48-hour weekly maximum
• Being on call
• Night workers

If someone travels for their job

• Jobs with different rules
• Agreeing a change – relevant agreements

In some cases, travel time to and from work counts as working time.

If an employee has a fixed place of work

If an employee has a fixed place of work (such as an office they go to every day), their regular travel time to and from work does not usually count as working time.

If an employer wants to count this travel time as working time, they can.

Travel time while at work will usually count as working time, for example when travelling:

• from one client to the next
• from an office to a meeting elsewhere

Find out about the maximum hours an employee can work in a week

If the employee has no fixed place of work

Some jobs have no fixed place of work. These are often jobs where the employee spends a lot of time visiting customers or clients. People who do this work are sometimes known as 'peripatetic workers'. 

These types of jobs can include:

• care workers
• plumbers and other tradespeople
• teachers who work at different schools over the working day
• travelling salespeople

Travel between home and work is likely to count as working time for peripatetic workers. This is because during this time, the person is classed as doing work for their employer – for example, the employer may change or add tasks.

Pay when travel time counts as working time

When travel time counts as working time, the pay an employee gets depends on the terms of the employment contract. 

When calculating pay the employer must follow the law on the National Minimum Wage. It includes different rules on how working time affects minimum wage calculations.

• use the minimum wage calculator on GOV.UK
• find out more about how minimum wage is calculated on GOV.UK

If you like, you can tell us more about what was useful on this page. We cannot reply – so do not include any personal details, for example your email address or phone number. If you have any questions about your individual circumstances, you can contact the Acas helpline .

• 4 Ways to Ensure Work Travel Doesn’t Wreck Your Routine

Possessing stability in life is not only crucial to mental and physical well-being but also creates the inner confidence of self-knowledge. “We are, all of us, creatures of habit,” said Edgar Rice Burroughs in The Beasts of Tarzan , reminding us that these habits form who we are. You might choose to play piano daily and thereby become a pianist or begin to read works of philosophy frequently in order to become a learned thinker. Either way, these characteristics that are now part of you were choices that required time and dedication. But what happens when travel not only disrupts existing routines but also makes it difficult to create new healthy habits?

Think about how long it takes to build a habit. Although some say three weeks, other experts report it often takes much longer for a habit to fully form. In a study by the Health Behaviour Research Centre at the University College London , the researchers noted that one should “expect habit formation (based on daily repetition) to take around 10 weeks.” In this finding, notice how “habit formation” is tied to “daily repetition.” There is no getting away from the fact that routines and habits necessitate a daily commitment, but when most of one’s routines are upended due to travel, the habits that are beginning to form are the first to go.

How do we work to maintain our healthy routines while at the same time building new ones amidst our travels? Here are some suggestions:

1. Minimize and Prioritize

Sit yourself down and create a list of reasonable habits to maintain and build while traveling. You might not be able to become a professional pickle-baller when you travel several times a month, but you can become more physically fit. There are gyms in most hotels along with lots of stairs and often pools. Once you know which habits you can reasonably sustain, prioritize them in your schedule so that they are given the space to bloom.

2. Create Portable Rituals:

While the specifics of your environment may change from hotel to hotel or city to city, certain aspects of your routine can remain constant. Set regular times for waking up, exercising, and winding down at night. By anchoring your day with familiar rituals, you create a sense of continuity and structure that can help mitigate the disorientation of travel. This can be tricky when traveling to different time zones, especially if you are traveling across the country or to other countries altogether. But simple routines like having a cup of your favorite tea before bed can be an indication to your body that you are headed to bed despite it being earlier or later than usual. Also, when skipping over to states that are one time zone away, attempt to wake up and head to bed at the time you normally would so that you don’t upset your internal clock.

Incorporate elements of your home routine and stick to your local time zone as much as possible during your travel experience by creating portable rituals that provide comfort and familiarity. For instance, if you normally sleep with a fan or humidifier, there are often travel-sized options such as this humidifier or this fan . Both physical objects and physical activities can be a reminder of your home and routines. Whether it's waking up early to work out, journaling for fifteen minutes, or reading a book after dinner, these small rituals can serve as touchstones of stability amidst the transient nature of travel. 

3. Prioritize Health:

Traveling can be hard on the body and stressful on the mind, which is why self-care should be made a priority. Often, travel brings with it early mornings, late nights, lack of sleep, and contact with many people in public spaces that contain potential illnesses, especially if your immune system isn’t up to par. And nothing brings down the immune system like lack of sleep and stress. Sleep should be your first priority in self-care. In order to maximize sleep, the body’s finest medication, pack a sleeping mask to cover your eyes on the plane and purchase headphones that block external noise such as Airpods Pro or Airpods Max or any other generic noise-canceling earmuffs such as these ones . Maintaining healthy habits such as nutritious eating and regular exercise are also important elements of self-care. Some find it helpful to pack healthy snacks such as beef jerky, granola bars, or trail mix in order to have a healthy option if none other is available. And although getting in an hour-long workout is often not feasible when on the road, don’t let this be a mind-block to moving your body. Although cliche, take the stairs, go for a walk, do pushups, jumping jacks, or stretches in your hotel room, or find other ways to provide your body with some healthy physical activity.

4. Set Boundaries and Prioritize Balance:

Maintaining a sense of routine while traveling for work requires setting boundaries and prioritizing balance in your professional and personal life. When you are in your hotel room at the end of the day, you might have the temptation to simply work since there might not be any pressing tasks for you to do as there would be at home. Try to establish clear boundaries around work hours, communication channels, and downtime by giving yourself other options for activities besides work: For instance, bring a book with you, plan to visit a local attraction, or schedule a call with a friend you haven’t touched base with in a while. Prioritizing activities that are rejuvenating amidst the demands of your travel schedule will help you prevent burnout and remain consistent in your routines.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, although maintaining a routine as a traveling professional is difficult, it is possible through patience, determination, and forethought. It is important to give yourself grace as you work on strengthening your habits while at the same time jetting off to one place or another Frequent changes in your life and schedule are tough on the mind, body, and soul, so undoubtedly things won’t always go as you planned. If you take one thing away from this message, think ahead and provide yourself with the opportunity to practice your daily routines even if it doesn’t end up happening. Pack your gym shoes and clothes just in case you get the opportunity to work out. Bring several packets of your favorite tea or shove a book into your carry-on. If you don’t pack it, you won’t have the option, which is why forethought is key in bringing your habits with you wherever you go.

Latest Posts

• How a Company's Response to Mistakes Shapes Its Destiny
• Unveiling the Power Dynamics in Anchoring Damages
• The Perils of Picking Damages Out of a Hat: How Random Verdicts Can Reverse Jury Decisions
• Unraveling the Misunderstanding of Negligence: The Impact of Jurors' Misconceptions on Corporate Responsibility

See more »

Refine your interests »

Written by:

Published In:

First court, inc. on:.

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

New York Takes Crucial Step Toward Making Congestion Pricing a Reality

The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to approve a new $15 toll to drive into Manhattan. The plan still faces challenges from six lawsuits before it can begin in June.

By Winnie Hu and Ana Ley

New York City completed a crucial final step on Wednesday in a decades-long effort to become the first American city to roll out a comprehensive congestion pricing program, one that aims to push motorists out of their cars and onto mass transit by charging new tolls to drive into Midtown and Lower Manhattan.

The program could start as early as mid-June after the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that will install and manage the program, voted 11-to-1 to approve the final tolling rates, which will charge most passenger cars $15 a day to enter at 60th Street and below in Manhattan. The program is expected to reduce traffic and raise $1 billion annually for public transit improvements.

It was a historic moment for New York’s leaders and transportation advocates after decades of failed attempts to advance congestion pricing even as other gridlocked cities around the world, including London, Stockholm and Singapore, proved that similar programs could reduce traffic and pollution.

While other American cities have introduced related concepts by establishing toll roads or closing streets to traffic, the plan in New York is unmatched in ambition and scale.

Congestion pricing is expected to reduce the number of vehicles that enter Lower Manhattan by about 17 percent, according to a November study by an advisory committee reporting to the M.T.A. The report also said that the total number of miles driven in 28 counties across the region would be reduced.

“This was the right thing to do,” Janno Lieber, the authority’s chairman and chief executive, said after the vote. “New York has more traffic than any place in the United States, and now we’re doing something about it.”

Congestion pricing has long been a hard sell in New York, where many people commute by car from the boroughs outside of Manhattan and the suburbs, in part because some of them do not have access to public transit.

New York State legislators finally approved congestion pricing in 2019 after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo helped push it through. A series of recent breakdowns in the city’s subway system had underscored the need for billions of dollars to update its aging infrastructure.

It has taken another five years to reach the starting line. Before the tolling program can begin, it must be reviewed by the Federal Highway Administration, which is expected to approve it.

Congestion pricing also faces legal challenges from six lawsuits that have been brought by elected officials and residents from across the New York region. Opponents have increasingly mobilized against the program in recent months, citing the cost of the tolls and the potential environmental effects from shifting traffic and pollution to other areas as drivers avoid the tolls.

A court hearing is scheduled for April 3 and 4 on a lawsuit brought by the State of New Jersey, which is seen as the most serious legal challenge. The mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., Mark J. Sokolich, has filed a related lawsuit.

Four more lawsuits have been brought in New York: by Ed Day, the Rockland County executive; by Vito Fossella, the Staten Island borough president, and the United Federation of Teachers; and by two separate groups of city residents.

Amid the litigation, M.T.A. officials have suspended some capital construction projects that were to be paid for by the program, and they said at a committee meeting on Monday that crucial work to modernize subway signals on the A and C lines had been delayed.

Nearly all the toll readers have been installed, and will automatically charge drivers for entering the designated congestion zone at 60th Street or below. There is no toll for leaving the zone or driving around in it. Through traffic on Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the West Side Highway will not be tolled.

Under the final tolling structure, which was based on recommendations by the advisory panel, most passenger vehicles will be charged $15 a day from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. The toll will be $24 for small trucks and charter buses, and will rise to $36 for large trucks and tour buses. It will be $7.50 for motorcycles.

Those tolls will be discounted by 75 percent at night, dropping the cost for a passenger vehicle to $3.75.

Fares will go up by $1.25 for taxis and black car services, and by $2.50 for Uber and Lyft. Passengers will be responsible for paying the new fees, and they will be added to every ride that begins, ends or occurs within the congestion zone. There will be no nighttime discounts. (The new fees come on top of an existing congestion surcharge that was imposed on for-hire vehicles in 2019.)

The tolls will mostly be collected using the E-ZPass system. Electronic detection points have been placed at entrances and exits to the tolling zone. Drivers who do not use an E-ZPass will pay significantly higher fees — for instance, $22.50 instead of $15 during peak hours for passenger vehicles.

Emergency vehicles like fire trucks, ambulances and police cars, as well as vehicles carrying people with disabilities, were exempted from the new tolls under the state’s congestion pricing legislation .

As for discounts, low-income drivers who make less than $50,000 annually can apply to receive half off the daytime toll after their first 10 trips in a calendar month. In addition, low-income residents of the congestion zone who make less than $60,000 a year can apply for a state tax credit.

All drivers entering the zone directly from four tolled tunnels — the Lincoln, Holland, Hugh L. Carey and Queens-Midtown — will receive a “crossing credit” that will be applied against the daytime toll. The credit will be $5 round-trip for passenger vehicles, $12 for small trucks and intercity and charter buses, $20 for large trucks and tour buses, and $2.50 for motorcycles. No credits will be offered at night.

Grace Ashford contributed reporting.

Winnie Hu is a Times reporter covering the people and neighborhoods of New York City. More about Winnie Hu

Ana Ley is a Times reporter covering New York City’s mass transit system and the millions of passengers who use it. More about Ana Ley

Baltimore bridge collapse: What happened and what is the death toll?

What is the death toll so far, when did the baltimore bridge collapse, why did the bridge collapse, who will pay for the damage and how much will the bridge cost.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO REBUILD THE BRIDGE?

What ship hit the baltimore bridge, what do we know about the bridge that collapsed.

HOW WILL THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE IMPACT THE BALTIMORE PORT?

Get weekly news and analysis on the U.S. elections and how it matters to the world with the newsletter On the Campaign Trail. Sign up here.

Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Thomson Reuters

Lisa's journalism career spans two decades, and she currently serves as the Americas Day Editor for the Global News Desk. She played a pivotal role in tracking the COVID pandemic and leading initiatives in speed, headline writing and multimedia. She has worked closely with the finance and company news teams on major stories, such as the departures of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and significant developments at Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Tesla. Her dedication and hard work have been recognized with the 2010 Desk Editor of the Year award and a Journalist of the Year nomination in 2020. Lisa is passionate about visual and long-form storytelling. She holds a degree in both psychology and journalism from Penn State University.

The head of Ukraine's largest private energy firm, DTEK, said on Saturday that five of its six plants had been damaged or destroyed with 80% of its generating capacity lost after two weeks of Russian attacks and that repairs could take up to 18 months.

Three United Nations observers and a translator were wounded on Saturday when a shell exploded near them as they were carrying out a foot patrol in south Lebanon, the U.N. peacekeeping mission said, adding it was still investigating the origin of the blast.

• International

March 26, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

By Helen Regan , Kathleen Magramo , Antoinette Radford, Alisha Ebrahimji , Maureen Chowdhury , Rachel Ramirez , Elise Hammond , Aditi Sangal , Tori B. Powell , Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Kathleen Magramo , CNN

Maryland transportation secretary says contractors were working on bridge at time of collapse

From CNN's Antoinette Radford

Maryland State Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld told reporters there were workers on the Francis Scott Key Bridge at the time of its collapse.

"We know there were individuals on the bridge at the time of the collapse, working on the bridge, contractors for us," he said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

Wiedefeld said the workers were "basically doing some concrete deck repair," but said they did not know how many vehicles were involved.

He added that the transport authority has set up a facility for family members of those who were believed to be on the bridge at the time of its collapse.

Baltimore fire chief: Sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water

Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace says authorities have detected vehicles submerged in the water.

“Our sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water,” said Wallace at a news conference on the collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge. “I don't have a count of that yet.”

He said emergency services are using sonar, drones and infrared technology as a part of their search for people and vehicles who may have fallen from the Key Bridge into the Patapsco River.

No indication of "terrorism" or intent in Baltimore bridge collapse, police chief says

From CNN’s Andy Rose

Baltimore Police said there was no evidence that the ship collision that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was intentional.

“There is absolutely no indication that there's any terrorism, that this was done on purpose,” Chief Richard Worley said at a news conference.

The FBI  said  that it was joining the investigation into the cause of the collision.

Rescue crews have determined there are vehicles in the Patapsco River following the bridge collapse.

“Our sonar has detected the presence of vehicles submerged in the water,” said Fire Chief James Wallace. “I don't have a count of that yet.”

Wallace said they are waiting to make sure that the ship is secure and stable before investigators board it.

“Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that,” Mayor Brandon M. Scott said.

Cruises, cars and commodities: What to know about the Port of Baltimore

From CNN's Mark Thompson and Hanna Ziady

The collapse of the   Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River outside the Port of Baltimore threatens to disrupt shipping operations at a major US trade hub for autos, container traffic and commodities. Baltimore also has a cruise terminal.

Closer to the Midwest than any other port on the East Coast, Baltimore ranks first in the United States for autos and light trucks, handling a record 850,000 vehicles last year. It was also the leading port for farming and construction machinery, as well as imported sugar and gypsum. It was second in the country for exporting coal.

Overall, Baltimore ranks as the 9th biggest US port for international cargo, handling a record 52.3 million tons, valued at $80.8 billion in 2023.

“The immediate focus is the rescue operation, but there will clearly be a highly-complex recovery phase and investigation to follow and we don't know what impact this will have on operations at the Port of Baltimore," said Emily Stausbøll, market analyst at Norway-based shipping analytics company Xeneta.

“While Baltimore is not one of the largest US East Coast ports, it still imports and exports more than one million containers each year so there is the potential for this to cause significant disruption to supply chains," she added.

Baltimore's cruise terminal serves ships operated by Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian. Cruises carrying more than 444,000 passengers departed from the port last year.

According to the Maryland state government, the port supports 15,330 direct jobs and 139,180 jobs in related services.

Rescue crews looking for at least seven people in Baltimore bridge collapse

Rescue operations are underway near the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, as crews look for people who fell into the Patapsco River.

“We are still very much in an active search and rescue posture at this point, and we will continue to be for some time,” Wallace added.

Baltimore Fire says two people have been rescued from the river – one who was uninjured, and another in hospitalized “very serious condition.”

“This is an unthinkable tragedy,” Mayor Brandon Scott said. “We have to first and foremost pray for all of those impacted.”

Ship that collided with Baltimore bridge was chartered by Danish shipping company Maersk 

From CNN's Alex Stambaugh in Hong Kong

The container ship that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday was chartered by Maersk and carrying their customers' cargo, the Danish shipping company told CNN.

"We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected," The company said in its statement.

The company, which has a full name of A.P. Moller - Maersk, said no company crew and personnel were onboard the vessel. It said the ship, DALI, is operated by charter vessel company Synergy Group. 

"We are closely following the investigations conducted by authorities and Synergy, and we will do our utmost to keep our customers informed," the statement said. 

CNN is attempting to contact the owner and managers of the ship, including Synergy.

FBI Baltimore on the scene at the Key Bridge

FBI Baltimore personnel are on the scene at the Francis Scott Key Bridge, they have said in a post on X.

The agency said it was working "side by side with our local, state and federal partners."

Baltimore fire emergency chief says 2 people saved from water after Key Bridge collapse

The Baltimore Fire Department Chief James Wallace says authorities rescued two people from the water this morning, one without injury and the other who has been transferred to hospital in a serious condition.

Authorities are continuing their search for upwards of seven people, Wallace says. But, he says that number could change as it is a "very large incident." Earlier on Tuesday, an official said as many as 20 people could be in the water.

Wallace added that the crew remains on board the ship, and are communicating with the US Coast Guard. He added that emergency services are looking into reports that there were workers on the bridge at the time of the incident.

Speaking at the press conference, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott also described the incident as an “unthinkable tragedy,” and offered his prayers for all those affected, as well as his thanks to first responders.

Authorities share updates on Baltimore bridge collapse

Authorities are holding a news conference on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after it was struck by a large ship.

Divers and search and rescue teams are searching for people in the Patapsco River after several vehicles are believed to have fallen into the water, including one as large as a tractor-trailer, said Kevin Cartwright, director of communications of the Baltimore City Fire Department.

Please enable JavaScript for a better experience.

Watch CBS News

How to travel around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore: A look at the traffic impact and alternate routes

By Rohan Mattu

Updated on: March 29, 2024 / 5:01 AM EDT / CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday  led to a major traffic impact for the region and cut off a major artery into and out of the port city. 

A bridge column was hit by a large container ship around 1:30 a.m., sending bridge workers and vehicles into the Patapsco River. A water search for six missing workers turned to a recovery effort Tuesday night.

Drivers are told to prepare for extra commuting time until further notice.

Alternate routes after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

Maryland transit authorities quickly put detours in place for those traveling through Dundalk or the Curtis Bay/Hawkins Point side of the bridge. The estimated 31,000 who travel the bridge every day will need to find a new route for the foreseeable future. 

The outer loop I-695 closure shifted to exit 1/Quarantine Road (past the Curtis Creek Drawbridge) to allow for enhanced local traffic access. 

The inner loop of I-695 remains closed at MD 157 (Peninsula Expressway). Additionally, the ramp from MD 157 to the inner loop of I-695 will be closed. 

Alternate routes are I-95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) for north/south routes. 

Commercial vehicles carrying materials that are prohibited in the tunnel crossings, including recreation vehicles carrying propane, should plan on using I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) between Essex and Glen Burnie. This will add significant driving time.    

Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge? 

The Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River, a key waterway that along with the Port of Baltimore serves as a hub for East Coast shipping. 

The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's Harbor and the final link in Interstate 695, known in the region as the Baltimore Beltway, which links Baltimore and Washington, D.C. 

The bridge was built after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel reached capacity and experienced heavy congestion almost daily, according to the MDTA. 

Tractor-trailer inspections

Tractor-trailers that now have clearance to use the tunnels will need to be checked for hazardous materials, which are not permitted in tunnels, and that could further hold up traffic. 

The MDTA says vehicles carrying bottled propane gas over 10 pounds per container (maximum of 10 containers), bulk gasoline, explosives, significant amounts of radioactive materials, and other hazardous materials are prohibited from using the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95) or the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895).  

Any vehicles transporting hazardous materials should use the western section of I-695 around the tunnels, officials said. 

• Francis Scott Key Bridge
• Bridge Collapse
• Patapsco River

Rohan Mattu is a digital producer at CBS News Baltimore. Rohan graduated from Towson University in 2020 with a degree in journalism and previously wrote for WDVM-TV in Hagerstown. He maintains WJZ's website and social media, which includes breaking news in everything from politics to sports.

Featured Local Savings

More from cbs news.

Salvage efforts begin at Francis Scott Key Bridge

Baltimore community gathers to pray for Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse victims

Dundalk community stepping up for family of worker killed in Baltimore bridge collapse

Orioles honor three men who saved countless lives during the Key Bridge collapse

What we know about Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday after being hit by a cargo ship, with large parts of the bridge falling into the Patapsco River.

At least eight people fell into the water, members of a construction crew working on the bridge at the time, officials said. Two were rescued, one uninjured and one in serious condition, and two bodies were recovered on Wednesday. The remaining four are presumed dead. The workers are believed to be the only victims in the disaster.

Here’s what we know so far.

Baltimore bridge collapse

How it happened: Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship . The container ship lost power shortly before hitting the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said. Video shows the bridge collapse in under 40 seconds.

Victims: Divers have recovered the bodies of two construction workers , officials said. They were fathers, husbands and hard workers . A mayday call from the ship prompted first responders to shut down traffic on the four-lane bridge, saving lives.

Economic impact: The collapse of the bridge severed ocean links to the Port of Baltimore, which provides about 20,000 jobs to the area . See how the collapse will disrupt the supply of cars, coal and other goods .

Rebuilding: The bridge, built in the 1970s , will probably take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild , experts said.

• Baltimore bridge collapse: Crane arrives at crash site to aid cleanup March 29, 2024 Baltimore bridge collapse: Crane arrives at crash site to aid cleanup March 29, 2024
• Officials studied Baltimore bridge risks but didn’t prepare for ship strike March 29, 2024 Officials studied Baltimore bridge risks but didn’t prepare for ship strike March 29, 2024
• Baltimore begins massive and dangerous cleanup after bridge collapse March 28, 2024 Baltimore begins massive and dangerous cleanup after bridge collapse March 28, 2024