Car Rental and Car Pool

Students may request (and pay for) transportation for authorized trips (see below).

Some types of student transportation may be paid for by College departments and organizations such as student affairs; academic departments; the Wilson Center; and the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS). Please be sure to follow the department’s request procedures.

Authorized Use

Students may submit a request for a car and driver during the semester for a range of authorized uses. Authorized uses include:

• College-related appointments
• medical appointments (also see “Medical Transportation” below for additional details)
• family emergencies
• student organization travel for College-related activities—such as conferences, meets, tournaments, etc., (not personal use)—that have been sponsored and funded by the Student Government Association

Students may submit a travel request by filling out the form found below in the “Requests, Cancellations, and Billing” tab, with a minimum of 24-hour notice, and, if approved, the associated charges will be billed directly to the student’s account.

Service, Interview, and Career-Related Travel Needs

Students should visit the CLS Transportation Resources for Students for additional information on how to request funding and support.

Airport Travel

• Students may reserve a car and driver to travel to Iowa airports only, not airports in other states.
• International students may reserve a car and driver to pick up or return family from Iowa airports. Domestic students may not.

Prohibited Use

Students are not permitted to use carpool transportation for:

• transportation of friends or family
• non-College-related events
• personal use or enjoyment
• transportation to or from airports outside the state of Iowa
• transportation to or from the Des Moines Airport when Des Moines bus shuttles are available

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Authorized Requests

If you are a faculty or staff member, you can request a vehicle to conduct College business.

• A minimum of 24-hour notice is required for all requests. Call FM if there are questions.
• You must have a valid US driver’s license.
• You must present your driver’s license when picking up the College vehicle.
• You are responsible for signing for and picking up the vehicle that has been reserved in your name.
• You must submit a request for each vehicle and driver if you need more than one vehicle.

Non-Authorized Requests

Requests for a carpool car or driver are not authorized in the following situations:

• for transportation of faculty or staff to an airport.
• for transportation to airports that are not in Iowa
• for more than 2 vehicles for the same trip at the same date and time

Pickup and Delivery

Pick up and deliver carpool vehicles at Campus Safety, Mears Cottage, 1213 6th Avenue.

Vehicles may not be parked or left unattended at an employee’s home for any length of time.

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Request a carpool vehicle for authorized use only. See “Student Requests” or “Faculty and Staff Requests” for details.

Requests

Request a carpool vehicle for an airport trip or a non-airport trip.

Only Grinnell College-certified student drivers, faculty, and staff are permitted to drive carpool vehicles. You can request a certified driver if needed when you request a vehicle.

Cancellations

Cancel any requests through FM. If you have requested a driver, cancel at least two hours in advance of the driver departing the safety office or you will incur a two-hour minimum driver charge

Billing

Billing rates are as follows:

• Vehicle: $0.57 to $0.67 per mile depending on what is needed and available
• Driver: $19.00/hour, with a minimum 2-hour charge

FM bills only to the following:

• a department sponsoring the event under budget code
• SGA budget code
• the student requesting the authorized service (billed to student account)

Combining Requests

If two or more requests for travel are submitted that could be combined, the cost may be shared down to a  minimum cost of $30 per request.

For example, if a group of three students requested travel to an Iowa airport, the cost might be $100. If a group of 2 students requests travel to the same airport at a similar time, they may be assigned to the same vehicle and driver. Each group would be charged $50.

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Drivers — faculty, staff, or certified students — must:

• Strictly follow all College rules and state laws relating to driving any vehicle on public roads.
• Agree that driving a Grinnell College vehicle is a privilege that can be revoked at any time.
• Enforce the rule that seat belts will be worn by the driver and all passengers at all times.
• Abstain from intake of any alcoholic beverage or illegal drugs while driving and at least 8 hours prior to driving a College vehicle.
• Enforce the rule that no alcoholic beverage will be consumed in Grinnell College vehicles by any passenger.
• Pick up the vehicle no more than 15 minutes before the scheduled beginning of the trip.
• Return the vehicle to the Security parking lot immediately following the trip and by the scheduled return time (safety permitting). Notify Facilities Management if you will be late.
• Return the vehicle cleaned of all trash. A trash receptacle is located in the Security parking lot.
• Return the vehicle with a full tank of gas. There is a WEX fuel card in the key wallet, to be used at any fuel station.
• Return credit cards and vehicle keys to the security office and record the beginning and ending mileage.
• Be responsible for and immediately pay all parking tickets, traffic violations, and fines.
• Immediately report any accident to Facilities Management.
• Carry your driver's license whenever operating a College vehicle.

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