What problem does this solve?[edit]

When there is a plan to have an in-person meetup that will require travel, how will organizers arrange for attendees to travel to the meeting in a safe, effective, and economical way?

Note that this is distinct from accommodations for travelers, which are discussed in this learning pattern.

What is the solution?[edit]

Things to consider[edit]

From what location(s) and distance(s) will travelers come to the event?

Some participants may come from within an hour's distance by bus, while others may need to travel across oceans.

How safe, reliable, economical, and convenient are different transportation methods?

A train ticket might cost less than half of an airplane ticket, but the train journey might require quadruple the time of an airplane journey. It may be possible for participants to travel between locations on foot, but that mode of transportation may be significantly less safe than traveling by taxi or bus.

Will the transportation methods that you offer allow all of the desired people to attend the event?

If the organizers offer to reimburse travelers for bus fare but you decline to reimburse them for taxi fares, then the organizers may accidentally exclude some participants who need to travel by taxi because they have medical needs that prevent them from walking long distances to a bus stop.

Travel insurance

Should this be taken out trip-by-trip or should an annual whole-of-organization policy be used? Check if volunteers are covered by whole-of-organization policies. Some individuals may have personal annual policies and may not need separate travel insurance. If travel insurance is not taken out (or events occur not covered by the policy, e.g. replacing a stolen laptop, emergency hospital treatment), does the organization intend to cover those expenses, or is the person expected to attend at their own risk?

People who plan to attend an event should verify their personal situations regarding their insurance coverage for accidents, illnesses, stolen property, airplane flight cancellations, etc.

Private cars

The use of private cars for nonprofit or business purposes may require the purchase of different vehicle licenses or insurance. Check with your legal adviser.

If private cars are used for transport, determine the reimbursement rate ahead of time. Reimbursement rates involve more than just the fuel cost. Most government agencies or tax offices have a standard per-kilometer or per-mile rate worked out by people who are expert at that task; information from the United States Internal Revenue Service is here for the 2014 rates. Save time and debate within your organization or project by using a similar government rate or setting one at the start of planning. Often volunteers are happy to use their own car at their own expense for short trips without any reimbursement; just be careful not to put pressure on them or to discourage them from requesting reimbursement. Some of your volunteers may be more financially able than others to volunteer the time and expenses of using their vehicle to help others.

Expenses, payment methods, and discounts

If you are transporting a large number of people by train, airplane, or bus it may be possible to get a group discount.

There may also be discounts for students, for members of associations like the American Automobile Association (AAA), and for members of frequent flier programs.

Some credit cards provide rewards to their users in the form of airline "miles" that can be redeemed for travel.

The Wikimedia Foundation provides some travel funding through its Travel and Participation Support grants program.

Some events like Wikimania may provide scholarships to a limited number of attendees that include payment of travel costs.

Organizational travel policies may specify who is allowed to authorize travel and what expenses are covered. This can make it easier for your organization to book travel and can help prevent unnecessary disputes. For examples, see the Wikimedia Foundation Travel Policy and the Wikimedia DC Travel Policy.

Some organizations like the Wikimedia Foundation have staff that specialize in travel management. Also, there are contractors and consultants who work with organizations to optimize travel practices, or to manage travel on an ongoing basis. These services may be relevant for Wikimedia thematic organizations to research if they spend significant resources on travel costs.

Any person or organization who wants to be reimbursed for travel expenses, or has had travel expenses paid in advance by another party, may want to keep careful records of their expenses. Alternatively, some individuals may be offered per diem payments to reduce the paperwork burden of expense reports. Reimbursements and per diems may be governed by organizational travel policies or expense policies. The United States Government provides the following per diem information for Federal Government employees. For per diems for travel inside of the United States, see http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877. For per diems for travel outside of the United States, see http://aoprals.state.gov/web920/per_diem.asp

Vehicle rental[edit]

Renting a car or van may be an option for short-distance or long-distance travel. However, there are important points to consider.

License, registration, and insurance coverage

Does the person who will drive the vehicle have an appropriate license and has adequate insurance?
Will the car or van will be used to cross an international boundary?
Will the insurance of the group that is organizing the event provide insurance coverage for an accident? In some cases, the insurance must be business automobile insurance rather than private individual insurance.

Costs and payments

Are there mileage fees or over-limit mileage fees?
Fees and taxes that may be added to the advertised price of the rental. In some areas, these fees and taxes may be very expensive.
Some car rental agencies may place an authorization hold on the credit or debit cards of their guests. These holds are not actually charged to the card until purchases are finalized, but the amounts of the holds are unavailable for other uses until the holds are released. The business that places the hold on the card may use it for charges such as refueling fees and damage costs. Travelers should be made aware of these holds so that they can anticipate that they will be unable to use the amount of the authorization hold for other purposes until the hold is released. Additionally, banks may impose over-limit fees on debit cards if someone withdraws funds that are in excess of the allowed amount on a card when a hold is in place. While businesses should disclose the amount of the hold to their customers before finalizing a transaction, not all businesses follow this practice, so some travelers may get surprise holds on their accounts. Travelers may attempt to negotiate lower holds with businesses. Travelers also may try to pay with traveler's checks or cash instead of credit or debit cards, although some businesses may require a credit card. For more information see this article from USA Today and this page on Elliott.org

Additional resources

Air travel[edit]

Note that some of these best practices are applicable in multiple countries.

Wikivoyage has extensive tips about air travel.

Australia—Generally, advance purchases (2 weeks or more) can result in cheaper tickets. The use of demand-driven pricing means that the price of tickets can rise or fall as the date of the flight gets closer. Some last-minute tickets on under-booked flights can actually be cheaper but cannot be relied upon. Cheap tickets often have restrictions in relation to refunds and rescheduling and luggage, but frequently these are not a problem in practice. However, if the travel policy mandates the use of cheapest tickets, will the organization cover the extra cost imposed when those restrictions become a problem, e.g. a flight is missed due to city traffic jams? Generally flights between the state capitals are cheaper than to regional areas, due to demand and competition. However, Australian distances generally mandate air travel.

United States—For domestic flights in the United States, plan flights at least three weeks out. Flights between countries require more advance planning. Once you are closer to the date of the meeting, costs can increase extraordinarily. The temptation is to book the cheapest flight there is, but do so with caution. Certain itineraries introduce hidden costs. For instance, flights arriving late at night may require your attendee (or your organization) to pay for a potentially costly cab ride from the airport, as much cheaper mass transit won't be an option. If your itinerary involves stopping at one or more airports before reaching the final destination, plan for at least one and a half hours between flights to account for potential flight delays. Paying attention to the timing of the flights can save you time, money, and trouble—this is especially important if you are planning travel for a lot of people.

Europe - Easyjet is not always the cheapest, particularly when booking shortly (2-3 weeks) before flying: the low-cost segment is now very competitive. Use aggregators, bearing in mind some may have hidden processing fees only shown at time of booking. Useful/well designed sites include eDreams, Hipmunk and Skyscanner. Also do not forget to include the price of checked-in luggage if applicable, and transportation costs (time- and money-wise) to/from the airport into your calculation (this is particularly true for cities with several airports like London and Paris). Last but not least, do your searches in Private mode as some aggregators use cookies to know you already looked into a specific trip and jack up the price accordingly.

Rail travel[edit]

Rail travel may be an economical (or uneconomical but convenient) and enjoyable alternative to air travel.

Wikivoyage has extensive tips about rail travel.
In the United States, public rail service is provided by Amtrak as well as local transport agencies.
In Europe, consider Eurail and InterRail.
Some nations have high-speed rail service, such as the Japanese Shinkansen. High speed trains are sometimes called "bullet trains".

International travel[edit]

Novice travelers. Be careful if your travelers have not traveled internationally before. They may need advice on certain matters, including immigration procedures, currency, time changes, language, and culture. In particular, check they have a passport or other acceptable identity document.

Government advice and warnings. Some governments issue travel advice and warnings to their citizens about travel to other countries. For example:

Jet lag. Long-haul flights are tiring and interfere with the body clock. Try to arrange arrival a day in advance of their event or else the benefit of their attending will be reduced if they are too tired to participate effectively.

Passports and visas. As soon as international travel is proposed, prospective travelers should ensure their passport is current and does not expire until six months after the proposed travel. Always check the visa requirements for the country you are visiting or in transit through, even if you have visited that country before, as rules and processes do change in response to world events. Make sure your travelers travel on the correct visa; a tourist visa is not appropriate for all visits. Some visas take many weeks to obtain, which means you cannot undertake other international travel during that time while the embassy has your passport for processing. Therefore, obtaining a visa may need to be scheduled well in advance to accommodate other planned travel. Also, as an organization, be aware of whether any of your travelers are not citizens of your own nation or will be traveling on some other nation's passport, as their visa requirements may be very different to that of your own citizens; do not assume the situation is the same for all of your travelers. Even your own citizens are born in other countries or even having recent ancestry in other countries, they may encounter different visa situations. Also, criminal offenses (even minor ones) and certain occupations (e.g. journalists) even when not traveling in connection with their occupation face restrictions in relation to visas. Generally there is little right of appeal in the event of a visa being refused, and one refusal can become be a lifetime barrier to entry. Therefore, take considerable care and accuracy with visa applications and people likely to be at risk of refusal should weigh up the risk of applying against the benefit of traveling. Remember that people may be tired from a long flights when they undertake inbound immigration formalities; remind them of the importance of being alert, accurate, cooperative and courteous in answering questions at that time.

International roaming. Given that Wikimedia is an online organization, it is realistic to expect our travelers to make cell phone calls and to access the Internet while traveling. While many telephone and data providers support international roaming, it is often at very high cost. Be sure the traveler is aware of this and offer advice about the alternatives. For instance, your organization may want to consider providing local SIM cards.

Insurance for international travelers. It is important that travelers have adequate insurance, including medical insurance, liability insurance, and insurance for items (like cameras and phones) that may be lost, stolen, or damaged. People who are adequately insured in their home countries may not realize that their insurance provides them with less or no coverage when they travel internationally. For some suggestions about insurance for international travelers, see this page from the U.K. government or ask your legal adviser.

Driving in another country. Many countries require drivers to obtain local drivers' licenses, registration, and/or insurance.^[1]

Local laws and customs. These may vary significantly from a traveler's home country. Travelers should learn about laws and customs of any country where they visit before they travel to that country.^[1]

Vaccinations. some vaccinations are recommended or required for visiting certain countries.^[1]

Medicines. there may be restrictions on bringing medicines into another country, even if they were legally prescribed in a traveler's home country. For example, medical marijuana may be legally prescribed in some jurisdictions, but carrying it into another jurisdiction may be a criminal offense. Check whether your medicines are legal in all jurisdictions that you may be visiting, and what documentation is recommended.^[1]

Money transactions in another country. Before people travel internationally, they should notify their banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions that they will be traveling. Travelers should be aware of currency exchange rates and fees. "Avoid carrying cash and consider using traveler's checks or major credit cards instead (but make sure they are accepted at your destination before departing on your trip)," and "Do not flash large amounts of money when paying a bill."^[1]

Emergency contacts with consulates and family members. It is advisable for travelers to leave copies of their passports and travel information with a trusted person at home, including information like airline flight numbers and the names of hotels where the traveler will stay. Travelers should know the contact information for their country's consulate or embassy in the country that they are visiting. In an emergency, a consulate may be able to pass communications between home and a traveler.^[1]

Short-distance travel[edit]

This advice applies to travel from bus terminals, airports and train stations that are near to the location of the event and/or near to the accommodations for attendees. This section is also relevant to local or regional events where ground transportation is sufficient.

Charter bus service or charter van service may be preferable to public bus services in some circumstances. However, in many cases, public bus service or local public rail service may be adequate.
Stretch limousines and vans, with their large capacities, may be more cost-effective or convenient than taxis in some circumstances.
Carpooling may be an option.
If a number of attendees will be arriving at a location like a bus terminal, airport, or train station, then try to have local guides be present with identifying signs or t-shirts. The guides can welcome the guests and provide directions. Consider offering pamphlets in multiple languages with directions, transportation information, contact information, and emergency information (such as the local phone number to call for emergencies, 24-hour contact numbers for relevant accommodation venues and for the event organizers, and the locations of nearby medical facilities.)

Advice from the Wikimania Handbook about short-distance travel[edit]

Note: In this section, "hotel" is defined to include all hotels, hostels, dorms—wherever people are staying

The best and cheapest way to conduct an event is to have all relevant buildings and points of interest be within walking distance of each other. However, given the realities of cities, that is not always possible. This is when it is necessary to develop a transportation plan that efficiently moves your attendees around as to enjoy the full experience of the conference.

Your transportation needs will depend on the number of locations (venues, hotels, party sites, etc.) that factor into your conference, as well as their distance from each other. By cutting down on the number of locations you need to connect, you reduce your transportation needs, thus saving money. Further, the closer your various locations are to mass transit, and the better the mass transit systems are in your city, the more you can rely on public transportation instead of considerably costlier charter buses.

Whatever transportation scheme your logistical team agrees to, be sure to document it thoroughly and to disseminate this information among attendees. For instance, if you are renting a charter bus, publish a bus schedule of when people will be picked up from where. If you are encouraging public transportation, link people to the transit authority website and say which bus stops / train stations to travel between, as well as the cost of fare.

Scenarios[edit]

To and From Airport. Consider making a deal with a taxi or shared van company to provide transportation for attendees from the airport. Wikimania 2011 made a deal with a shared van transportation company. Volunteers at the airport handed out flyers to attendees which described the deal made: the van would transport Wikimania attendees only from the airport to the different hotels and dorms for a fixed rate and no baggage charges. Those riding the van would show this flyer to the driver who would honor the deal. This allowed for more flexibility than a higher capacity bus that would pick people up at intervals, and it was also cheaper since the attendees paid for the cost of transportation.

Between Hotels and Venue. It's strongly recommended that hotels be within short walking distance of the venue, thus eliminating much of the logistical hassles. This also allows people to come and go when they want, go back to the hotel to change before special events, etc., and makes it easier for people to socialize with one another in the evenings.

Should it not be possible to have accommodations within walking distance, then at minimum, you should provide transportation in the morning of the conference and in the evening after the conference ends for the day. However, with many charter bus companies, buses must be reserved for four hour minimums. The best way to get around this is by reserving shuttle buses for four hour blocks in the morning and late afternoon, providing a loop for both people wishing to go early in the morning but also later in the morning. For the evening shuttle, start providing transportation earlier in the afternoon, with the last bus picking up attendees about one hour after the conference ends for the day. Alternatively, encourage attendees to use public transportation (see below).

To and From Special Events. To minimize the amount of confusion, first transport people between the venue and the hotels, and then, transport people from the hotels to the special event. This way, people have time to rest, shower, get dressed, etc. before the event. At the end of the event, provide at least one bus that leaves early and one bus that leaves later, such as a 22:00 bus followed by a 23:00 bus. Assuming your special events are at night, consider that public transportation may not be the best option. While attendees may be accustomed to the route they take to the conference, they may not be as certain about going to and from the special event venue. Further, public transportation at night may be intimidating to some attendees.

Using public transportation[edit]

Wherever possible, encourage attendees to use public transportation. In addition to saving your conference team money, transit can often provide for a more flexible schedule than a charter bus would allow. For instance, many Wikimania 2012 attendees stayed at Hostelling International on the other side of town. Because there was a bus that ran every ten minutes between the hostel and a drop-off point one block away from the venue, the conference team decided to make use of that bus instead of chartering buses to cover that route. To that end, the Wikimania team worked with the hostel to provide each attendee with a reloadable transit card. Attendees were given bus schedules and were told where to get on and off the bus.

If possible, try to plan a conference centered entirely on transit, such that you will not need to charter any buses. At the same time, consider the limits posed by public transportation, such as the fact that bus and train routes may not neatly line up with where your venues and hotels are.

User:Bgibbs (WMF)/Sandbox/Travel management

What problem does this solve?[edit]

What is the solution?[edit]

Things to consider[edit]

Vehicle rental[edit]

Air travel[edit]

Rail travel[edit]

International travel[edit]

Short-distance travel[edit]

Advice from the Wikimania Handbook about short-distance travel[edit]

Scenarios[edit]

Using public transportation[edit]

Endorsements[edit]

See also[edit]

Elsewhere on Meta[edit]

Related patterns[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]