Fatigue Mitigation Transportation Reimbursement for Trainees
The UCLA GME office is happy to offer reimbursement for round trip transportation costs to help ensure you, the hardworking trainee, get home safely after work! This reimbursement is available to any trainee that elect to use a transportation service to get home instead of drive their vehicle while fatigued.
The process is easy. Simply utilize the service of your choice (app-based such as Uber, Lyft, etc.) for the trip home, rest up and then use the service again to pick up your car at a later point in time. Email both receipts to the GME office within 30 days of the travel date, and we will reimburse the ENTIRE cost (except for tips)! Make sure to view the example, FAQS and reimbursement instructions below for important details about the program.
Please refer to the CIR/SEIU union agreement for further information.
EXAMPLE
Joe Bruin, a UCLA trainee, just finished service at Ronald Reagan and feels very fatigued. He decides it would be safer to take an Uber than “power through” the drive home. He Ubers to his home address in Santa Monica and rests for several hours. Later, he wakes up feeling more rested and Ubers back to retrieve his car from the parking garage at Reagan. He forwards both of his Uber receipts to gme@mednet.ucla.edu within 30 days and the receipts are processed for reimbursement.
FAQs
Which transportation services are reimbursable?
Trainees may use the transportation service of their choice. This includes app-based services such as Lyft, Uber, etc.
When am I eligible to use the service?
Trainees may use the service ANY TIME they are feeling overly fatigued after work;NOT just after an overnight shift. Your safety comes first. Please do not get behind the wheel when you are overly fatigued!
I know that I’m going to be tired at the end of my shift. Can I use the service preemptively and travel from my home to work, and then back home?
No. The program’s intended purpose is for trainees that feel overly fatigued at the end of their shift. UCLA Accounting and IRS regulations prevent employee reimbursement for transportation to work. Therefore, Trainees can NOT be reimbursed when preemptively using a transportation service to bring them to the hospital and then back home.
May I use this transportation option when I am working at affiliated training sites?
Yes, this option is available for use from any training site to a verifiable home address. This includes Ronald Reagan, Olive View, Santa Monica, Harbor, Cedars, etc.
May I use the service to go sleep at the house of a friend/family member/significant other?
Sorry, no! The end location must be your verifiable home address.
I live really far from my training site. Can I still use the service?
Yes, absolutely. As long as the end destination is your verifiable home address, any round-trip from the training site to your home is fully reimbursable.
May I choose to ride in style (Uber black, Lyft plus, etc.)?
On your own dime! If you choose to use Uber, Lyft or a similar app-based service, make sure to select the basic service. Reimbursement will not be approved for luxury services.
REIMBURSEMENT INSTRUCTIONS
App-based service reimbursement (Uber, Lyft, etc.)
Step 1 – Double-check that your receipt contains the following information:
- Starting location
- Ending location
- Time and date
- Your name
- Total fare amount
Step 2 – Forward both receipts (trip home and return trip) to the GME office within 30 days of travel.
