TFA Auto Transportation Guidance

Teach For America recognizes the importance of providing safe transportation options and is firmly
committed to ensuring the safety for those of whom rely on TFA for their transportation needs. As motor
vehicle accidents are the leading cause of work-related fatalities, we have compiled the following guidelines
to help you navigate through the various transportation options that will subject the organization and our
staff, alumni, students and supporters to the least amount of risk. We look forward to partnering with you
to ensure that TFAs transportation needs are handled in a safe and cost-effective manner.

Staff Driving Guidance

Given that TFA staff members are not hired to transport individuals, nor does the organization run a check
on Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs) on our employees, staff members are only allowed to drive other fulland part-time staff members in personal or rental vehicles while conducting TFA business. Staff members
are not allowed to drive CMs, alumni, students or any other third party, regardless of vehicle ownership,
unless granted a special exception by the Legal Affairs team via insurance@teachforamerica.org (see below
for more information.) We have taken these steps to protect both staff and the organization as each
assumes a significant amount of risk and liability when taking on this responsibility.
In lieu of staff members personally transporting CMs/alumni/students, we recommend the following
alternatives:
o Public transportation (subway, bus, trolley, etc.)
o School bus
o Taxis or car rideshare service (UberX, Lyft, SideCar)
o Chartering a third party licensed & insured livery service (chartered bus or van)
o CMs or Alumni carpool together as long as its not facilitated by TFA staff*
o CM or Alumni drive themselves
*Carpooling: We enforce a hands-off approach to carpooling. If you want to suggest carpooling to an individual
that is not a TFA staff member, he/she can feel free to take steps to carpool, but please note that a TFA staff
member should not be involved in facilitating the carpooling beyond suggesting carpooling as a possible option.
The carpooling should not be created or monitored by TFA staff.

The options outlined above serve to act as a risk transfer mechanism, whereas we ultimately transfer the
risk from TFA to a third party, reducing our risk exposure and the likelihood of TFA being found at-fault in
the unfortunate event of an accident. Procurement@teachforamerica.org is also a great resource that will
gladly assist with securing commercial transportation for your trip.

Emergencies
Please note that in emergency, life-threatening situations, ambulance transport should always be the first
option. However, for those non-life-threatening situations which require that the CM/alumni/student
receive immediate medical attention, the above guidance is waived. Please use your best judgment when
handling these delicate situations.

Special Exceptions
We understand that in our more rural regions, alternative transportation can be somewhat limited, which
may create the demand for staff to transport those that may not have any other options (i.e. CMs and
alumni). (Note that under no circumstance should TFA staff be driving students.) While we do grant
special exceptions to our transportation policy when all viable transportations options have been
completely exhausted, we ask that you reach out to insurance@teachforamerica.org to discuss further
prior to moving forward with any of the options listed below.
Again, please note that these options (listed in order of preference) should be considered on a last resort
basis and are not intended to substitute any of the guidance outlined on the first page:
1. TFA reimburses CMs/alumni to rent vehicles in their own names for purpose of selftransportation
a. In order to reimburse, all non-staff members must execute rental contracts in their own
names (TFAs corporate code with Enterprise and National should NOT be used for this
purpose)
b. While not the most cost effective model, this could be an option if only a small number of
folks need transportation
2. TFA staff rents cars/minivans from Enterprise or National, our preferred rental car companies, for
purpose of transporting CMs/alumni
a. Staff rent the Enterprise or National vehicle (and not the larger 15-passenger vans due to
rollover concerns) through Cliqbook as TFAs insurance is included within the negotiated
rate with these two specific vendors. If you have any issues, call the local
Enterprise/National branch and reference TFAs corporate code: XZ24078
b. Any staff driver must be older than 25 years of age*, have a valid drivers license, and
confirm that his/her license has not been revoked/suspended within the past three years
and that he/she has no outstanding moving violations
3. TFA reimburses staff for mileage for purpose of transporting CMs/alumni in personal vehicles
a. Any staff driver must be older than 25 years of age*, have a valid drivers license, and
confirm that his/her license has not been revoked/suspended within the past three years
and that he/she has no outstanding moving violations
b. Share with each staff member that his/her personal insurance will serve as the first line of
coverage in the event of an accident and that TFAs insurance will only be triggered if the
individual staff members own personal insurance does not provide sufficient liability
coverage. Each staff member should send insurance@teachforamerica.org his/her
personal auto insurance limits so that we can ensure that the limits meet the minimum
statutory liability limits in his/her state of residency. *Please also note that TFAs
commercial auto insurance does not provide reimbursement for physical damages to a staff
members personal vehicle.
*Please note that the eligibly age for TFA staff to transport non-staff members (25 years of age) is slightly higher than
the standard age to rent vehicles (21 years of age) due to the increased risk associated with this activity.

The Risk Management team (a subset of Legal Affairs) is happy to partner with you as you think through all
of the various transportation options. Please reach out to insurance@teachforamerica.org with any
questions or concerns regarding any of the guidance outlined within this document. Safe travels!!
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