Board of Contract Appeals

                 General Services Administration

                      Washington, D.C. 20405





                      _____________________



                          March 27, 2003

                      _____________________





                         GSBCA 16075-RELO





                In the Matter of CHRISTI L. OLIVER





     Christi L. Oliver, Needles, CA, Claimant.



     Candace L. Thatcher, Chief, Accounts Payable Branch, Bureau of Land Management,

National Business Center, Denver Federal Center, Department of the Interior, Denver CO,

appearing for Department of the Interior.



PARKER, Board Judge.



     The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has requested

an advance decision as to whether it should pay the claim of Christi L. Oliver for

reimbursement of the cost of renting a car tow dolly.  For the reasons discussed below, we

hold that BLM should pay the claim.



                            Background



     Ms. Oliver, a new appointee, was authorized a permanent change of station relocation

from Corvallis, Oregon, to Needles, California, in July 2002.  Her travel orders authorized

a self-move, including "U-haul, auto-transport, packing costs and fuel costs."  Ms. Oliver

transported her household goods using a U-Haul truck and towed her car behind the truck

using a car tow dolly.  The agency has determined that rental of the tow dolly was

advantageous to the Government as well as cost effective because its use prevented multiple

trips, which would have significantly disrupted work flow in the first month of Ms. Oliver's

employment, and because the agency would have paid more for her move if she had driven

her car and BLM had shipped Ms. Oliver's household goods by Government bill of lading.                            Discussion



     Section 302-9.301 of the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) sets forth the requirements

for authorizing transportation of a privately owned vehicle (POV):



     Under what conditions may my agency authorize transportation of my

     POV within CONUS [the continental United States]?



     Your agency will authorize transportation of your POV within CONUS only

     when:

     

     (a)  It has determined that use of your POV to transport you and/or your

     immediate family from your old official station (or place of actual residence,

     if you are a new appointee or student trainee) to your new official station

     would be advantageous to the Government;

     

     (b)  Both your old official station (or place of actual residence, if you are a

     new appointee or student trainee) and your new official station are located

     within CONUS; and

     

     (c)  Your agency further determines that it would be more advantageous and

     cost effective to the Government to transport your POV to the new official

     station at Government expense and to pay for transportation of you and/or

     your immediate family by commercial means than to have you or an

     immediate family member drive the POV to the new official station.



41 CFR 302-9.301 (2002).  Also relevant to the issue is the following provision:



     What means of transportation may we authorize for POV's?



     You may authorize:



     (a)  Commercial means of transportation for POV's if available at

     reasonable rates and under reasonable conditions; or



     (b)  Government means of transportation for POV's on a space-available

     basis.



41 CFR 302-9.500.

     Here, the agency authorized Ms. Oliver to transport her auto as part of a self-move

because it determined that doing so met the tests set forth in the FTR.  That decision was

appropriate.  Because transporting Ms. Oliver's car was authorized, and because transporting

the car by renting a tow dolly can be considered as a "commercial means of transportation

. . . at reasonable rates and under reasonable conditions," the cost of renting the tow dolly

should be considered as a reimbursable expense.  BLM should pay to Ms. Oliver the $350

cost of renting the tow dolly.







                                                            

                                   _____________________________

                                   ROBERT W. PARKER

                                   Board Judge