Web-Ward Ho, Federal Traveler

Travel is moving Web-ward. You can save time and money and cut down on aggravation by using info on the Web to plan travel. Don't rely on co-workers for per diem rates, city-pair fares, or regulations. Hyperlinks to these key sites and many more can be found at www.govexec.com/travel. GENERAL FEDERAL TRAVEL

http://fss.gsa.gov/citypairs Everything you could ever want to know about the government's low negotiated airline fares, including schedules, a handy "fare finder" and the lowdown on the new advance-purchase fares, is on this site. www.gsa.gov/travel The General Services Administration's travel site provides a jumping-off point for most civilian travel information. It includes information on per diem rates, the Premier Lodging Program, Federal Travel Regulations, state tax-exemption policies and many other topics. http://pub.fss.gsa.gov/services/gsa-smartpay Find answers to questions about travel and fleet card contracts here. The site includes the Task Order Guide for GSA's Fleet, Travel and Purchase cards, which is helpful when using GSA's SmartPay system. www.fss.gsa.gov The Federal Supply Service awards the government's services contracts, including those for fleet purchase, the leasing and shipment of household goods, and the travel card. The site lists vendors, a search engine and links to pages on FSS schedules, the Customer Supply Center, environmental programs, and travel regulations and information. www.usfa.fema.gov/hotel This U.S. Fire Administration site lets you search by state for lodgings that meet the requirements of the 1990 Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act. The site includes information on what agencies must do to comply with the law and provides a list of fire-safety tips. www.midatlantic.gsa.gov/fss/travel/training.htm GSA's travel and transportation training branch teaches federal travelers and authorizing officials worldwide the rules and procedures affecting temporary duty travel and relocation. The site lists courses on topics from conference planning to imprest funds to temporary duty travel. INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL www.state.gov/travel The State Department's main travel page, which gives travelers a jumping-off point for locating information on everything they need to know before traveling overseas. Its many useful links cover visas, foreign per diem rates, issues related to living overseas, airline on-time statistics and currency exchange rates. www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/howdoi/inspass.htm Start here if you want to get on board with INSPASS, the high-tech INS program that lets frequent travelers zip through checkpoints when re-entering the United States by using a scan of your handprint to verify identity. Download the enrollment form at www.ins.usdoj.gov/ graphics/formsfee/forms/i-823.htm. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT www.defensetravel.com Information on this site is central to Defense's travel reengineering project, the Defense Travel System, which the department recommitted to in July. The site includes details on the system's implementation and vendors along with an online demo. You can read regular updates and other information on the project by going to www.dtic.mil/travelink, the home page for the Defense Travel System's Project Management Office. www.dfas.mil The home page for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service provides facts on travel and transportation pay, including information on travel cards and travel advances. Click on "Money Matters." www.dtic.mil/perdiem The home page for the Per Diem, Travel and Transportation Allowance Committee provides per diem rates, overseas allowances, the full text of the Joint Federal Travel Regulations and lodging and dining information. OTHER USEFUL SITES www.fedtravel.com/GSA The FedTravel suite of travel products for government employees provides worldwide information on more than 700 airlines, 62,000 hotels, 75 car rental companies, passenger rail services, cruises and destination information. FedTravel offers an interactive CD product linked to its intranet, real-time flight status, and schedules and hotel information that can be downloaded to a PC or personal digital assistant. www.fedtravel.com/GSA OAG's site provides government and military travelers with information on its subscription-based "OAG Official Traveler" products and services. Included is free trial access to listings of all published direct and connecting flights worldwide from more than 850 airlines (including GSA contract flights and fares) and information on more than 76,000 hotels, government car rental rates, maps and more. New this year is up-to-date information on flight availability and flight status.

-Caroline Polk contributed to this report.