Can a government employee ride with a contractor?

Yes, a government employee can ride with a contractor in certain circumstances, but there are ethics and travel regulation restrictions to consider under JTR and Federal Travel Regulation. Under JTR Joint Travel Regulations and FTR, government employees on official travel are generally expected to use government-contracted transportation and must ensure no appearance of favoritism or acceptance of gifts from contractors. Riding with a contractor in contractor's private vehicle or rental car is allowed if it is incidental and does not create conflict of interest or augment contractor costs billed to government. For example, if government employee and contractor are traveling to same meeting site, they can share rental car if government employee pays appropriate share or if it saves government money and is approved. However, government employee cannot accept free transportation from contractor if contractor is seeking to influence government business, as this could violate ethics rules and be considered gift under 5 CFR 2635. If contractor offers ride as part of official duties and no extra cost to government, it is generally permissible with supervisor approval. For TDY travel, JTR allows sharing rental car to save costs. Government employee should document and ensure no additional cost to government and no appearance of impropriety. For official vehicle, contractor generally cannot ride in government vehicle unless authorized. So yes, government employee can ride with contractor if mission-related, cost-effective, approved, and does not violate ethics gift rules, but should get approval and avoid free rides that could be seen as contractor influence.