GSA kicks off modernization of troubled e-travel program

The General Services Administration issued a request for proposals on Aug. 27 for a follow-on to its troubled online travel service that federal employees use to book travel and receive reimbursements.

The agency plans to replace the E-Gov Travel Service program with an upgrade that officials said will improve usability, provide transparency and offer better savings.

The previous travel program, launched in April 2002, has been criticized for poor performance. As recently as June, the GSA inspector general said the E2 solutions application, one of three travel management systems that make up the old program, was over budget and poorly designed. In 2009, the inspector general concluded the program inadequately addressed security risks and its overhead costs were too high.

The challenges with e-travel lie in addressing requirements for financial reporting to Congress, protecting individuals' personal information and government records, and filing travel reports, said Ray Bjorklund, chief knowledge officer for the consulting firm FedSources Inc. of McLean, Va., in July after the GSA inspector general issued the June report.

ETS2 is designed to correct those problems. In the RFP, the agency asked "industry for innovative approaches and capabilities to enhance usability and service delivery."

In February, GSA requested ideas from the public to improve the travel system and initially planned to offer a $25,000 award for the winning strategy, but canceled the contest, saying it needed to conduct more research. In May, GSA issued a draft request for proposals for ETS2 and said a final request would be issued in late July.

According to the solicitation, the new program will include all aspects of federal business travel, including planning, authorization, reservations, ticketing, fulfillment, expense reimbursement and travel management.

"By tapping into the best that commercial travel providers have to offer, GSA will provide federal travelers best-of-breed travel management solutions that maximize operational efficiency and contain costs," said GSA's acquisition service commissioner Steve Kempf in prepared remarks.

Kempf was unavailable for comment.

The new program also will support green initiatives. Employees will be able to determine whether to travel or take advantage of energy-saving technologies such as telepresence before finalizing travel arrangements.