Congress Is Close to Letting Government Biz Travelers Expense Uber and Lyft

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a law this week that could potentially allow government workers to get reimbursed for using ridesharing services when traveling on government business.

The Modernizing Government Travel Act would task the General Services Administration (GSA) to "provide for the reimbursement for the use of a transportation network company or innovative mobility technology company by any Federal employee traveling on official business" within 90 days of passage of the law.

Each year by the end of November, government agencies will be required to submit details of the expenses they've incurred for travel costs for analysis by the GSA, ostensibly to see if agencies are actually saving money by using ridesharing services. The bill isn't a sure thing to pass, however; a similar piece of legislature passed the House last year but didn't make it through the Senate.

If it does pass, however, the bill represents a triumph for ridesharing's influence on Capitol Hill and a problem for corporate travel management companies that generally eschew recommending ridesharing services due to security concerns.