You may be able to claim reimbursement of travel costs incurred whilst attending your practice placement, however the daily cost of travelling to and from your placement must be in excess of your normal daily travel costs to and from your university. Travel costs between a temporary placement address and the placement site may also be claimed if they are in excess of your normal daily travel costs to and from your university.
If your daily placement travel or weekly return journey (if applicable) cost is in excess of your normal daily university travel cost, you may be reimbursed the excess cost only.
As part of your daily travel costs, you can include expenses such as car parking, permit charges, congestion charges and tunnel or bridge tolls. You can also include costs incurred if you have to travel in the community to other Clinical Placement sites, and/or to patients’ home addresses if you are not given free transport by a tutor.
You are expected to use the cheapest form of transport available where it is reasonably practical to do so. If the cheapest form is your own transport, you must claim the most direct distance, regardless of whether this has the quickest journey time. The university must certify any travel claim.
Any expensive forms of transport, such as taxis will only be reimbursed in exceptional circumstances and must be certified by the university as unavoidable (they should supply a covering letter to confirm this). and receipts must be included in your claim. Reimbursement of taxi fares will normally be limited to the maximum motor vehicle rate.
Your claim does not take into account how many days per week you are on placement only the daily travel cost. For example if you are on placement four days per week but only at your University one day per week you will only be able to claim if it would cost you more on a single day to get to your placement address than your University.
You are also permitted to claim the cost of one return journey each week between your normal term time address and your temporary accommodation whilst you are on placement. A reimbursement towards these travel costs can only be considered if the total return journey travel cost to and from your placement is in excess of your normal daily travel cost to and from university.