By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and statutes of the United States of America, and in order to increase ridesharing as a means to conserve petroleum, reduce congestion, improve air quality, and provide an economical way for Federal employees to commute to work, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1-1. Responsibilities of Executive Agencies 1-101. Executive agencies shall promote the use of ridesharing (carpools, vanpools, privately leased buses, public transportation, and other multi-occupancy modes of travel) by personnel working at Federal facilities. Agency actions pursuant to this Order shall be consistent with Circular A-118 issued by the Office of Management and Budget. 1-102. Agencies shall establish an annual ridesharing goal tailored to each facility, and expressed as a percentage of fulltime personnel working at that facility who use ridesharing in the commute between home and work. Agencies that share facilities or that are within easy walking distance of one another should coordinate their efforts to develop and implement ridesharing opportunities. 1-103. Agencies shall designate, in accordance with OMB Circular A-118, an employee transportation coordinator. Agencies that share facilities may designate a single transportation coordinator. The coordinator shall assist employees in forming carpools or vanpools (employee owned or leased) and facilitate employee participation in ridesharing matching programs. The coordinator shall publicize within the facility the availability of public transportation. The coordinator shall also communicate employee needs for new or improved transportation service to the appropriate local public transit authorities or other organizations furnishing multi-passenger modes of travel. 1-104. Agencies shall report to the Administrator of General Services, hereinafter referred to as the Administrator, the goals established, the means developed to achieve those goals, and the progress achieved. These reports shall be in such form and frequency as the Administrator may require. 1-2. Responsibilities of the Administrator of General Services 1-201. The Administrator shall issue such regulations as are necessary to implement this Order. 1-202. The Administrator may exempt small, remotely located Federal facilities from the requirements of Sections 1-102, 1-103, and 1-104 on his own initiative or upon request of the agency. An exemption shall be granted in whole or in part when, in the judgment of the Administrator, the requirements of those Sections would not yield significant ridesharing benefits. 1-203. The Administrator shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, periodically provide agencies with guidelines, instructions, and other practical aids for establishing, implementing, and improving their ridesharing programs. 1-204. The Administrator shall assist in coordinating the ridesharing activities of the agencies with the efforts of the Department of Energy, under the Federal Energy Management Program and in the development of an emergency energy conservation plan for the Federal government. 1-205. The Administrator shall take into consideration the advice of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act, as amended, in performing his responsibilities under this Order. 1-206. The Administrator shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, report annually to the President on the performance of the agencies in implementing the policies and actions contained in this Order. The report shall include (a) an assessment of each agency's performance, including the reasonableness of its goals and the adequacy of its effort, (b) a comparison of private sector and State and local government ridesharing efforts with those of the Federal government, and (c) recommendations for additional actions necessary to remove barriers or to provide additional incentives to encourage more ridesharing by personnel at Federal facilities. JIMMY CARTER The White House, February 1, 1980. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:45 p.m., February 4, 1980]
Executive Order 12191—Federal Facility Ridesharing Program
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Executive agencies shall promote the use of ridesharing (carpools, vanpools, privately leased buses, public transportation, and other multi-occupancy modes of travel) by personnel working at Federal facilities.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Jimmy Carter on February 1, 1980, this order concerns Federal Facility Ridesharing Program. 1-1. Responsibilities of Executive Agencies 1-101. Executive agencies shall promote the use of ridesharing (carpools, vanpools, privately leased buses, public transportation, and other multi-occupancy modes of travel) by personnel working at Federal facilities. Agency actions pursuant to this Order shall be consistent with Circular A-118 issued by the Office of Management and Budget. 1-102.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Executive agencies shall promote the use of ridesharing (carpools, vanpools, privately leased buses, public transportation, and other multi-occupancy modes of travel) by personnel working at Federal facilities.
Agency actions pursuant to this Order shall be consistent with Circular A-118 issued by the Office of Management and Budget. 1-102.
Agencies shall establish an annual ridesharing goal tailored to each facility, and expressed as a percentage of fulltime personnel working at that facility who use ridesharing in the commute between home and work.
Agencies shall designate, in accordance with OMB Circular A-118, an employee transportation coordinator.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)
Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)
Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,191 (Feb. 1, 1980), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12191-federal-facility-ridesharing-program.