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Employer Services
Supporting
Programs
The following supporting
programs can make commuter choice programs more
feasible and attractive to employees.
Financial
Mechanisms: Commuter Choice Tax Incentives
 | Employer-Paid Transportation Benefits.
Employers can pay for their employees to commute by transit or
vanpool, up to a limit of $100/month. With this arrangement,
employees get up to $100 in a tax-free transportation benefit.
Employers get a tax deduction for the expense and enjoy savings
on payroll-related taxes. Employers have found that providing
transportation benefits offers significant savings over offering
the equivalent dollar value to employees in the form of a salary
increase.
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| Employee-Paid, Pre-Tax Transportation
Benefits. Employers can allow employees to set aside
up to $100/month of pre-tax income to pay for transit or
vanpooling. Employers save money overall since the amount set
aside is not subject to payroll taxes. Employees save money,
too, since the amount of an employee's salary set aside for
transportation benefits is not subject to income tax, up to the
specified monthly limits.
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| Shared-Cost Transportation Benefits.
Employers can share the cost of transit or vanpool costs with
employees-and everyone can receive valuable tax savings. With
this approach, employers can provide a portion of the cost of
taking transit or vanpooling as a tax-free benefit and allow the
employee to set aside pre-tax income to pay for the remaining
amount of the benefit (up to the specified limits).
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| Parking Cash-Out.
Employers can offer their employees the option to "cash
out" of their existing parking space. For example, if
Company A subsidizes parking for their employees at $60/month, a
parking cash-out program would allow employees to choose from
the following options: (1) keep the parking space worth
$60/month, (2) give up the parking space and receive $60 extra
each month in taxable salary, or (3) receive $60/month in
tax-free transportation benefits to pay for transit or
vanpooling. Cash-out programs often work best for employers that
pay separately for parking and for organizations with parking
shortages or plans to expand parking facilities. |
In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act
for the 21st Century (TEA-21) amended the federal tax code to create
financial incentives related to commuter benefits for employers and
employees. Contact an attorney or accountant for
specific tax guidance.
Marketing
& Education
Commuter
Choice program, to successfully reach appropriate audiences.
Employers can take advantage of marketing services available from
the New North Transportation Alliance including:
| Transportation Days (T-Days):
New North Alliance staff visits your worksite and provides information
to employees on commute options. Staff can produce a zip
code map showing locations where employees at a given worksite
live, so that it is evident how many others live nearby that
might make good carpool or vanpool partners. Employees are
also able to register with the rideshare database which is
helpful in finding carpool partners or forming vanpools.
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| New Employee Orientation and Staff
Meetings: Staff is available to speak to new
employees or staff about their commute options, including
carpooling, vanpooling, transit, and bicycle commuting.
The New North Alliance also provides materials on the
various commute options and the Guaranteed Ride Home program for
employers to distribute at future orientations or staff
meetings.
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| E-mail listserv: The New
North Alliance hosts a listserv which employers and commuters
may join to receive information on transportation in the New
North area, including timely updates on traffic congestion and
road construction.
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Guaranteed Ride Home
Some employees may be hesitant to join
certain commuter programs because they are uneasy about not having
their personal vehicle in case of unexpected events, such as
personal or family illness or unscheduled overtime. Bay
Area Commuter Services (BACS), the regional rideshare
agency, offers this benefit for anyone who commutes to work by
carpool, vanpool, transit, or bicycle at least two days a
week. Registered employees are allowed up to eight
FREE* taxi rides home a year in
case of an unexpected events.
*Customers will have the first
$100 of their taxi fare paid. Anything in excess of $100 will be
billed to the employer or employee.
** You must re-register for the
GRH Program every year.
Bicycle Facilities
Providing secure bike facilities and showers may be all it takes
to get employees to bicycle to work, which may not only lead to less
cars on the roads but also healthier employees.
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