Metro Celebrates Permanent Restoration of Transit Benefit
After years of analysis, advocacy and lobbying, Congress has restored the transit commuter benefit to match the parking benefit, helping Metro, the region and the nation.
The employer transportation benefit for transit and vanpools has fluctuated a lot in recent years. In February of 2009, it was increased from $120 to $230, matching the parking benefit. Almost three years later, in January of 2012 it was slashed to $125 only to be raised to $245 the following year. After only a year, it was slashed again, this time to $130 where it stayed for two full years. In January of this year, it was raised to $255 to permanently match the parking benefit. Metro Board of Directors member Tom Bulger — an outspoken advocate for the transit benefit — played a vital role in ensuring its restoration to match the parking benefit. Thanks, Tom!
The benefit amount wasn’t the only thing that has been changing. In 2010, the Metro implemented a series of new IRS rules for how the transit benefit could be used. For example, on smart media the transit benefit dollars had to be stored in a separate “purse” that could only be use for transit fares and not for parking costs at park-and-ride facilities. Employers also began asking employees to specify exactly how much transit fare was needed each month, instead of setting one amount and accruing benefits for trips untaken. Perhaps most importantly, a new rule stated that those unused dollars in this transit-only purse were to be “clawed back” at the end of each month. Read more…
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