With all the 'shovel-ready' talk focused on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, gone unnoticed by many was the huge increase in the transit costs that can be included in the pretax program to assist commuters - $230/month can now be included.
"Under the 11-year-old Qualified Transportation Fringe commuter tax benefits program, money for (transit) can be set aside pretax by employers for employees. Under the stimulus bill signed in February, the pretax amount allowed for individual commuters nearly doubled, to $230 a month.
"For employees, it's an approximately 35 percent to 40 percent saving on their transit costs," said Steve Rossen, an account manager at Massachusetts-based Commuter Check, one of several companies that work with employers to administer the program.
If a commuter spends, say, $500 a month on commute costs such as parking, ferry trips, bus or BART, that commuter now doesn't have to pay taxes on $230 of those dollars.
The number may increase because the City of San Francisco mandated in January that companies employing more than 20 people in the city more than 10 hours a week must offer the benefit, Rossen said.
To enroll in the program, employees should contact their employers' human resources departments. In the Bay Area, 511.org has an outreach program to help employers get started."
Thanks to MTC-ABAG Library
FULL STORY: Stimulus bill makes some commutes cheaper
San Francisco Leans in Hard to Embrace its Transit ‘Superfans’
Bay Area transit nerds show their love in some unique ways.
California Revives $750M Loan to Save Bay Area Transit
The state approved a $750 million loan as a stopgap measure to fund regional transit agencies until a 2026 ballot measure that could bring more permanent funding.
California Rejects Loan to Save Bay Area Transit
The state’s Department of Finance wants to extend negotiations about the loan, making it unlikely transit agencies will receive any assistance before the end of the year.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association