ARRA Lowers Transit Expenses

"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."