It really does pay to ride transit! You can reduce your commuting costs by sheltering a portion of your income from federal taxes.
The federal Commuter Choice tax incentive lets workers receive up to $115 a month in employer-paid tax-free transit costs, or take up to $115 a month in tax-sheltered payroll deductions for transit costs, including buses, vanpools and other public transit.
Ask your employer if they participate. If not, ask them to!
Check out SMART’s TransitChek program.
If the bus isn’t convenient for you, consider a Vanpool. A Troy-based company, VPSI, manages 4,000 vanpools across the US and Europe. For each, VPSI provides a van and covers its insurance and maintenance. Each route has six to 15 passengers.
For more information about starting or joining a vanpool, visit VanRide.com or call 1-800-826-RIDE.
Check out the article in metromode and learn more from the American Public Transit Association.