Chicago Commuter Benefits Ordinance

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Congressman Albio Sires introduces the Commute LESS (Leveraging Employer Support and Successes) Act. Washington, D.C. � Today, Congressman Albio Sires introduced the Commute LESS (Leveraging Employer Support and Successes) Act, to address increasing commute times and give commuters access to alternative forms of transportation. �Every year commuters are stuck in traffic for nearly one full work week and waste three weeks' worth of gas,� said Congressman Sires. �We can give commuters better options than driving alone and spending hours in traffic by encouraging employers to create and expand commuter benefit programs.� The Commute LESS Act aids commuters by leveraging support from employers. Research performed by the BusinessWeek Research Services found that when employers offered commuter benefit programs, eighteen percent of their employees opted for alternative forms of transportation � including transit, carpooling, teleworking, and biking or walking. In addition to saving commuters time, commuter benefit programs also reduced congestion, conserved fuel, and saved money for commuters. �If we involve employers in the transportation process, than we can make a real difference for commuters. Working families spend nearly thirty percent of their budgets on transportation costs. By improving and creating new commuter benefit programs, they can realize significant savings, spend more time with their families, and waste less time sitting in traffic.� The Commute LESS Act give employers the tools and resources they need to provide employees with alternative forms of transportation by establishing a grant program to create and expand commuter benefit programs. It also provides a better connection between transportation planners and employers by creating an employer advisory council to draft commuter trip reduction plans.

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Chicago Commuter Benefits Ordinance

Written by Jim Drew - Wednesday, 01 July 2009 18:31

This ordinance for Chicago would allow employers and employees to save money on taxes as well as supporting the environment.

In order to support the use of public transit in the City of Chicago, myself and members of The Center for Neighborhood Technology advocate for the passing of a "Chicago Commuter Benefits Ordinance".

This ordinance would allow certain employees in the City of Chicago pre-tax benefits as authorized in the IRS Tax Code 132(f) which allows employers to deduct up to $230 out of each employee's paycheck each month for public transit costs for commuting. This allows employees to pay for their transit costs BEFORE being taxed, lowering the amount of money they must pay in taxes, saving them hundreds of dollars each year. Also, by subtracting their employee's costs of commuting before taxes, employers can also be saving money from payroll taxes.

A similar ordinance has already been implemented in San Francisco and has been very successful, increasing public transit ridership and saving money at the same time. Chicago could build off the successful San Francisco ordinance and add its own improvements, make the paper work for employers easier, adding incentives over penalties, and using the Chicago Card to distribute the benefits.

Many times, businesses will only see supporting the environment as a reduction of their bottom line. In this case, Chicago would ensure that its businesses save money on taxes and support the city's commitments to the environment while saving the money of its employees.

To calculate employee and employer savings, click the tax saving calculator below.

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