Green Routes to Work Act

 

Last year we got the token $20 a month bicycle commuter benefit - as part of a bill that Rep. Earl Blumenauer didn't vote for. As nice as that was, the bill has problems, namely:

1. Cyclists can only exclude $20 a month, but transit users and drivers can exclude $230 each.
2. One can combine the transit and parking benefits and exclude $460 but if you take the biking benefit that's all you can exclude.
3. Bicycle benefits can only be excluded from taxes if they're employer paid.

Earlier this year, Rep. Blumenauer introduced the Bicycle Commuter Choice Act to deal with problem #2 for 2009. Now he's introduced the Green Routes to Work bill to deal with the others - and then some.

Section 2 Transit Equity:Increases the uniform dollar cap for all transportation fringe benefits to $230 a month (this fixes Problem 1).

Section 5 Parking Cashout: Requires employers who offer a parking transportation fringe benefit to employees to also offer employees the option to take cash instead, reducing the incentive to drive instead of take alternative transportation. (This also helps to create parity between different modes, including pedestrians)

Section 9 MultiModal Transportation: Allows individuals to combine their transportation fringe benefits as long as they fall under the $230 cap (for example, individuals can use the $40 bike credit and still collect up to $210 of their public transit fringe benefit). This section recognizes that people rarely use one type of transportation only to commute: they use a combination of modes depending on the weather, their needs for the day and other factors. It also increases the amount which individuals can receive under the bike commuter benefit to $40. (This fixes Problem 2)

I don't see a fix to Problem 3, but maybe it's in there. I can't decode the bill itself. Regardless, the bill has other benefits for cyclists - either by expanding the program

Section 3 Clarification of Federal Employee Benefits: Encourages the federal government to lead by example by ensuring that federal transportation fringe benefits are available to federal employees.

Section 4 Self Employed Extension of Transportation Fringe Benefits: Allows individuals
who are self‐employed to receive transit fringe benefits for commuting done for work purposes

Or encouraging bicycle facilities

Section 8 Expenditures to Provide Bicycle Access: Encourages small businesses to provide for the growing interest in bicycle commuting by providing companies with a tax credit worth up to 50% of any expenditures used to make their business bike accessible.

Section 10 Deductions for Expenditures to Remove Barriers to Bicycle Access: Allows individuals and business owners to deduct the costs of bicycle access improvements.

And then there is more for other green transportation.

Section 6 VanPool Credit: Creates a 10% tax credit for expenditures on vanpool vehicles and services, which will provide an incentive for employers and employees to share their commutes.

Section 7 Employer Credit for Providing Taxfree Transit Passes to Employees: Gives employers an up to 10% tax credit for the money they provide to employees as part of the transportation fringe benefits program. (This may include bicycle commuters) Section 11 Teleworking Tax Credit: Creates a tax credit for qualified teleworking expenses for employers and employees (up to $400 per individual teleworker). Four to six million workers currently telecommute at least once a week, saving an estimated 840 million gallons of fuel.

Section 11 Teleworking Tax Credit: Creates a tax credit for qualified teleworking expenses for employers and employees (up to $400 per individual teleworker). Four to six million workers currently telecommute at least once a week, saving an estimated 840 million gallons of fuel.

It's a really good law, and will finally treat the modes the government wants to encourage better than the ones they want to discourage - which makes sense.

Photo by WABA

Comments

[Eric]

As someone who's taken to making his commute entirely by bike almost all the time, I really wish they'd address number 3. The fact that it needs to be employer-paid seems really unfair, since the other transit benefits do not work the same way.

I inquired about the bike benefit at my organization's HR office. They discovered that it was only available if the benefit was employer-paid, and since all transit benefits at my workplace are employee-paid, there is no way for me to claim any benefit.

While in many ways, riding to work is enough of a benefit in and of itself (don't tell Congress that), the only tangible benefit I have is the benefit of not paying for metro benefits anymore. It'd be nice, though, to have a little tax-free help to help offset some basic bike expenses.

The only people I know with employer-paid transit benefits are federal employees, so I'm glad they can take advantage of the benefit, but what about the rest of us left to ourselves and unable to claim a measly $20 (or $40?) tax-free dollars a month?

[Dan]

Does the bill contain any ideas on how to pay for these tax breaks?

[Washcycle]

Not sure. I think CBO has to do an analysis of how much they'll cost, and then under pay-go rules some form of savings or tax increase elsewhere would have to cover it.