Posted on by B Spokes

Holier than You on the Bogus Bicycle Commuter Act

[In a word, where you can get a $220 parking allowance for your car, a $115 mass transit allowance or a $20 biking allowance but you can only pick one, which one would you choose?]
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One plus for LaHood – he co-sponsored the Bicycle Commuter Act. Of course, so did 64 other representatives, so it’s not like he really stuck his neck out on that one. It did get snuck into the bailout bill, but I find it very humdrum. $20/month subsidy for people who bike to work. Great! Except that if you already participate in a pre-tax transit benefit, you can’t take advantage. People who bike often are people who take transit, even if they aren’t multi-modal commuters like the Caltrain bike cohort. For example, I know people in SF who bike to work, don’t own a car, and also have a MUNI pass. A MUNI pass is $45. In order to get the bike benefit, they’d have to forfeit their much larger transit benefit.

https://holierthanyou.blogspot.com/2008/12/bogus-bicycle-commuter-act.htmloldId.20081227091201194

One Reply to “Holier than You on the Bogus Bicycle Commuter Act”

  1. To the Author of this Post: You might want to ask a lawyer whether you are violating a federal statute (e.g. conspiracy to commit tax fraud). Some employees reselling transit vouchers have been fired. Whoever sold you the passes is violating tax laws if they did not claim the income–I am not sure about your legal liability.

    FYI: The subsidy for parking is greater than for transit because before the transit benefit even existed, many employers were simply providing free parking to their employees–usually on company owned land (e.g. shopping centers, military bases, factories, office buildings). Statute was intended to equalize the benefit by allowing some sort of cash payment to employees for transit. The limit is explained–in part–by people like you who advocate resale (in violation of the tax laws). They set limit low enough so that most people use their entire benefit–otherwise, many more people would be tempted to misuse the passes.

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