 Sacramento Transportation Management AssociationOnline NewsletterThe Sacramento TMA is an independent, non-profit membership association. |
|
Topic Sections, go to... |
|
| Regional Development | |
| Parking | |
| Global Warming | Commute Options (this section) |
Commuter Choice Initiative expands options
The Commuter Choice Initiative allows employers to provide greater commute benefits. Described in Title IX, section 910 of TEA-21, this initiative changes IRS code, section 132(f)(4) to allow pre-tax payment of transit, vanpool or parking costs.
Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit. For taxable years beginning in 2007, the monthly limitation regarding the aggregate fringe benefit exclusion amount for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass is $110. The monthly limitation regarding the fringe benefit exclusion amount for qualified parking is $215. [http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/article/0,,id=109879,00.html]
Employees may set these amounts aside tax-free in an account. The account is different from traditional cafeteria plans, no plan filings are required and an employee does not lose any unused amount they have set aside.
The pre-tax and tax-free benefits do not apply to carpooling costs and the law requires that employers use a debit system or vouchers such as TransitChek (the phone number for TransitChek is 1-800-531-2828).
The savings add up. For every dollar employers provide, they save up to ten cents; employees save 30 cents.
The TMA recommends that you consult your tax specialist on setting up these pre-tax accounts.
EPA
recognizes TMA
members' efforts to ease traffic
Twenty-two of the 46 Greater Sacramento employers on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new "Best Workplaces for Commuters"
list are Sacramento TMA members. Companies on the list must offer financial incentives significant enough to get 14 percent of their employees
to use commute alternatives (car or vanpool, transit, bicycling, or walking to
work).
"Best Workplaces for Commuters is a national standard of excellence," said Robin Snyder, the EPA's team manager for the commuter program. "These employers are the top tier nationally. They're making real, measurable contributions to improving air quality and reducing congestion."
The EPA developed its first "Best Workplaces" list in the Bay Area last year, and has since completed lists in Washington, D.C., Houston and Tucson, Ariz. By recognizing these employers, the EPA hopes to cut down on the number of cars on the road and improve air quality.
Sacramento was an obvious next choice because of its proximity to the Bay Area and because the region is in violation of federal Clean Air Act standards for ozone. It's also one of the more difficult commuting markets in the country.
More than 800,000 people commute each day in the Sacramento region, according to the U.S. Census, and 75 percent of them drive to work alone. A 2000 transportation model used by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments concluded that the average Sacramento commuter drives 22.9 miles per day and spends 15 percent of that drive time on highly congested roads.
And a recent study by Demographics Monthly concluded that Sacramento-area drivers have a longer commute than drivers in 678 other metropolitan areas in the country. The study included in the Sacramento metropolitan area Truckee, Grass Valley and Douglas County, Nev., across the Sierra from Alpine County.
Stockton and the Bay Area rated even worse in the study.
Employers have 18 months from the time their name appears on the list to survey the commuting habits of their employees to make sure they're meeting the goal of having 14 percent of their employees commute by means other than driving alone.
TDM Training: Helping employees find commute options requires many talents
If we had to choose a performer that best characterized the Employee Transportation Coordinator function, would it be a juggler, clown, stand-up comedian or country western singer? My guess is the juggler, and not just any ordinary run-of-the-mill-juggling-three-balls-at-a-time juggler. Ours would be juggling bottles, hats and balls while precariously perched atop a high wire. It feels this way when we have to balance and juggle our many work and family responsibilities daily.
Every ETC in the Sacramento TMA wears more than one hat, sometimes the other jobs are related, such as managing employee parking or the fleet of vehicles, other times the majority of the ETC’s time is spent on very unrelated work, from managing the office, providing support services, to analyzing data.
However, it is interesting to note that it’s not a full-time ETC, a big budget or expensive incentives that make the employee transportation programs work. It is the enthusiasm, commitment and resourcefulness of the person that does the job that makes the programs successful.
Recognizing this, the Sacramento TMA’s programs are designed to support the members’ efforts and make the time the ETC can devote to the job be the most effective. TMA programs demand as little of the members’ staff time as possible. The TMA manages the programs, analyzes the data and reports the results.
To help the ETCs, the Sacramento TMA provides training and networking at every monthly meeting. The purpose of the training is to show ETCs how to offer the TMA’s programs and help employees find commute options. The training includes ideas, techniques, information and resources to implement programs, as well as case studies of various employers that have successful carpool and vanpool programs.
The training is designed for both veteran and novice ETCs. Carpool program basics are addressed, including defining a carpool, benefits of carpooling, how to get management support for a carpool program and how to address concerns about carpooling.
Other topics covered in the training include getting employees interested in carpooling, keeping track of carpools, and using the TMA’s Guaranteed Ride Home program to support a carpool program.
By supplying the tools to implement successful commute option programs at the worksite, we hope TMA training will give members more time to juggle the myriad of other things they have to do!
City Parking
Garages offer Alternative Mode Commuter Option (AMCO)
On May 1, 2000, the City of Sacramento, Parking Facilities Services Division will be introducing a new downtown employee parking program aimed at alternative mode commuters who normally utilize an alternate mode of transportation (i.e. Regional Transit, carpool, bicycle, etc.) but occasionally need to drive to work (12 times per quarter or less).
AMCO (Alternative Mode Commuter Option) allows employees who normally utilize an alternative mode of transportation to park at a discounted rate up to twelve times per quarter. AMCO is valid in all participating City parking facilities. Participating lots are Old Sacramento, Downtown Plaza, Lots G, H, K, P, R, and U. The City has an excellent map of all its garages on this page: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dwntwn/ospr/
As an AMCO participant, you are eligible to purchase a book of twelve stickers once each quarter from the Parking Administration office (312 K Street), which are valid for one year for $60. Each sticker is valid for one full day of parking. That's over 50% savings for a full day of parking!
To use the AMCO stickers:
§ Drive up to the gate entry of one of the AMCO accepting
parking facilities
§ Obtain a ticket from the machine
§ Before exiting the facility, affix the AMCO sticker to the
back of the ticket
§ Present your ticket with AMCO sticker to the attendant, and
you will not be charged for the day since the stickers are pre-paid
If you would like to enroll to become an AMCO participant, go to the City of Sacramento Parking Administration office at 312 K Street (across from the Holiday Inn) or call (916) 264-5110 for more information.
The City has an excellent map of all its garages on this page: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/dwntwn/ospr/
Daily Cost and Motorcycle Parking
Motorcycle parking is free in City parking facilities, P & R (Old Sacramento), G & U (Downtown Plaza), Lot I (10th & I Streets) and Lot H (10th & L Streets). The rule to motorcycle parking is you must park in designated motorcycle parking spots only. If motorcycles are parked in places other than motorcycle spots, you can be ticketed.
