Increase in SmartBenefits set to roll back Jan. 1
Metro is asking its riders to lobby Congress to extend a federal tax benefit scheduled to roll back on Jan. 1 that will increase the commuting cost for the transit system’s SmartBenefits users.
The agency released an “urgent update” this week on its home page and sent to some commuters’ e-mail inboxes, calling on SmartBenefits users to write their congressional representative to extend their tax break or face losing nearly half their monthly rail and bus allowance.
The increase in pre-tax transit benefits from $120 to $230 began in 2009 as part of the federal stimulus.
“We are encouraging our customers to reach out,” said Metro spokeswoman Angela Gates. “We all strongly believe that Metro carries a lot of federal employees to work every day and that reducing this subsidy could cause a hardship.”
About 120,000 federal workers use Metrobus and rail, with the federal government paying as much $331 million a year for their subsidies.
Metro estimates it will lose 1.3 million to 3.8 million trips per year and between $5 million and $10 million in annual revenue if the subsidy is rolled back. Average weekday ridership on Metrobus is 425,000 passengers and rail passengers number 750,000, Gates said.
At its monthly meeting Thursday, Metro’s board chairman was quick to point the finger at Congress.
“We need to make sure the public [knows] … that this is not something we’re doing, it’s something the Congress is doing or failing to do,” Peter Benjamin said.
Not only will benefits drop in January, but commuters also will have to separate their transit and parking funds.
Currently, SmartBenefits parking and transit funds are used interchangeably. That means that a user who has $230 in benefits designated solely for transit use can still use those funds to pay for parking at Metro. However, Internal Revenue Service rules require that the parking and transit benefits be tracked separately; the federal government gave Metro a year to
convert to such a system.
In January that same user will see his transit-only benefits drop to $120 per month and would have to pay separately for parking or add more money into his SmartBenefits parking account.
Next year, park-and-ride commuters can have more money deposited in their SmartBenefits parking account as long as both accounts do not exceed $230.
