Public transit tax break increased to $255 from $130 monthly.
LOS ANGELES - Congress has increased the incentive for public transportation riders. Beginning this month, Metrolink riders and other public transportation users can now receive up to $255 a month in tax-free commuter benefits as part of one of the measures in the Omnibus Appropriations Act.
Additionally, public transportation commuters are eligible for up to $250 in tax-free benefits, retroactive to January 2015 as part of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. Prior to this action, the public transportation commuter benefit was only $130 while individuals who paid for parking received a $250 tax-free benefit each month.
"Metrolink has long advocated to permanently make the transit commuter tax benefit equal to the benefit for parking and we are pleased Congress enacted this legislation," said Chair of the Metrolink Board of Directors Shawn Nelson, who is also an Orange County supervisor. "It is far less expensive to incentivize train ridership than to add more lanes to our already congested freeway system."
The commuter benefit for public transportation riders was a part of the $1.1 trillion funding bill, which included nearly $700 billion in tax breaks. The Senate adopted the Omnibus Appropriations Act by a vote of 65-33; the House did so by a 316-113 tally.
"We are thankful to the California delegation for supporting this measure that makes it even more affordable to use public transportation," said Metrolink CEO Art Leahy.
The omnibus bill also provides $25 million in funding for Positive Train Control (PTC) grants and other rail control technologies in fiscal year 2016 as well as an additional $25 million for a rail infrastructure grant program. This money is on top of the $199 million for PTC grants in fiscal year 2017 that was included in the recently passed Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST) Act.
For additional information on Metrolink's Corporate Partner Program (CPP), a pre-tax benefit program that allows companies and organizations the ability to offer transit benefits to their employees, please visit www.metrolinktrains.com/cpp.
ABOUT METROLINK (www.metrolinktrains.com)
Metrolink is Southern California's regional commuter rail service in its 23rd year of operation. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA), a joint powers authority made up of an 11-member board representing the transportation commissions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, governs the service. Metrolink operates over seven routes through a six-county, 512 route-mile network. Metrolink is the third largest commuter rail agency in the United States based on directional route miles and the eighth largest based on annual ridership.
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