Tips for employers

Employers can receive incentives to support employees who commute by bus or those who walk, bike and carpool.

Did you know (and does your employer know) that employers who subsidize their employees' alternative transportation costs are eligible for tax credits under Washington's Commute Trip Reduction Act (CTR)? According to the CTR act, some of the ways employers become eligible for these tax incentives are:

Offering free bus passes
Establishing shuttle services from Park & Rides
Giving monetary incentives for every day an employee walks, bicycles, carpools, or vanpools to work
Providing company vehicles (vanpools, fleet cars) for company travel or personal errands for employees who used alternative transportation to work
Offering ride matching or guaranteed rides home in emergency situations
Establishing alternative work schedules (flex-time, compressed work week)

The act actually requires large companies (more than 100 employees per worksite) to promote alternative transportation. The Washington State Department of Revenue estimates that Commute Trip Reduction:

Cuts annual vehicle miles traveled by 80 million miles
Reduces the cars on the roads during peak traffic hours by 12,000
Reduces annual gas consumption by almost 4.5 million gallons

For more information, call the Department of Revenue at (360) 676-2114 or pass this information onto your employer.