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Advocates urge employers to offer pretax commuter benefits to cut emissions and spur transit use
Summary
Transportation advocates supported H.2153/S.1345, which would require employers with 50+ workers to offer pretax commuter benefits up to the federal limit, saying the measure would reduce single-occupancy driving and lower emissions while costing employers little or nothing.
A statewide transportation coalition told the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development that requiring employers with 50 or more employees to offer pretax commuter benefits would reduce vehicle trips and greenhouse-gas emissions while lowering workers’ taxable income.
Pete Wilson, senior policy director at Transportation for Massachusetts, said H.2153/S.1345 would require employers with at least 50 employees to offer pretax commuter benefits up to the maximum allowed under Section 132(f) of the federal tax code (witnesses cited $325 per month as the typical transit benefit cap). "These benefits lower the taxable income of employees and do not expire," Wilson said, and they are similar to pretax programs for health or child care.
Wilson cited analyses from other jurisdictions—including a post-implementation report from San Francisco—showing substantial mode shift from driving alone to transit after employer-based commuter-benefit requirements. He said the policy is complementary to prior state action expanding commuter deductions and urged the committee to pass the bill to increase transit use and reduce emissions.
Committee members had no substantive objections at the hearing and the coalition asked the committee for a favorable report.
