MATRA’s ETIP encourages mass transit

On April 19, 1995, Georgia Governor Zell Miller signed the Mass Transit Employee Benefit Bill, making it possible for public officers and employees to have money deducted from their paychecks to pay for transit passes and tokens. State employers in Atlanta can now participate in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s (MARTA) Employers Transit Incentive Partnership (ETIP), a citywide plan offering employees cost-efficient ways to get to work.

It allows employers to establish funds strictly for the purpose of providing means of transportation for their workers. According to the bill, “any department, agency, authority or commission of the state is authorized to participate in any program to provide a mass transit employee benefit to its employees and may, but need not, bear all or a portion of the cost of such fare media from funds specifically approved for this purpose.”

The benefit is available statewide to all public officers and employees who have access to a public transit system using tokens or transit passes. including residents of Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Rome and Savannah. MARTA created ETIP to allow public departments to subsidize transit passes as a tax-free benefit for employees. It encourages city employers to implement Transportation Management Plans (TMPs) that include the ETIP program. The tax benefits of the programs are covered under the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which makes rideshare assistance tax-deductible (The TMPs include other tax-deductible options such as car pooling, operating a shuttle service, erecting amenities such as shelters and bike racks near workplace entrances and telecommuting.) Private employers can write off transit expenses of up to $60 per month per employee. More than 60 companies, including Georgia Power, BellSouth and CocaCola are using the program, which has led to increased employee punctuality and has freed up more parking space for customers.

Under ETIP, employers can limit employee parking deductions to $155 monthly, including parking provided for commuters who drive and park at MARTA station garages. Employees may deduct their transit expenses at tax time and cut vehicle maintenance costs and gas expenses.

Public offices offering the program must first establish the amount of the fund. Payment methods for the program include cash, check, purchase order or consignment/contract and delivery.

Fifty or fewer passes can be purchased from public outlets or by mail, and more than 50 can be delivered. No return or credit is allowed for unused fare media of orders less than 50, so employers must be as accurate as possible when ordering passes.

With consignment/contract and delivery orders, fare media delivery is made to one site only, and unsold or unissued cards or parking permits may be returned at the next delivery. Refund problems or discrepancies are addressed by MARTA.

Employers must then arrange a distribution method for the passes, whether using existing cash locations in personnel departments, reimbursement or payroll deduction.

According to MARTA officials, once the program is initiated, the payroll deduction is the most cost-efficient of the three methods.

The program guards against theft of the cards by assigning a number to each pass and requiring employees using the program to sign affidavits.