Comments on: Economic Stimulus Includes $1,000 for Mass Transit Riders

By: LorencoVOP

LorencoVOP — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 22:57:11 +0000

Did you know that USA and Europe blocked Wikileaks? What do you think about it?
Thanks

By: Economic Stimulus Includes $1,000 for Some Mass Transit Users | ecopolitology

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:45:18 +0000

[...] [Originally published at Red, Green, and Blue] [...]

By: $10B in Stimulus for High Speed Rail: How Did it Get There and Is it Enough? | ecopolitology

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:07:49 +0000

[...] >>See also: Economic Stimulus Includes $1,000 for Mass Transit Riders [...]

By: tj_in_kc

tj_in_kc — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:56:34 +0000

I'm a little confused.

I am a mass transit rider. I purchase a monthly bus pass from my employer for $47 a month. (employer pays $47, and i pay $47 50/50 split).

If I'm only spending $47 a month, this new increase won't help me at all, right???

By: Judy

Judy — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:47:48 +0000

Yes, I agree that this should include those whose employers do not participate in the program as many of us are. Individuals should be able to get tax credit or even better if we could just send in our used tickets and we get percentage of the value back up to a certain amount.

By: DiscoSteve

DiscoSteve — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:07:28 +0000

I get a Mass Transit Voucher from my employer for $120 every month to use on bus, rail, or van pool. How do you get it if your employer doesnt participate in a mass transit program? I think you should be able to write off any mass transit costs off on your taxes if you dont get the vouchers directly. Atleast I’m gonna get double the money to ride twice as much (untill they jack up the cost).

By: Timothy B. Hurst

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:18:28 +0000

Hiddukel- This program unfortunately only applies to employers that participate in it. It is my impression that any employer can join (not just transit companies).

Secondly, your crystal ball must be more powerful than mine. Encouraging mass transit in a country where it is largely under-used in many communities will bring more revenue to them, not less.

DiscoSteve- I agree. I think this benefit should be expanded/modified to include employees/employers that do not participate in the particular program.

By: Hiddukel

Hiddukel — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:47:51 +0000

Of course, if this article is refering to a program that an Employer of an company can sign up to take advantage of the dollars, then I can see how that could be beneficial… but there's another problem. Lets say companies get involved. You now have an additional 10,000 employees riding mass transit systems than before, due to the savings. As a result, transit systems get major overhauls. The 10 billion helps to offset that cost. The money runs out in 2 years…. now what? Without the savings, people may turn back to their old ways.. now the transit system is over-inflated… they have more means of transportation and fiscal payroll obligations than they can accomodate for. What then?

By: Hiddukel

Hiddukel — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:42:31 +0000

Hrm…. could someone clear this up for me? If I'm interpreting this thing correctly… the headline sais "Mass Transit Riders", but the story itself, only talks of these benefits being applicable to employees of the transit systems.. so the Bus drivers, Train engineers, etc.. all get more savings… hurah for them… but the true "Mass Transit Riders"…. ya know, anyone and everyone who utilizes these means of transportation, regardless if they work for a Mass Trans company, don't really get a savings from what I can read. So how is this really helpful to the economy as a whole? This would be like the Wall Street Journal posting an article about how much more people will save this year, just from buying intra-company..