Last week the NYC City Council transportation committee discussed proposed legislation (Intro 243) to require companies with 50 or more employees to offer the federal transit commuting benefit. It allows workers at participating companies to buy up to $100 per month in transit fares with pre-tax income, offering significant savings. In much of the region, the program is known as TransitChek.

The bill was tabled by the committee apparently due to technical issues -- an official from the NYC Office of Payroll and Administration noted that language it contained may conflict with federal law. But the backing of Council Speaker Gifford Miller and Transportation Chair John Liu, along with 34 other council members, bodes well for Intro 234’s passage. However, the same bill failed last year. It is unknown whether it was quietly opposed by city businesses.

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