Last week, the Senate Finance Committee passed an increase in the monthly transit benefit, known as TransitChek in much of our region, from $105 to $155 dollars. The program allows employees to use pre-tax dollars to buy transit passes, potentially saving them hundreds of dollars a year.

The National Transit Benefit Association, along with other transit advocate groups throughout the country, wrote to Senate Finance Chairman Charles Grassley and Ranking Member Max Baucus urging approval of Senator Schumer’s plan to equalize the benefit and transit benefits at $200 per month. Although the transit benefit was negotiated down to $155, transit riders whose monthly costs range this high, like commuter rail riders, will still save on their commutes.

The amendment is now in the most recent version of the federal transportation bill, SAFETEA, which may be debated in the full Senate next week, though a deal for an overall funding package has eluded Congress for the last two years. 

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