Commuter Check is a national program providing administrative and marketing services that support public/private efforts to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and promote the use of public transportation. Commuter Check has been servicing employers since 1990.

Commuter Checks are vouchers employers provide to their employees for buying transit tickets, passes and tokens. They are used as an employee benefit, either as a substitute for taxable salary (offered on a pre-tax basis like a 401k) or supplemental company-paid benefit.

Transit services in many U.S. cities accept Commuter Checks for purchase of passes, tickets, and tokens. They are also accepted for vanpool fares.

Three options to save Employers provide Commuter Checks in one of three ways:
	•	A pre-tax salary deduction. When money is set aside from a paycheck before taxes are taken out, it saves an employee up to $500 each year on their commute! Here is how it works. For the tax-free maximum of $110 a month ($1,320 a year), gross salary will be reduced by $110 a month, but take home pay falls by only $63. This equals $42 in taxes saved each month – $500 annually to use for something else! The law also allows for tax-free commute-related parking expenses. For the tax-free monthly maximum of $215 for parking ($2,580 per year), gross salary will be reduced by $215 a month, but take home pay falls by only $123. This equals $82 in taxes saved each month, or almost $1,000 over the course of a year. This equates to almost 4 months of free commuting! Normally, the pre-tax salary deduction option also saves employers 8% of the amount used for commuting, and often much more.
	•	A company benefit. If an employer chooses to pay for Commuter Check, it’s like free parking or a tax-free raise. The employer pays no payroll tax on this added benefit. For example, giving salary with the same after-tax value as $1,320 in Commuter Checks would cost an employer over $ 2,250 – the difference is what’s saved in taxes!
	•	A combination plan. Any combination of the employee-paid and employer-paid options can be offered, as long as the total does not exceed $1,320 a year for transit or $2,580 a year for parking.

Simple to use and administer
Since 1990, over 8,000 employers of all sizes, in every industry of the public, private and non-profit sectors, have purchased Commuter Checks, and approximately 200,000 employees now receive them and save on transportation expenses. Commuter Checks are available in denominations appropriate for each city served and are readily redeemed at transit and retail sales outlets and through ticket-by-mail plans. Vanpools also accept them. Our ParkChek vouchers are readily redeemed by parking operators around the country.

No set-up fees or minimum order requirements are involved. Like any business expense, order forms and canceled checks should be retained. No special reports, costly overhead or complex record keeping is required.

Regions served
Commuter Check is a national program. Click here for a detailed list of more than 40 areas around the country that are currently served.