Financial Incentives

Establishing a commuter benefits program makes good financial sense for your company. From tax breaks to 511NY Rideshare-sponsored grants, businesses offering these benefits can take advantage of numerous financial incentives. For example, you can reduce corporate and payroll taxes, provide valuable tax benefits to employees, qualify for substantial transit grants, make work site improvements that help commuters and reduce the cost of parking facilities. Explore the financial incentives available.

Pretax Benefits

Whether you subsidize your employees’ commuting costs or simply allow them to pay for transportation expenses with pretax income, you’ll both receive substantial value and savings by providing pretax transit benefits.

Parking Management

At many work locations, especially in urban areas, parking is scarce, costly or both. Parking management programs can offer valuable tax benefits for employees and reduce costs to your company.

Grant Information

New York City Commute Enhancement (NYCCE) Grant

The NYCCE grant is available to organizations in New York City to help fund work site transportation-related projects designed to help reduce congestion and improve air quality. These grants are worth up to $10,000 depending on the number of employees and may be used for many projects, including shuttle buses, bicycle parking, carpool-only parking spaces and signage and similar projects. For more information email info@511NYRideshare.org  or call 511 and say “Rideshare.”

Long Island Region Improving Commuting (LIRIC) Grant

The LIRIC grant program is a public service to help Long Island employers implement programs that reduce traffic congestion and pollution during peak commute times. LIRIC grants can be used to promote alternatives to driving alone, including carpooling, vanpooling, teleworking, public transit and bicycling.

Eligible grantees include public and private employers as well as owners and operators of major trip generators (shopping malls, office parks, etc.) with at least 30 employees at a single work site. 

When an employer inquiry for a grant is received, 511NY Rideshare will administer a site survey of employees to analyze their commuting habits and assess which commuting alternatives would be the most successful. An employee response rate of at least 50 percent is required to proceed with the grant application process.

Eligible projects include:

• Carpool incentive programs
• Vanpool incentive programs
• Parking management
• Transit incentive programs
• Telework programs (Capital acquisition of computers is not eligible)
• Bike-to-work programs
• Programs that bridge gaps in existing transit service, such as operation of new shuttle bus services between work sites and Park & Ride lots or railroad stations. Capital acquisition of buses is not eligible.

LIRIC grantees are strongly encouraged to develop innovative and comprehensive workplace commuter programs that may involve a number of actions that, if implemented, would offer the greatest potential to reduce the number of single-occupant vehicle drivers traveling on nearby and surrounding highways where traffic congestion is highest during peak periods.

Once the survey data and employer input for the new program(s) have been integrated, 511NY Rideshare will write the LIRIC grant proposal. Upon the applicant’s final approval, the proposal will be sent to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) for consideration.

Grants are limited to $100,000 in total, or $1,500 per participating employee, whichever is less. Funding availability is limited to a one-year time period.

For more information on how your company can benefit from the LIRIC grant, email info@511NYRideshare.org  or call 511 and say “Rideshare.”