How HR can make commuter benefits more inclusive of public transit, even without congestion pricing

Manhattan-bound commuters who work below 60th street were about to see their car rides become a lot more expensive before New York Gov. Kathy Hochul suspended a congestion pricing program that was set to take effect at the end of June.

The policy, which was approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board in March, would have imposed a $15 toll on passenger vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th street on weekdays from 5am to 9pm.

While the program was expected to generate big money for the city, it could have also created big financial headaches for employees who commute into the congestion zone. Some New Jersey commuters were expected to be acutely affected, as these drivers already pay tolls. On June 5, Hochul announced her office was pausing the program indefinitely, citing concerns about “too many unintended consequences.”

Even though New York City pumped the brakes on congestion pricing, other cities, like San Francisco and Seattle, are considering similar policies. Some cities outside the US, like London and Stockholm, have seen congestion and air pollution levels go down after implementing congestion pricing.

HR departments can consider ways to make their commuter benefits more inclusive of public transit options, congestion pricing advocates told HR Brew.

Understand your workforce before you adjust benefits. When thinking about how to adjust commuter benefits, it first helps to understand where employees are coming from, and how they’re getting to work, said Matt Caywood, co-founder and CEO of Actionfigure, a technology company that provides employers with analytics to help them understand how their workforce is commuting.

New York City employers with at least 20 employees are already required to offer a commuter benefits program in the form of pre-tax income that workers can put toward transportation. But depending on the needs of their workforce, they may consider expanding their benefits to go further than this, Caywood said. Rather than asking employees to put their own income toward transportation, companies could directly fund it, for example.

Caywood noted workers may have specific reasons for driving to work, such as childcare drop-off. For these situations, employers can look into “park-and-ride” options so that workers can park somewhere outside the city and take public transportation the rest of the way. Subsidizing e-bike leasing is another option for employees who don’t live within walking distance from a train station. Citi Bike is one company that works with businesses to offer subsidized bike shares.

Green commuting. Ultimately, Caywood said he saw congestion pricing as an opportunity for employers to promote sustainability among their workforces. “It’s a great time to ask your employees to be more sustainable, and use the greatest transit resources that are available in New York in the tri-state area,” he said on May 30, prior to the program getting axed.

Should some version of New York City’s congestion pricing program ever take effect, it will be crucial for employers to embrace flexibility, as well as educate their workforces about the details of the congestion pricing program, said Tiffany-Ann Taylor, VP for transportation at the Regional Plan Association, which lobbied in favor of the now-defunct policy. Low-income workers would’ve been entitled to a 50% toll discount, for example, and toll rates would have dropped 75% if they were driving overnight. There were also exemptions for individuals with disabilities or health conditions who cannot take public transit.

“It is absolutely worthwhile for employers to think about…other ways that we can offer benefits to our employees if there is a large concern about this additional charge,” Taylor said on May 30.