Carpool

Carpooling means sharing the ride with one or more passengers, and getting to use available HOV lanes to reduce commuting times.  Carpoolers can also save gas money and vehicle wear and tear, reduce stress levels, and enter to win company or Valley Metro sponsored contests.  How do you find a carpool partner of your own?  Try SharetheRide, our free and secure online ridematching service.  It takes just a few minutes to register, and can change your commute habits forever. 

Vanpool

Vanpooling can be a great option for larger groups of commuters.  Valley Metro provides clearly marked vanpool vans to qualifying groups of 6-15 commuters, driven by one of the vanpool members.  Some employers may offer company-owned vans as an alternative mode incentive to employees.  Passengers share the cost of operating the van by paying a monthly fare to the primary driver.  The fare covers gas, insurance, and vehicle maintenance costs.  Vanpool members are also eligible for special commuter tax benefits.  To contact Valley Metro about starting a vanpool, please e-mail (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Interested in finding a vanpool in your area?  Visit either the Vanpool Seat Locator tool or SharetheRide.  Vanpool drivers post their routes on these sites to help keep their vanpool seats full.  The seat finder is a relatively new tool, and vanpool seats are extremely limited.  Please check back frequently to view the most recent vanpool updates. 

More on Commuter Tax Benefits for Vanpools

The Federal Government has enacted tax laws that benefit commuters who travel to work in government-owned vanpools.  Employees are eligible for employer subsidies or they may set aside up to $115 a month of their pre-tax income towards commuting costs. Employers who subsidize their employees’ commute may receive equivalent deductions free of additional payroll and federal income taxes.  Examples of this benefit include:

• Transit/Vanpool Tax-free Benefit: Employers can give employees up to $115 per month in benefits to commute by transit or vanpools. The employer pays for the benefit and receives an equivalent deduction from business income taxes. Employees receive the benefit free of all payroll and income taxes.
• Transit/Vanpool Pre-tax Benefit: Employers can have employees set aside some of their pre-tax income to pay for transit or vanpools. Up to $115 per month is considered a pre-tax benefit. Therefore, employees save on payroll and income taxes and employers save on payroll costs as well.
• Combination Benefit: Employers can share the cost of commuting by giving the employee part of the commuting expense tax-free and allowing employees to set aside the remaining amount (pre-tax) up to the total limit of $115 per month.
• Parking Cash Out: This option is meant to provide an additional financial incentive for employees to use alternate mode options. An employer may offer to give employees cash for their parking space and the option to take payment as: taxable cash, or a tax-free fringe or pre-tax benefit for transit or vanpools, or a combination of cash and a fringe.