The wait using his commuter benefits card to pay for uberpool was 25. Less stress, more productivity a tough commute only adds to the stress of the daily grind. As the washington metropolitan area transit authority wmata repairs its aging light rail system under the safetrack program, the house is considering a bill to provide federal employees living in the washington, dc area with transportation network companies tncs like uber and lyft. Feb 14, 2017 so the question arises, can you use your taxfree commuter benefit dollars for ridesharing services like uber and lyft. When requesting an uberpool with your commuter benefit card selected as the payment method, well automatically match you with eligible vehicles 6 or more seats.
The growth of ridesharing companies like uber and lyft is adding another dimension to transit benefits. Today, im going to talk about the benefits of driving with uber. How to pay for uber and lyft rides with commuter benefits. My company just started offering commuter benefits this year you spend. Dec, 2016 to soften the blow to the bank accounts of harried commuters, uber partnered with employee benefits administrator wageworks in august to allow riders in new york city to pay for uberpool rides. By commuter benefits january 23, 2018 march 26th, 2020 no comments getting to work by bus, train, subway, ferry, carpool, and vanpool has been the standard options. Mar 10, 2018 a standard uber or lyft ride would not qualify for commuter benefits because that is not considered vanpooling. When you enroll, you will receive a 24hourflex debit card in the mail, which you can use to pay for eligible expenses. Navia has partnered with uber to make uberpool an eligible mass transit expense under the gonavia commuter platform. Additionally, the lyft line commuter benefit is available in.
Dec 21, 2016 uber could only be included in the transit pass definition and therefore could only partner with wageworks to offer transit benefits if the car can fit six adults plus the driver. Jun 07, 2019 you can deduct the rental fee for an uber phone but if you use your personal phone thats a bit touchier it would depend on the amount used for uber vs your personal use. Uber doesn t have a plan to beef up the minivan drivers just yet. Commuter benefits are employerprovided benefit programs that allow employees to use pretax dollars toward their monthly commuting expenses for transit, vanpooling, bicycling, and workrelated parking costs. Use of wageworks commuter benefits is currently available in the following uberpool markets. Congress considers uberlyft benefits for federal employees. Uber has extended its uberpool programwhich allows riders to use their commuter benefits debit card to pay for shared rides to and from workto more than a dozen major cities, with an even better range of providers, including our own partner, edenred. The only requirement for vanpooling where the van is not provided by the employer or employee is that the vehicle have a seating capacity of six or more adults, not including the driver. Commuter benefits are a great benefit that save both employers and employees money. The benefit allows employees to set aside taxfree money to pay for their commuting expenses, and can be used for mass transit, rideshares and qualified paid parking.
Commuter benefits funds can only be used to pay for lyft line or uberpool. Lyft has partnered with wageworks, zenefits, benefit resource, commuter benefit solutions, gusto, ebpa, navia, and ameriflex to help make your commute. Commuter insurance uber taxify insurance for taxis. Chicagoans can now take uber carpools with pretax commuter. Non existent na nope nope not at all none can u drive. Water and gum you purchase for passengers yes, they are deductible as supplies. While its not carpool karaoke, these pretax commuter savings are certainly worth singing about. I just figured a 3 minute drive wouldnt be worth the money to an uber driver so now i feel bad. There dont necessarily have to be six passengers at a given time, but the capacity has to be there.
Uber health is providing free transportation for frontline healthcare workers, helping them get to and from patients homes, as well as between healthcare facilities. And for those looking for a more convenient way to get into work, every ride you request and share with a local. You can use select commuter benefits prepaid cards to pay for uberpool rides when you commute. Also, notice in the image his driver from the first commuter card ride. Wageworks expands uber partnership to offer pretax savings. Uber matches me with a driver very far away if i use pool. Shared ride commuter benefits lyft has partnered with wageworks, zenefits, benefit resource, commuter benefit solutions, gusto, ebpa, navia, and ameriflex to help make your commute easier. To have your commuter benefits savings pay for uber, you must use it for the rideshare uberpool. You will need to pay out of pocket with another payment method and get a receipt showing the date, amount paid and the fact it was uberpool or lyft line. Uber commute pairs up a driver with commuters who are all going in the same direction, and reimburses drivers for carrying passengers. Aug 30, 2016 uber and wageworks said in blog posts announcing their partnership that riders can save up to 40 percent by using commuter benefits. Paying with commuter benefits were excited to partner with wageworks, edenred, ameriflex, navia, and benefit resource so riders can use pretax dollars to pay for uber rides. Its not your imagination, you are waiting longer for an uberpool.
Many employers either subsidize employee commuter expenses or allow employees to pay for commuter expenses through payroll deductions. Wageworks is used to pay for uberpool rides, and anyone can take part in this collaboration as long as their employer belongs to a commuter program. Let your team members commute when its convenient for them. Ridesharing will continue to grow as a form of commuting to and from work, said neuburger. Unfortunately, for the forwardthinking commuter, the answer is unclear. Jun 28, 2017 but the regular card driver was just a few blocks away.
Its the same deal if you use another ridehailing service like lyft, where only the lyft shared carpool is available for commuter benefits. If you pay for an expense outofpocket, you can file a claim to be reimbursed from your account. Commuter benefits are employerprovided benefit programs that allow employees to use pretax dollars toward their monthly commuting expenses for transit. They cannot be used for regular lyft or uber rides. Attract and retain the best talent by offering rides with uber as part of your commuter benefits. How can i use my commuter benefit transit account with uber. Jan 18, 2017 but not all uber vehicles are compliant with irs rules for commuter benefits. Both uber and lyft use algorithms to place riders going toward the same area in the car together. As there are sometimes fewer of these vehicle on the road, this may cause a slightly higher wait time than usual. Employees of companies that provide commuter benefits programs can pay for public transportationsuch as trains, subways, buses, ferries, or certain vanpools of 6 or more passengersfor their daily commute using pre. This will happen if your commuter benefits transit funds are too low to cover the cost of the ride. The one commuter insurance policy is designed for the vehicle owner who carries farepaying passengers. Lyft catches up to uber, adds pretax commuter benefits. Apr 17, 2019 uber and its competitors have dramatically changed the personal transportation industry in recent years, which has resulted in both benefits and drawbacks for customers and drivers.
The qualified transportation benefits exclusion applies to. Wageworks partners with uber to offer pretax commuter. Once youve added your commuter benefits card to your uber account, just make sure you select it as your payment method of choice before you make your. Share your ride, share your cost, and pay with taxfree dollars using gonavia and uberpool. Were excited to share that weve partnered with edenred, ameriflex, benefit resource and navia in more than a dozen cities so that more riders have the opportunity to save money when using uberpool to commute. Is it true that one can use commuting benefits for uberpool even if it. Jan 25, 2017 lyfts commuter benefits option will look pretty much like uber s. So, on that note let us jump right into the benefits of being an uber driver partner. A commuter highway vehicle is any highway vehicle with a seating capacity of at least six adults, not including the driver.
You cant use for rides like comfort, uber xl and uber x rides. While no way of making money is perfect, there are many different reasons why its great to work for yourself. Essentially, the service is similar in nature to ubers highlysuccessful carpooling service uberpool. A ride in a commuter highway vehicle between the employees home and workplace. Jan 19, 2017 at the end of the past summer, uber announced the initial program that allowed employees to upload their commuter benefits debit card to pay for uberpool rides. Uber benefits and perks, including insurance benefits, retirement benefits, and vacation policy. Jan 18, 2017 back in august 2016, we announced the launch of a program that allowed riders to use their commuter benefits debit card to pay for uberpool rides. Wageworks is not the only commuter program uber has partnered with. Jul 24, 2018 if you still have questions, check out our commuter benefit plan faqs and our blog on 3 considerations when electing commuter benefits. Commuter benefit solutions save money on your daily commute.
A standard uber or lyft ride would not qualify for commuter benefits. How can i use my commuter benefit transit account with. Employees of companies that provide commuter benefits programs can pay for public transportationsuch as trains, subways, buses, ferries, or certain vanpools of 6 or more passengersfor their daily commute using pretax dollars. Sep 26, 2016 uber, lyft, and their competitors, offering handy apps, responsive drivers and competitive prices, are fast becoming a favored commuter option. Uber accepts the following commuter benefits prepaid cards, which can be used to pay for uberpool trips. Since commuter vehicles must have seats for six or more adults, not including the driver, riders can only use larger. Another thing uber drivers need to be aware of is that the 1099k and 1099misc you. Commuter benefits are employerprovided benefits programs that help employees save money on their monthly commuting expenses. Commuter benefits are eligible for the enrolled employee only, not any dependents. If youre already paying out of pocket for your commute, this could be a huge benefit, freeing you up to use that cash on something else.
A private or publiclyowned vehicle can qualify as a commuter highway vehicle as long as the following criteria is met. Uber and lyft qualification for commuter abd insights blog. The impact of ridesharing on commuting culture commuter. This doesnt make sense from a cost perspective for uber to favor regular payment over commuter benefits. When you take shared rides, you can save up to 37% by using pretax dollars to pay for your commute. Looking to uber and lyft your way into taxfree commuter. How it works simply enter your navia debit card as an additional payment method in the uber app. The initial offering in new york city marked the first time that uber has partnered with a cdb administrator to leverage pretax commuter benefits for rides to and from work.
Commuters find an alternative in uberwageworks pact. Use pretax commuter benefits to catch an uber ride. Were excited to partner with wageworks, edenred, ameriflex, navia, and benefit resource so riders can use pretax dollars to pay for uber rides. Any uber rider is eligible to use pretax dollars on uberpool if their employer provides a commuter program. The target market includes mini and midibus taxis with up to 36 seats, metered taxis as well as platform hailing taxis such as uber and taxify. To use commuter benefits to pay for lyft or uber rides, you have to select the apps carpooling options either lyfts shared rides or uberpool. A commuter highway vehicle means any highway vehicle with a seating capacity of at least six 6 adults excluding the driver. This subreddit provides a place for uber riders and drivers to discuss their. Carpool vehicles seat six or more passengers, whether youre using lyft or uber. You can now use pretax dollars to pay for uberpool, which is huge. The future of pretax benefits and the onthego rideshare economy are converging and wageworks and uber are at the forefront of the movement. Aug 31, 2016 the irs defines commuter highway vehicles as those that can carry at least 6 adults not including the driver, which could exclude many midsized vehicles in ubers fleet. There are no real benefits for driving for uber, just sunk costs. Uber matches me with a driver very far away if i use pool with commuter benefits this might sound crazy, but in san francisco, my friends and i have noticed that uber matches me with a driver often 1520 minutes away if we use navia benefits as a payment method, vs a regular credit card.
Jan 23, 2018 by commuter benefits january 23, 2018 march 26th, 2020 no comments getting to work by bus, train, subway, ferry, carpool, and vanpool has been the standard options as an alternative to driving to work each day, alone. A tough commute only adds to the stress of the daily grind. By offering a commuter benefit to your employees, your. Commute is a carpooling service on uber that allows commuters to share their ride with neighbors and colleagues while getting reimbursed for their costs.