BJC's transit subsidy sees 900% increase since Jan. 1



Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's Hospitals have seen a 900 percent increase in the number of its employees taking advantage of a transportation subsidy since the program launched Jan. 1.



As of last month, the hospitals had 758 employees registered for a $20 monthly subsidy toward a $50 monthly transit pass for MetroLink and MetroBus. Employees can have the remaining cost deducted from their gross pay, saving on payroll taxes and making the monthly pass cost less than $30.



In December, a month before the program launched, about 75 workers signed up for the program.



Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Children's Hospital are part of St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare, the area's largest employer with more than 21,000 employees. It is affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine and operates 12 other hospitals in the area.







? 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... ily77.html

Thanks for posting this, Matguy.



Question: Can you tell me whether this is a MetroLink (publicly) sponsored program, or one initiated by Barnes Jewish?

Just for an additional comment, the Illinois side also has programs such as that. I know Southwestern Illinois College has a program like that, as does Scott AFB (largest employer on the east side).

I believe it was a union and joint effort to make it available, but like Xing posted, it is almost completely funded through METRO.

Thanks, both, for that fast response.

Metro does not reduce the cost for passes - i.e. this program is not publicly funded. It is funded by the employers. Even if employers choose not to subsidize transit, however, they can still benefit by offering passes on a pre-tax basis. The employee benefits by not having transit expense counted as taxable income (~ $600 per year), and the employer likewise doesn't have to pay payroll taxes on that amount. Usually a third-party company handles the logistics. One is www.wageworks.com