WIXLIB

Mass TransitBy Greg Varhaug

GreenRethinkfor BusinessThere is a strong argument that it is in thebest interest of Americans to encourage theuse of public transitand carpooling in aneffort to curb congestion and pollution.How does that affectthe Texas business community?Not long ago, the EPA estimatedthat three-quarters of Houstoniansdrove to work alone. The EPA statesthat many times, 20 percent to 30percent of employees can be expectedto switch to using public transit inresponse to encouragement by theiremployers. They also claim thatemployees who use public transportation are less stressed and moreproductive, and that easing trafficcongestion means we aren’t forced tospend as much on roads.Need to MeetMandated TargetsBut perhaps the most importantconsideration cited by EPA for theHouston business community is thatour receiving federal highway fundsis dependent upon our meeting federal pollution requirements. Houston isreportedly not doing too well in thisregard. We could lose federal highwayfunds if we don’t reach federally mandated targets for air pollution. Thinkabout that for a second.For years now, the EPA hasencouraged companies to promote the use of public transit andtelecommuting in the interest offighting pollution. In 2003, theEPA launched an extensive mediacampaign in Houston, including numerous TV news reportsfocusing on Houston’s air-qualityproblems, and the role that areabusinesses can play in the solution.Increasing the use of existingpublic transit resources reducespollution. There are argumentsabout the real energy savingsachieved by public transit basedon how much energy is used inthe construction and maintenanceof roads, rail lines, etc. These areinteresting, but irrelevant – thesesystems are already built, and we’recommitted to maintaining and expanding them.Improving air quality in theHouston area is one of the aimsof the Houston Galveston AreaCouncil, which is the MetropolitanPlanning Organization (MPO) forHarris County and seven surrounding counties. HGAC advisesMetro on matters of transportationplanning. Increasing the efficiencyof public transit is one of HGAC’smain strategies for achieving better air quality.In 2007, the U.S. Censusreported that only five percent ofHoustonians use public transit, asopposed to 17 percent in Seattle.If increasing efficiencies in publictransit is indeed one of our strategies for cleaner air, then we haveroom for improvement.NBIZ Spring 201015

Can a big city like Houston haverates of public transit use comparableto smaller cities like Oakland, California with 16 percent, or Portland,Oregon with 13 percent? Of course,part of that answer depends on Metro’stotal combined carrying capacity,and their ability to respond to futureincreases in demand. Assume that theycan. The real answer depends on the efforts of companies and the communityat large to effectively utilize what we,Houston taxpayers, have bought andpaid for. This isn’t “Save the Whales,”this is “Houston First!”HoustonMetroRailMetro began development of its“METROSolutions”plan in 2001. Area votersapproved the plan in 2003, and it’sscheduled for completion in 2014. The General MobilityProgram gives Metro one quarter of its one cent sales tax formobility projects in Harris County. Metro is authorized to issue 640 million in bonds for use in future projects.The METRO Solutions Phase 2 Implementation Plan includes nearly 30miles of Light Rail Transit (LRT) in the North, East End, Southeast, Uptown, andUniversity corridors.The North Corridor Line will be 5.2 miles long, and will originate at UHDowntown, where the Red Line ends. The route follows Main St., and turnsright on Boundary St., north of Quitman. Then it picks up Fulton St., andcontinues to run north parallel to I 45. The line terminates on Fulton atDeerfield, north of Crosstimbers. This line will take riders to Moody Park,Holy Cross Cemetery, North Line Mall, and Irvington Village.The East End Corridor Line is projected to be about 3 miles long. It will be gin at the Magnolia Transit Center at the corner of 70th St. and Harrisburg. Theline travels north along Harrisburg Ave. It will end where it merges with theSouth East Corridor Line, near the corner of Texas and Bastrop. Metro has notyet determined whether traffic lanes on Harrisburg will be taken or shared.Metro is anticipating 11,000 riders per day on this line.The South East Corridor Line is projected to be 6 miles in length. Fromdowntown, this line runs south down Scott St., where it passes the Universityof Houston’s main campus. It connects to the University Line near this point,which runs east to Texas Southern University, and beyond. The main line willturn east onto Wheeler St., and continue down MLK Blvd.The University Corridor Line was given FTA approval to begin itspreliminary engineering phase in December 2009. This line is projected to run11 miles. Its western terminus will be at US 59 and Hillcroft. It will run alongWestpark, cross north of US 59 at Cummins, and continue west alongRichmond Ave. It crosses back to the south of US 59 and continues alongAlabama. It terminates at its intersection with the South East Corridor Line,next to the UH Downtown campus.The Uptown Corridor Line is projected to run 4 miles along Post Oak,paralleling the West 610 Loop from I 10 to US 59. This route will provideconvenient access to Memorial Park, Houston’s First Baptist Church, and theGalleria area, one of the country’s largest business districts. Construction isscheduled to begin later this year.For further interest in Metro’s RideSponsor programs, email sales@metro.org or counts.aspx.16NBIZ Spring 2010Initiatives by CompaniesMany companies nationwide participate in transit pass programs, inpart, to demonstrate their interest infighting pollution. As a result, companies are often awarded in recognition oftheir efforts, and this generates positivepress. But there are other benefits tocompanies who take part in transit passprograms. Some of these are tangible,like tax benefits for both the companyand the employee; and some less so.Federal tax laws allow private employers, nonprofits, and governmentagencies to provide tax-free transitcommuter benefits to their employeesof up to 230 per month. Because employers receive a tax deduction for thisbenefit, it’s more cost-effective for thecompany to offer commuter benefits totheir employees than it is to offer a salary increase for the same amount. Thecompany’s cost for administering thisprogram can be deducted as a normalbusiness expense. In fact, the reduction in the amount of payroll tax thatthe company pays may well offset thecost of the program.Companies that don’t subsidizetheir employees’ cards can set up a payroll deduction which is then depositeddirectly to the employee’s card account.Employees can effectively trade up to 230 per month in salary for a tax-freebenefit equal to that amount. In thiscase, the employer does not have to paypayroll tax on the amount, and the employee isn’t taxed for the benefit. Thereare also plans under which the cost ofthis benefit is shared.People not eligible to receive thesetax benefits under IRS rules: sole proprietors, the self-employed, partners, twopercent shareholders of corporations,and independent contractors.

In 2008, Metro announced plans to replace 100 buses per year with new MCI hybrids. This hasimproved the weight-carrying capability of the city’s buses, and equates to a lower emission rate perpassenger carried, compared to buses running on natural gas.These programs are easier andless expensive to run today than justa few years ago, thanks to cash-loadable debit cards, and computerizedtracking. Metro’s RideSponsor makesit easier for companies that includeallowances for transportation as partof their employee compensation to administer their transit pass programs.Through RideSponsor, companiescan administer their employees’ useof Metro Q Cards, cash-loadable cardsthat can be used to ride Metro busesand trains.The RideSponsor program haseliminated the need for companies todistribute paper bus passes to theiremployees. The computer programused in RideSponsor provides thecompany with all of the documentation it needs for tax purposes.Jeff Linton, a representative withMetro, recently told me there are136 companies using RideSponsor tomanage their transit pass programs.Of these, about 40 are medium-sizedcompanies, with the remainderincluding some of Houston’s largestcompanies. Most are companies thatalready had transit pass programsin place prior to the introduction ofRideSponsor.18NBIZ Spring 2010Mr. Linton says that responsefrom large companies to the RideSponsor program is very good, andthat Metro is eager to expand theRideSponsor program to include moresmall and medium-sized companies.Metro introduced Q Cards in2007. They have many obvious advantages over older pass media. Q Cardscan be replaced if they’re lost or stolen, as long as the card is registered; ifa card isn’t registered, there is no wayto replace the value of the card. Cardsmust be registered by calling Metro’shelp desk (713-635-4000).Q Cards can be refreshed automatically. Users can arrange to havemoney added at regular times, andyou can set it to refresh a set dollaramount when it reaches a lower limit.They can be loaded with up to 500.And Q Cards allow you to take five freetrips for every 50 trips you take – afteryour 50th trip, your next five bus ortrain boardings are free. The cardsalso track transfers, allowing twohours to complete a transfer.Q Cards also help companies toreduce instances of abuse, if givingaway unused bus tickets rises in yourbook to the level of “abuse.” Q Cardscannot be used twice within five minutes, meaning you can’t pay for yourown trip, then turn around and pay forsomeone else’s. This also reduces thepossibility of unauthorized use.Besides transit pass programs,companies can take other active stepsto encourage their employees to usepublic transportation, or to carpool.Some companies offer special carpoolparking, as well as assisting employees in organizing car pools. Companies can also adjust work schedulesin a variety of ways to accommodatepublic transit, or even to reduce thenumber of trips employees make everyweek. Steps such as these cost companies little or nothing.Changes in Public TransitThe face of public transit haschanged dramatically over the past 30years. When Metro was formed in 1979,they took over a fleet of aging buses,and not much else. Since then, Metrohas built toll roads, plus HOV and HOTlanes. Houston was the first city to useHOV lanes, and this is one of the first actions that Metro took after its creation.They have also added park-and-ride, andthe RideStar vanpool program.