Perhaps you are thinking about busing, carpooling or vanpooling and need another financial incentive to get you motivated.  Perhaps you are an employer looking for ways to encourage your employees to use sustainable transportation to get to work.

Either way, you should definitely check out the Commuter Choice Tax Benefit.

A little about the benefit:

“The law allows employers to give their workers up to $115 each month for transit or vanpool commuting costs as a tax-free benefit. It also allows employers to give employees the option to use payroll deductions to avoid paying taxes on up to $115 a month in commuting costs. Alternatively, employers can share these costs with their workers by paying part of their monthly commuting costs and letting workers pay the balance using pre-tax dollars. Either way, both employers and their employees can save money by participating in this simple plan.”

Check it all out here: http://www.apta.com/research/info/online/paystoride.cfm

Every once and awhile, getDowntown does a Commuter Profile. This month, our featured Commuter is Nicole Trinkle of the Whole Brain Group. Read all about her and the a2Chelsea Express below:

“It couldn’t be simpler. I get on at the end of the block. It feels like it takes 5 minutes. And it’s always on time.”

Nicole Trinkle (pronounced Trink-lee) has nothing but good things to say about the new a2Chelsea Express.

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) started the a2Chelsea Express on May 15, and Nicole was one of the first people to get on the bus. The a2Chelsea Express runs from Chelsea to downtown Ann Arbor twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon during peak commuting times. And it just takes about 20 minutes.

Nicole works for the Whole Brain Group, a software development and accreditation company in downtown Ann Arbor. She grew up in Chelsea, got her degree from Eastern, and now enjoys saving money, catching up on sleep and reading books on the a2Chelsea Express.

Nicole is one of the many people who get on the a2Chelsea Express every morning at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea. Some of the other bus riders include a lawyer, a landscape architect and UM employees. And the coolest part is the bus drops Nicole off a block from her work!

But Nicole doesn’t just ride the a2Chelsea Express for conveniences’ sake. It also saves her a huge amount of money. How much? If you include the cost for parking and gas, Nicole figures she’s saving well over $200 a month by taking the bus, even including the $125 a month she pays to ride the bus.

To make the cost of commuting even cheaper, the Whole Brain Group is looking to provide their employees with a sustainable transportation benefit, which other companies such as Inner Circle Media already provide. GetDowntown also let Nicole know about the Commuter Choice Tax Benefit, which allows employers to give their workers up to $115 each month for transit or vanpool commuting costs as a tax-free benefit. To find out more about the Commuter Choice Tax Benefit, go here: http://www.apta.com/research/info/online/paystoride.cfm

In addition to getting some sleep on the bus, Nicole has also read three books during her morning and afternoon trips. Right now, she’s in the middle of The Other Boleyn Girl. In her spare time, Nicole really enjoys painting, scrapbooking and being crafty.

When asked what advice she would give other people who are thinking about riding the bus, Nicole says she’s learned to plan ahead so that she can do things like coordinate rides once she’s at work. So when there’s a networking event, Nicole carpools with co-workers to that event, so she doesn’t have to worry about needing a car. Another cool feature of the a2Chelsea Express is that it offers a Guareented Ride Home, so if Nicole did need to get home or somewhere else in an emergency, she’d be able to get a free cab ride.

Nicole also reminds people that you can take a trial run on the a2Chelsea Express and ride free for a week. So there is no cost just to try it out and see if you like it.

Nicole is just one of the many people who are saving money and helping the environment by riding the a2Chelsea Express. If you live in the Chelsea area, why not join people like Nicole and get on the bus? You can find out more here: http://www.theride.org/A2chelsea.asp