If you're an employer looking to improve employee satisfaction and reduce stress, this program is ideal. You can subsidize a tax-free transit benefit for your employees who use public transit, or you can allow employees to set aside pre-tax dollars, up to $340 per month, to pay for expenses related to commuting to and from work.
On this page you'll find:
Discover how the RideSponsor program can help support your organization's needs and goals.
Reduces daily commuting stress and improves job satisfaction, making working in certain business centers more attractive.
Supports public transit use and helps companies reduce their carbon footprint and achieve their corporate sustainability goals.
Provides benefits that are often cheaper than parking subsidies or mileage reimbursement. Employee contributions are payroll-tax exempt.
Find out why employees want their companies and organization to join the RideSponsor program.
Reducing commuting cost including gas, toll, maintenance and parking expenses. If you use payroll deductions to fund your cards, you can pay less in taxes.
Avoiding the negative effects of driving can improve mental well-being and work-life balance. You can use the time to relax, read or reconnect.
Employees without personal vehicles or those who prefer not to drive benefit from reliable and affordable transit access.
Any organization with a tax ID can be part of the program.
No. There’s no required participant size. However, your organization must have at least 25 employees to become a RideSponsor.
Your organization can purchase cards for $2 each and assign them to participating employees. Alternatively, employees can purchase their own cards and provide the card information to an account manager so it can be added to your organization’s RideSponsor account.
You'll be invoiced for the prior month’s transactions. Full payment will be due within 30 days of the invoice date and can be made with check, debit/credit card or ACH payment.
Your organization can assign/designate any individual(s) you want to manage the RideSponsor account.
You can have multiple administrators who can assign cards and administer funds. There is one super admin who can create, block, remove and change admins. They are also in charge of managing the account settings.
Yes. Bulk actions allow account administrators to save time by applying actions to multiple cards simultaneously.
Examples include:
An account manager can do the following:
You can manage your participants' RideMETRO Fare Cards online through the METRO RideSponsor portal. You have the option to set up an automatic reload to participant cards based on factors like balance or choose a set day of the month. Alternatively, you can do manual reloads to the cards. Loading cards can be performed on an individual card basis or through a bulk fare load using a CSV file.
Yes, a card can be loaded with both. Employers who load value using pre-tax paycheck deductions may select the pre-tax option so the funds can't be transferred to another card. Pre-tax funds get spent first if a card has a combination of both.
Yes, RideSponsor participants can use the RideMETRO app for trip planning, checking arrival / departure times and viewing service alerts.
However, participants can't convert their issued RideMETRO Fare Card into a virtual RideMETRO Fare Card within the app.
Yes. To help manage payroll and budgeting, RideSponsors can generate reports showing fund disbursements, card balances and participants.
Yes. Participants in the RideSponsor program will be able to add their own funds to a RideSponsor-issued card.
Fill out an online inquiry form, email us at RideSponsor@RideMETRO.org or call us at 713-739-4015 to set up a meeting with a RideSponsor representative. They'll review the program with you, answer your questions and help you get started.
Once you've joined the program, your RideSponsor representative will walk you through how to use the portal and help you set up account features.
Your RideSponsor representative can help promote the program and riding METRO by providing marketing materials you can distribute and hosting presentations for employees.
Your RideSponsor representative will be your direct line to support. You can call or email them with questions, request additional staff training, or get assistance with the portal.
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