Biking benefit in transit

Questions remain on how incentive will be carried out

By Susan Chandler
Chicago Tribune
December 15, 2008

It was one of the more quirky provisions attached to the $700 billion financial bailout plan: a $20 monthly benefit for employees who regularly bike to work.

The bike commuter benefit is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, but one of the main problems is few companies are ready to implement it. Several say they don't even know how it would work, and they need guidance from the Internal Revenue Service, which is unlikely to arrive before year-end.

That's likely to disappoint the growing throng of commuters who cycled to work last summer as gas prices hit $4 a gallon, some of whom will continue to ride through much of the winter.

"People who regularly bike to work are looking forward to using the benefit. People expect to get it," said Dave Glowacz, author of "Urban Bikers' Tricks & Tips," who goes by the name Mr. Bike.

(More here.)