I’ve been in the bicycle advocacy/planning game long enough now to start seeing the fruits of my labor. This is no mean feat, because much of what happens in local, state, and federal transportation funding and policy happens at a snail’s pace. Got a bike path that you want built? Start pushing for it now, because it may take 10-20 years before you can ride on that path. The work is well worth doing, but if you are the kind of person who needs immediate gratification, you’re going to have a tough time in bike advocacy.

In March of 2003 I attended my first National Bike Summit in Washington, DC. This is a gathering put on by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) for the purpose of lobbying congress on bicycle issues. The first Summit was held in 2000. The Summit is part conference and part Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. LAB does a good job of taking ordinary citizens and training them on how to talk to elected officials and their staffs. Then they release 500 or so people on Capital Hill for a day of lobbying.

When I arrived at my first Summit, the Bicycle Commuter Act had already been knocking around Capital Hill for about two years, but it was still park of the package of issues that LAB sent us to the Hill with that day. The premise of the Act was to put cyclists on the same footing as people who get tax breaks for taking transit or driving (or parking, actually) their cars to and from work. Didn’t know you could get a tax break for taking transit or parking? Well, in theory the federal government allows your employer to provide these benefits. Whether they do is up to the employer. If you work for the state of Wisconsin, these benefits are outlined on the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Fund’s Commuter Benefits website.

I think that early on the hope for the Bicycle Commuter Act was actually that it would function more like a parking cash-out program than a tax benefit. If I’m not mistaken, the hope was that bicyclists would be paid a monthly benefit, perhaps $20, to ride their bikes to work rather than drive or take transit. Why would an employer do such a thing? Because parking is an expensive benefit to provide to employees (though this fact is often overlooked) and because employees who are active take less sick days and are less of a burden on a health insurance program. Parking Cash out is considered a radical concept by some, though, and getting equity in tax law is certainly an easier sell than introducing a new kind of benefit.

Over the years, varying versions of the Act had passed both the House and Senate but the two houses were unable to compromise on one version. The Senate strategically attached a number of provisions to the Financial Rescue Package to ensure their passage before recess, included amongst them was the Renewable Energy Tax Credit Initiatives, where the Bicycle Commuter Act had come to settle. And so it was that not only would children’s wooden arrow manufacturer’s benefit from the pork in the bailout bill, but so would bicyclists.

But the passage of the provision doesn’t mean that you can start spending that bicycle tax benefit cash just yet. The provision is intended to allow employers to provide up to $20 a month in tax incentives related to an employee's bike commuting to help defray the cost of items to include, but not limited to, bike parking facilities, shower facilities, and commuter supplies (like a commuter bicycle; bike lock, helmet, and maintenance). The most likely way that this benefit would manifest is by allowing an employee to pay for these expenses with pre-tax income.

How the program will work has not yet been hammered out, though. The IRS will need to establish guidance for interested employers and the state of Wisconsin may need to create policies or legislation to allow for the benefit. The law takes effect January 1, 2009.

And then it’s up to each individual employer to decide whether or not they will provide this benefit. Which is where you all come into the picture.

Go to your employer and ask for the benefit. Send them to http://www.bikeleague.org/news/100708faq.php for more information on the new law. The full text of the provision is here: http://www.bikeleague.org/news/100708adv.php

I must admit that I never thought, after all this time, that the Bicycle Commuter Act would ever pass. But after several years, the collective advocacy of people all over the country, and a little good luck (if you can call the current economic melt-down “good luck”), has made the provision law. Now the cycle of advocacy starts all over again, with each of us.

Image Credit: http://washcycle.typepad.com/home/images/2007/07/01/earl_blumenauer_congressman_or_bike.jpg (Pro-bike Congressman Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon)