Welcome to Answer Me Online: Your direct link to our Learning Center Phone and Email Help Lines. The questions posted here come directly from those being asked of our Experts by eligible employees like you. If there's something puzzling you about your plan, check here first, because chances are someone else has been wondering about it, too.
Commuter Plan Basics
What benefits are offered?
You may have either a transit or parking account, or both. Transit covers public transportation and vanpools carrying six or more adult passengers (excluding the driver). Parking benefits must be used for parking at or near work, or at or near a place where you take public transportaion to work (known in some places as Park & Ride).
How do I find the transit agencies in my area?
To review the transit agencies in your area, please go to the home page and follow the instructions for first-time user. Once logged into your account, go to the Commuter Tab, Select "Place Commuter Order" under the "Manage My Account" section, then click on the "Transportation" button to review your options.
What commuting expenses are eligible?
Only parking and mass transit costs incurred by you in connection with travel between your residence and your work place are eligible.
Examples of eligible expenses include:
- Mass transit fares, including tickets, passes, tokens, vouchers or other fares for riding buses, trains, Para-transit vans or other mass transportation vehicles;
- Official vanpool fees*;
- Parking fees at or near your work place; or
- Parking fees at a location from which you commute to your work place via mass transportation or a carpool (ex: park-and-ride lot).
*A Vanpool must consist of at least six adults (excluding the driver) and must transport the passengers to or near their place of work.
What expenses are not eligible?
The following is a partial list of Commuter expenses that are not eligible: Tolls; Traffic tickets; Fuel; Mileage or other costs you incur in operating a vehicle; Taxis; Payments to a fellow participant in a carpool or to a friend who drives you to work; Parking at your personal residence; Parking at your spouse's place of work; Parking at a mall or similar location where you stop on your drive to or from your place of work; Costs that have been or will be paid by your employer, such as for a business trip; and Parking at an airport for taking an airplane to work.
Is my vanpool eligible?
Under Federal law, arrangements where you and other commuters share the cost of renting a van for commuting to work are eligible for tax-free transit benefits. A personal van or other vehicle that you or one of the other commuters owns or operates is not a vanpool. Also, the van must be primarily used for commuting (more than 80% of the miles driven must be for transporting people to and from work), and have a seating capacity of at least six adults excluding the driver and must typically be at least half full.
How to I enroll in Commuter Benefits?
To enroll in your Commuter benefit, please go to the home page and follow the instructions for first-time user. Once logged into your account; Go to the Commuter Tab, Select “Place Commuter Order”; Then either click on “Transportation” or “Parking” to review your options.
My WMATA SmarTrip card was lost, damaged, or needs to be replaced...
If your SmarTrip card is lost or damaged, you may order a replacement by contacting WMATA directly by calling 202-962-5719 or by sending an email to smartrip@wmata.com. Once you receive the new card please contact WageWorks with the new serial number so we may add future benefits to this card. We cannot contact the WMATA for you.
I pay for parking at a park-and-ride lot, but pay for a bus pass separately. How do I use pre-tax dollars for both parking and transit?
You can use pre-tax dollars for parking and for transit by electing each commuter benefit separately. The bus fare would count toward the monthly $115 transit limit; the parking fee would count toward the $220 parking limit.
