Commuter Choice Maryland Newsletter

Commuter Choice Maryland Newsletter - Fall 2019

Published: Wed, 04/01/20

MDOT Maryland Department of Transportation

Commuter Choice Maryland Newsletter

Fall 2019 Edition

Commuter Choice Maryland:
Your Resource for Transportation Options

Are you ready to commute smarter with Commuter Choice Maryland? Commuter Choice Maryland is the Maryland Department of Transportation's (MDOT) Travel Demand Management Program. This program enables MDOT to increase the use of public transportation, ridesharing, walking, biking, teleworking, and alternative work schedules, to enhance the quality of life of all Marylanders.

Maryland Commuter Tax Credit via our New OneStop Portal

Maryland employers may claim a tax credit for a portion of the eligible costs of providing commuter benefits to participating employees. The tax credit is 50% of the cost of providing the commuter benefits up to a maximum of $100 per month for each employee. The tax credit, or the insurance premium tax.

Commuter Choice Maryland is automating registration for the Maryland Tax Credit through an electronic form on the Maryland OneStop Portal. By completing a brief e-form through the portal, your business can start saving money quicker and easier than ever before.

To learn more about the Maryland Commuter Tax Credit and to register via the portal, please visit commuterchoicemaryland.com

Guaranteed Ride Home

Don’t get stranded without a ride! Guaranteed Ride Home is a program in partnership with Commuter Connections that provides commuters who take transit, rideshare (carpool or vanpool) bike, or walk to work at least twice a week a free ride home in case of an emergency.

Participants can take advantage of this FREE service up to four times a year. All you have to do is register online at http://bit.ly/CC_GRH.

Transportation Tips:
Back to School Edition

Carpool to reduce congestion at the school.
Look out for children in school zones, especially near crosswalks.
Don’t double park and block visibility for children and other vehicles.
Slow down and allow extra time for drop off or pick up.

*via NCS.org

Photo of cell phone with the Charm Pass App

CharmPass & SmartBenefits

CharmPass is the official mobile ticketing app for the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration. With CharmPass on your smartphone, you can have transit fare at your fingertips any time, anywhere. It even backs up to a secure server in case you lose your phone. With the integration of SmartBenefits, you can utilize tax-saving options, which makes taking transit easy and more affordable. For more information visit mta.maryland.gov/SmartBenefits.

Quarterly Webinars

Commuter Choice Maryland hosts FREE quarterly webinars! Our next webinar will be held on Wednesday, October 16th at 11 am and will focus on how to make commuter benefits easy for you! If you cannot attend the live webinar, please check out our website as we post all previous webinars!

Previous webinar topics include: implementing teleworking and vanpools; business benefits of bike and walk friendly workplaces; employee commute options when planning a relocation; and commuter benefits.

To learn more about resources and tools that might work for you and/or your business and to register for our upcoming webinar, please visit our website by clicking the button below.

Resources and Tools

Webinar Registration

Tools & Resources

Learn more about how to start your commuter benefits for your business using our tools and resources on our website at:

Maryland Employer Commuter Benefits Toolkit

Click for the Employer Benefits Toolkit

Click for the Vanpool Toolkit

Click for the Telework Toolkit

Fall Events

October 6-8th
The Maryland Society for Human Resource Management 2019 Conference
Maryland's largest Human Resources conference where Commuter Choice Maryland will be promoting commuter benefits to Human Resources professionals.

October 16th
Meet the Primes
An opportunity to showcase businesses to prime bidders. Commuter Choice Maryland will be in attendance promoting commuter benefits.

December 2nd
The Office of Minority Business Enterprise Application Assistance Workshop
A free workshop where business professionals can learn how to become Minority Business Enterprise certified. Commuter Choice Maryland will be promoting commuter benefits.

January 2-4, 2020
Maryland Association of Counties Winter Conference
An opportunity for attendees to explore how county government works and dive into the policy issues facing Maryland before a new legislative session begins. Commuter Choice Maryland materials will be available.

Events are always being added. Please visit our website to keep up-to-date on current happenings!

Spotlight on Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative

“If we are having power outages and we need to get additional call center staff on the phones, when they work from home, we can get them on the phones within a matter of minutes.” Joe Trentacosta, Senior Vice President Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO).

To read more about how SMECO plugged into teleworking, click here.

If you are interested in sharing your success stories and being featured in an upcoming newsletter, please email us! We would love to hear from you and learn more about innovative transportation options your business is offering!

For more information on Commuter Choice Maryland please contact us at 410-865-1100 or email commuterchoice@mdot.maryland.gov. Representatives are available to assist Monday—Friday, 8:30am—5:00pm.

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