Uber Adds Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits Option

More employers can now get on the Uber train in helping their employees get to work.

Uber announced that it has partnered with Edenred, Ameriflex, Benefit Resource and Navia to give more riders the opportunity to save money during their commute. They do have to be using uberPOOL, and it’s only available in select cities and New Jersey for now. But once the employer opts into the program through a participating benefit provider, the employee is able to add a commuter benefits debit card to their Uber account.

At the end of the past summer, Uber announced the initial program that allowed employees to upload their commuter benefits debit card to pay for uberPOOL rides. Uber partnered with WageWorks, which provided consumer-directed benefits in the U.S. at the time. The program allowed commuters to save money using pretax earnings in order to pay for certain commuting expenses, which are typically geared toward bus and train rides. Uber estimated that consumers using this method could save up to 40 percent on their commute.

This week’s announcement is an expansion of the program, which is now available in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and New Jersey.

In order to use uberPOOL with these benefits and once the employer has gotten on board with the program, the rider simply needs to upload the card, and select the different payment method when traveling for their commute. Then they select the uberPOOL and get the ride experience going.

Regarding the program and on its site, Uber says it’s “committed to making uberPOOL a reliable and affordable option for people every day” and invites more riders to start using the program. However there are still some parameters that riders need to take into account.

Riders need to first decide how much pre-tax income they’d like to contribute to the account, with the maximum being $255 for the 2017 year.

They also have to note that due to the uberPOOL program being what it is, there could be some wait times or hiccups. The platform will match the rider with only eligible vehicles – those with six or more seats – which means there may be fewer vehicles on the road when the rider is looking to get to work, and thus there is a warning of a potential wait time. Uber recommends that if that becomes a problem, the rider should switch the payment method back to their other non-benefits card, which would not be eligible for the benefits, but would more likely get them to work.