Bob Mionske, cycling law expert, begins new column and blog for Bicycling Magazine
In addition to the long overdue termination of the Style Man, Bicycling Magazine has made two other wise moves recently: the addition of cycling activist/humorist blogger BikeSnobNYC and cycling law expert Bob Mionske.
Mionske is a true prize for the publication, filling useful niche in the publication with his new column and blog entitled “Road Rights.” As bicycle transportation continues to outgrow recreation, more and more cyclists will need Mionske’s insights to keep them on the right side of the law (and road).
Here’s a sample from his latest blog post on the new Bicycle Commuter Act:
So how does the tax benefit work? Basically, it allows your employer to offer you $20 per month, untaxed, as a fringe benefit to your employment. Employers already offer these types of fringe benefits to their commuters to help offset parking or transit costs; the Bicycle Commuter Act simply allows employers to extend a similar fringe benefit to their employees who commute by bike. As with those other fringe benefits, the bicycle commuter benefit is intended to be used to offset the costs of commuting.
For cyclists, that means that you can use the money to offset your commuting-related purchases, such as a bicycle, or tires, or accessories such as helmets, locks, or clothing. You can also use it to offset the cost of paying for services, such as parking facilities, shower facilities (for example, if you pay fees to a health club to use the shower before you arrive at your office), and maintenance.
Of course, $20 doesn’t go far these days. The benefit, as originally conceived by Rep. Blumenauer, was supposed to be $80 per month, which is still below the $120 that transit commuters receive monthly, and even further below the $230 monthly benefit commuters receive to offset parking costs. However, there was political opposition to that $80 figure, so it was trimmed down to $20 per month in order to gain support in Congress.
You can read more of Mionske’s legal musings at http://roadrights.bicycling.com.
