Transit Benefits: How Some Federal Employees Are Taking Uncle Sam For A Ride

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing entitled, “Transit Benefits: How Some Federal Employees Are Taking Uncle Sam For A Ride.”  In 2006, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, at Senator Coleman’s request, initiated an investigation into possible abuses of the Federal Transit Benefit Program. Under this program, the federal government provides qualified federal employees with benefits for use on public transportation systems in order to reduce air pollution and decrease traffic congestion. For instance, employees living in the Washington, D.C. area receive a paper card, called a Metrochek or Metro Smartrip, with a magnetically encoded value that can be used on Metrorail or exchanged for an equivalent value in train or bus tickets. The April 24th Subcommittee hearing examined whether transit benefits are being misused, program rules are being violated, and agency oversight requires strengthening.