COMMUTER SURVEY REVEALS TAX-FREE COMMUTER BENEFITS DRASTICALLY UNDERUTILIZED IN NEW YORK CITY

16 Apr 2007

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NY HR Week, New York City, April 16, 2007 – Accor Services USA, a leader in innovative employee benefits solutions and provider of the national commuter benefit program Commuter Check®, today announced the results of a New York City (NYC) commuter survey from the 5th Annual NY HR Week Conference. Accor Services USA surveyed 500 commuters on the streets of NYC this Spring and found that an overwhelming 80 percent said their employer does not offer a tax-free commuter benefit. Additionally, with the promise of up to 40 percent savings on commuting expenses, 98 percent said they would participate if their employer offered such a benefit.

Of the commuters surveyed, the monthly commuting expense averaged $129 while some 40 percent spend more than $200 each month on commuting expenses. Employees who participate in a tax-free commuter benefit program can save up to 40 percent of their commuting costs – often more than $1,500 in annual tax savings – while the employer
saves eight to ten percent on payroll taxes with every participating employee. Such programs take advantage of the Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit, also known as IRS Code Section 132(f), which allows U.S. employees to set aside up to $110 per month pre-tax for transit benefits and $215 per month pre-tax for parking benefits.
The survey also indicates that a minority work for companies that subsidize commuting expenses (9 percent of 275 surveyed) yet most companies are on the lookout for ways to help offset the rising cost of commuting for their employees.  A tax-free commuter benefit is an economical way for a company to add value to the overall compensation package without increasing costs.

“Typically adding benefits to the compensation package equates to additional expense for the company,” said Nicole Gallego, HR generalist for Moody’s KMV, the world’s leading provider of quantitative credit-risk measurement and management products and services. “Instituting Commuter Check to offer our employees a tax-free commuter benefit is actually saving the company money on payroll taxes. At the same time, we’re helping employees reduce their commuting expense and encouraging the use of public transportation. It’s a tremendous recruitment and retention tool. Plus, it’s a great way to demonstrate the company’s commitment to the environment.”

As concern for the environment firms its place at the forefront of American consciousness, 85 percent of the commuters Accor Services USA surveyed said it is important or very important to them that taking public transportation helps protect the environment and 87 percent said it is important or very important to reduce traffic in NYC. A majority of those surveyed (68 percent) use public transportation to commute to work in NYC 4-5 days a week and 80 percent said they would use public transportation more often if their employer offered a commuter benefit. Fifty percent said that a commuter benefit would be important or very important in attracting them to a new employer, demonstrating the value of a commuter benefit as a recruitment tool.

“The issue appears to be awareness,” said Gerard Bridi, President, Accor Services USA. “Only about half of the people we surveyed were even aware of tax-free commuter benefits yet the option was introduced in 1998 and finalized in 2001. With our decades of experience in this industry instituting transit and parking voucher programs for more than ten thousand employers across the U.S., it is incumbent upon us to help educate employers in NYC about tax-free commuter benefits.”

Striving to raise awareness among employers about the advantages to companies and employees of a commuter benefit, Accor Services USA will showcase Commuter Check Benefit Solutions, its transit and parking voucher program, at the 5th Annual NY HR Week Conference, April 16-18 at the Hilton New York.

About Commuter Check Benefit Solutions and Accor Services USA
Commuter Check Benefit Solutions is a nationwide transit and parking voucher program offered by Accor Services USA, a leading transportation benefits organization in the United States. The Commuter Check program allows companies to take advantage of the Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit, also known as IRS Code Section 132(f). Nationwide, more than 10,000 employers offer Commuter Check to over 250,000 employees as part of overall compensation packages. Accor Services USA’s mission is to provide, on a national basis, administration and program development services supporting public and private efforts to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and promote use of public transportation. For more information about Commuter Check visit www.commmutercheck.com.

About Accor
Accor, European leader in hotels and tourism, global leader in corporate services, operates in nearly 100 countries with 160,000 employees. It offers to its individual and corporate clients nearly 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:

• Hotels, with the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, Red Roof Inn, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands: over 4,000 hotels and 475,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre;
• Services to corporate clients and public institutions: 21 million people in 35 countries benefit from Accor Services products – meal and food vouchers, people care, incentive and loyalty programs.