TransitChek News & Updates
October 2009
Volume 2 Issue 4
If you're a Twitter user, be sure to follow the official TransitChek Twitter feed to get regular updates on transit and environmental news and more!
Are your children, siblings or other relatives away at college? You can share your TransitChek benefit with them and use tax-free dollars to visit home, or for their transit needs at school.
If you don't use the full $230 per month allowed by IRS law for your own commuting, you can purchase bus or train passes using TransitChek products for use by friends and family. It's a great way to extend the savings of commuter benefits, help promote transit use, reduce carbon emissions and see your loved ones more often!
In our last newsletter, we asked what method of transit you used most often to get to work. 57.4% of respondents take the train, while 24.7% ride the bus every day. Just 7.8% drive by themselves, while 3% walk. Click here to take this issue's new survey about how you get updates on your commute.
With football season upon us, remember that the fastest and safest way to get to the stadium is by using transit.
- In the New York tri-state area, fans attending NFL games can take advantage of a new NJ Transit rail line that carries 12,000 fans traveling to Giants Stadium from northern New Jersey and New York City. Plus, you can take advantage of MTA transit options as well. For more information, visit here.
- The Metrodome in Minneapolis is easily accessible from the downtown area via light rail, thanks to Metro Transit's Hiawatha Line. For a map of the Hiawatha Line, click here.
- Parking at the new million-dollar Cowboys Stadium costs as much as $75 per vehicle, but the Fort Worth Transportation Authority can get you to the game for $5 per person thanks to the new Cowboy Coach program. For more information, click here.
Our lives are constantly being changed thanks to updates and advances in modern technology, and your daily commute is one area of your life that has likely undergone more changes than any other. Whether you're checking email or passing the time watching movies on a portable DVD player, technology has impacted your commute. Here are three other services you may not be aware of that can help ease your commute or provide information:
- Clever Commute is a service that allows commuters in the New York/New Jersey area to use mobile email devices to provide updates on transit delays using information from other commuters making the same trip. Commuters provide updates on delays or problems, allowing others to adjust accordingly. For more information or to sign up, go to clevercommute.com.
- If you're a Twitter user who commutes in New York City, become a follower of twitter.com/NYCtrainsfor regular updates on subways delays. NJ Transit users can follow twitter.com/NJT_Advisoryfor similar updates on trains and buses.
- Commuters in the New York metro area can now get instant transit updates by calling 511 toll-free or visiting 511ny.org. In addition, Twitter users can follow specific 511NY feeds for transit news affecting their area or, in New York City, specific subway lines. The 511 service is also rolling out nationally - commuters in San Francisco can get transit updates using 511.org, or simply calling 511 toll-free.
All photos courtesy of Flickr. Rutgers train station photo by PDStahl. California Zephyr photo by iagoarchangel. Train tech photo by jsmjr.