The Northern Neck Rideshare Program

METROCHEKS & SMART BENEFITS

A Metrochek is a transportation voucher that an employee receives as a benefit. It is the same Metro farecard used by commuters to ride the Washington Metro. There are thousands of public and private employers in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area who have for years distributed Metrocheks to their employees as a transportation benefit.

But now, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (which issues Metrocheks) is focusing on SmartBenefits® as the primary means for employers to provide transit benefits to their employees. SmartBenefits® is a Web-based program. Employers can use it to load the dollar value of their employees' commuter benefits electronically onto their SmarTrip® cards. Advantages: SmarTrip® is permanent, and rechargeable. It is plastic, like a credit card, and is embedded with a special computer chip that keeps track of the value of the card. You can purchase a SmarTrip® card online here.

Metrocheks and SmarTrip® cards are accepted by more than 100 bus, rail, and vanpool services in the region, including Metro, MARC, VRE, local bus systems, and registered vanpools.

I am an employer. How do I sign up to offer these benefits to my employees?

Complete the SmartBenefits application.

Federal legislation allows employers to provide employees with a tax-free or pre-tax transit benefit of up to $230 per month and a parking benefit up to $230 per month. SmartBenefits participants can use their SmarTrip® card for Metrobus, Metrorail, parking at Metro operated facilities, and participating van pools. Employees enroll in the new SmartBenefits® Official Travel program to assign value to SmarTrip® cards for employees to use for local business travel on Metro. View or download the employer brochure here (PDF).

I am an employee. How do I sign up to get these benefits?

Find out whether your employer and/or vanpool participate in the program already. If they don't, download the following Information Packages, print them, and approach your employer and/or vanpool operator to get them to join the program.

Federal legislation allows employers to provide employees with a tax-free or pre-tax transit benefit of up to $230 per month and a parking benefit up to $230 per month. SmartBenefits participants can use their SmarTrip® card for Metrobus, Metrorail, parking at Metro operated facilities, and participating van pools. Employees enroll in the new SmartBenefits® Official Travel program to assign value to SmarTrip® cards for employees to use for local business travel on Metro. View or download the employee brochure here (PDF).

Metrocheks Information for Vanpool OPERATORS