If you’re an employee at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School or Harvard School of Dental Medicine who bikes, you may be eligible for several benefits:
CommuteFit
CommuteFit is an incentive program that rewards LMA commuters who incorporate walking, running, or biking into their daily commutes.
This program aims to reduce vehicle miles traveled and improve personal health by encouraging employees to use their muscle power through walking or biking any part of their daily commute. Employees who register for the program, keep track of their miles, and submit their monthly totals to CommuteWorks are eligible to win a $50 REI gift card.
It doesn’t matter if you walk or bike one mile or twenty miles a day, or all the way to work or just to the nearest transit station. If you are walking or biking for any portion of your commute, you can register for CommuteFit and start keeping track of your miles.
Emergency Ride Home Program
MASCO offers an Emergency Ride Home (ERH) program so you can leave your bike at home and still have peace of mind knowing that if you have an unexpected personal emergency during the work day, CommuteWorks will pay to get you home.
As an employee of a MASCO member institution who walks, bikes, carpools, vanpools or takes public transportation to work, you are eligible to register for ERH and receive a free taxi ride or rental car to take you home in the event of an unexpected personal emergency. Once registered, you can use this service up to five times per year. Please note that students do not qualify for the ERH program.
Click here to register for the Emergency Ride Home program and to receive more information.
If you are already registered and need to use this service, contact CommuteWorks at 617-632-2796 or commuteworks@masco.harvard.edu.
Bicycle Commuter Benefit
Harvard benefits-eligible employees who bike to work are eligible to receive a reimbursement for costs associated with bicycle purchase, improvement, repair, and storage. Offered by Harvard University’s CommuterChoice program, these benefits are available only to those who do not already receive a University-subsidized monthly MBTA pass or an annual parking permit.
For complete information, visit the dedicated Commuter Choice website.
Frequently asked questions
- What kinds of expenses are allowed?
- New or used bike purchased from a store or private party.
- Bike parts and/or service used to improve or repair a bicycle as well as accessories (e.g., locks, racks).
- Costs associated with parking or storing a bicycle anywhere from a day to a year.
- Safety items (e.g., helmets, lights, bells, reflective items).
- Purchase of apparel or Hubway memberships are not covered.
- If you have specific questions about the eligibility of an item, please contact the CommuterChoice office via email or phone (617-384-7433) before purchase.
- What if I purchase something that is $40? Can I spread that out across 2 months?
- Yes, but only IF you participated for at least two months in the bicycle commuter benefit program (which means you did NOT enroll in any other commuting benefit for those two months – such as parking, mass transit, or carpooling). For $60 reimbursement, you would have needed to participate for at least three months, etc…
- Let’s say I had a T pass from January-June, but I didn’t get any commuter benefits (e.g. T pass) from July-December. If I got a tune-up in May that cost $60, can I still get reimbursed?
- Yes, the purchase date does NOT matter. The number of months within the calendar year in which you participated in the bicycle commuter benefit program (and no other commuter benefit program) is the only thing that matters.
- Who can participate in this program
- This is open to benefits-eligible employees who work 17.5 hours or more per week. The same eligibility guidelines exist for all of transportation benefits.
