daredevil

Since I'm required to work between two buildings, I'm given mileage for the drive. Problem is, I ride it instead. Am I still entitled to the money?

Anybody else in this situation?

erg79

Would your company reimburse you for a transit pass if you chose to take public transportation instead of driving?

You may want to look into the commuter tax benefit:
https://www.sfbike.org/?commute

daredevil

Probably but public transportation isn't available where I'm at so I can't be certain.

no1mad 

Not in your situation, but I figure if they're going to pay mileage for you to get from point A to point B, then take the money. Your bike has consumables just like a car.

daredevil

My thinking too. I haven't asked, just gonna turn in the mileage.

Mr. Cranky

At my work I think the mileage reimbursement term is "POV mileage", where POV is Personally Owned Vehicle. And we all know bikes are vehicles.

Wake

Turn it in, unless they specify "motorized automobile".

A place I worked provided a parking allowance, but I always rode the bus. They found out, and told me they were going to cancel it. I asked if they would pay for bus fare and they said "No".

SlimRider

Depending upon how much they pay, I'd either have a brand new bike, or the best upgrades that my company could afford me.

JiveTurkey

Ask them. It's the company's money and they can give it to you if they want--for one reason or another.

Or you can pretend like you never had this conversation and turn in your forms wondering if what you're doing is wrong.

john4789

Ask, can't hurt.

Side note: We often work late nights at my work and are allowed to expense a cab ride home if working later than 10pm (most people take the el and walk, I think it is for safety that late plus you often have to wait a long time past 10pm on CTA). So, if I work late as I do and ride home, should I not get some sort of bonus? I've been saving the company plenty of money the last couple of years by riding and could use some new lights for riding at night, just saying.

RGNY

check it out.

i do know that my employer gives different mileage rates for autos than they do for motorcycles.....

MattFoley

IRS mileage reimbursement standard is 51 cents a mile right now, so that could be some serious cheddar. Claim it. You traveled those miles with a POV. I've never filled out an expense form that specifies the travel must be by auto.

daredevil

I'm getting 55.5

cooker

Yes, where I work they compensate you for using your "own vehicle". I read the policy carefully. Since a bicycle is defined as a vehicle under the traffic act, I claim it. What does your company policy say?

Commodus

I don't think this is an ethical question. It's just a matter of policy.

Check the rule book.

daredevil

Checked the policy today...it states automobiles so I get nothing. Apparently even if I rode a motorcycle I'd get nothing. I'm guessing when they made the policy they didn't consider other possible forms of transportation.

no1mad 

Depending on your attitude, You might suggest that they consider updating that policy. I'm sure some bored ACLU type might like handling a discrimination suit...

AdamDZ

Exactly.

fucxms

Your bike does not cost anywhere near 51 cents/mile to operate. I would call this theft were it not for the economic advantages of cycling to the community.

prathmann

I used to just use my own estimate of cost/mile and submitted that. Since it was substantially less than the IRS figure for personal car use no one objected. My figure varied depending on whether or not the bicycle use was to a business function where the company provided food. Didn't want to be reimbursed twice for fuel costs in that case.

daredevil

We're not talking big bucks here. It's 12 miles round trip and they only reimburse for 6 so I get about $50-60 a month.

This is a drive/ride commute. I drive 12 miles to work, get on the bike and ride 6 to the other location where my day begins and ride back to finish the day. Riding the whole commute isn't practical for me so I have auto expenses no matter what.

What a crappy deal. It will actually cost me money to ride. At least before I was getting money for a tank of gas a month.

I'm riding anyway probably like most of you would, right?

cooker

The policy at my office says ”vehicle". The dollar number is always going to be arbitrary. It is the same rate whether you drive a new Escalade or an old Mini.

In my case I end up claiming about $5 a month, as the sites are two miles apart and I usually only have to go over for a committee that meets every couple of weeks. I don't submit a claim because I want the money, I do it to raise the profile of cycling as a valid means of transport.

A round trip claim is about $2. The people who drive have to take a longer route and probably claim $3. Since I don't have a car at work, I have the option of taking a cab on the corporate account and I sometimes do. That costs about $12 each way. I rarely take public transit at $2.60 each way, but that keeps me away from my desk a lot longer. So if I didn't cycle those other times, I would probably take a cab both ways, almost every time.

If you were the corporate bean counter, would you dispute my claim for biking?

wphamilton

Unethical if you submit for reimbursement for purposes other than which the company intended. Ethical if they don't care how you traverse the miles. The only reasons not to ask would be if you expected to be denied, or if you thought they'd think poorly of you for suggesting it. Therefore if there is any question in your mind, and you submitted for reimbursement just the same, it would be a failure of ethics. So just ask, or forget about it. If you want to be ethical.

daredevil

Discounting the ethics now since I know they only intend to reimburse for autos, how much should a cyclist get if anything for traveling for the company by bike?

no1mad 

IMO, if the company wants you to travel to another location and doesn't furnish a company vehicle or shuttle service, then they should pay a flat rate for mileage. So long as you arrive at your destination in a timely manner, does it really matter if you covered that ground in a car, on a bike/motorcycle/scooter, horseback, or pogo stick?