Here's an example of how government can play a role in promoting the use of mass transit

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A government program that actually appears to be working! Imagine that. First, a description of the program followed by comments on it from the New York Times.

The program :

Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program

New Jersey recently introduced a new initiative designed to encourage investment and job growth around urban transit hubs, which are defined as heavy rail stations in nine urban municipalities – Camden, East Orange, Elizabeth, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick, Paterson, and Trenton. The Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program provides tax credits equal to 80 percent to 100 percent of the qualified capital investments made within an eight-year period. Taxpayers may apply 10 percent of the total credit amount per year over a ten-year period against their corporate business tax, insurance premiums tax, or gross income tax liability.

Program requirements include:

* A business or developer must make a capital investment of at least $75 million in a qualified facility.

* The capital investment project must be located within a ½-mile radius of a designated commuter rail hub in any of the nine eligible municipalities.

* The business receiving the Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit must employ at least 250 full-time workers at the facility.

* A business creating and maintaining at least 200 new jobs to the state at a qualified facility may be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to 100 percent of the capital investment.

What the media is saying about it :

The state’s new Urban Transit Hub tax-credit program, which took effect in January for sites near mass-transit stations, is already stimulating the market, real estate specialists say, even though it applies in only nine cities.

Mr. Pozycki [chief executive of SJP Properties] said the tax credit program is a crucial reason why SJP decided to move forward with its third corporate center building in Hoboken, which had sat on the drawing boards for nearly four years.

...

"This is a great stimulus package," the builder said, of the tax credit, which developers can pass along to tenants whose companies employ 250 workers or more. Taxpayers are able to take 10 percent of the total credit amount each year over a 10-year period against their corporate business tax, insurance premiums tax or gross income tax liability.

"If you’re a Manhattan company, paying $80, $90, $100 a square foot or more," Mr. Pozycki said, "you could come to our Hoboken center and be able to have a new ‘green’ building, with floor-to-ceiling glass, in a riverfront location that is appealing to young people, for $40 per square foot — and after the credit, down to $15 per square foot."

...

Mr. Stern [president of Hartz Mountain Industries] said Manhattan tenants are looking westward anyway: "I’ve had more legitimate New York City office-requirement phone calls in the last three to six months than I’ve had in the last five years," he said last week. "As profits are getting squeezed, and companies start to look at their expenses, New Jersey looks really, really, really good."

Source: The New York Times