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The Employee Transportation Services Office hours of operation are 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, closed 11:00 am to 12:00 pm for lunch.  To schedule an appointment email nihparkingoffice@nih.gov or call 301-496-5050.  The office is located in Building 31, Room 1A11, next to the NIH Federal Credit Union. 

Apply, Recertify, Modify or Terminate your NIH Transhare Membership

ApplyRecertify, Change/Modify, or Terminate from the NIH Transhare Program

Using our web-based application, commonly called Commuting and Parking Services (CAPS), eligible NIH employees can apply to, recertify, change, or withdraw from the NIH Transhare Program at any time.

CAPS captures all required applicant data from the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED), automatically cross-checks NIH records, and properly captures employee qualifications, certifications, commuting information, and costs. 

CAPS is supported in Microsoft Edge, Chrome, and Apple's Safari. If you receive an error message when trying to log in, the security settings on your browser may be too high (strict). Please try lowering them temporarily until you are complete with your actions. CAPS uses your NIH PIV cards to log in, contact the NIH/CIT Helpdesk at (301) 496-4357 for login issues.  

Applying for Transhare Benefits

Online Transhare Log-In 

Log into your CAPS account with your PIV card, and choose "Enroll in Transhare

Note: if you do not qualify to participate in the Transhare program, after logging in, you will not see a button labeled "Enroll in Transhare." Contact your Administrative Officer to ensure the worksite is listed in NED. Employees with "Domestic" worksites do not qualify for the program. 

We highly recommend obtaining your own SmarTrip® card for a speedy and simpler process. Please ensure you know your desired method of mass transportation and your monthly commuting costs. 

A good tool for calculating monthly commuting costs is WMATA's Trip Planner.  This planner determines your door-to-door, one-way trip costs for the majority of the Washington, DC metro area. Montgomery County commuters can call 311 or 240-777-0311 for route counseling assistance or Commuter Connections.

After determining your one-way costs, multiply by 2 to get your daily costs. Finally, multiply by your monthly total commuting days to work (see example below). The average month of four (4) weeks with five (5) workdays in each week is used to determine monthly costs, see table below. Remember to subtract any days you regularly telework.

 

​Work Schedule

​Typical Commuting Days

in a Month

8-hour days20​
AWS, 5/4/9​18​
AWS 4/10​16​
Part-time​Varies​
​Local-Remote​5

 

 Example: 8-hour workdays

One-way costs: $3.20

Daily costs = $3.20 x 2 = $6.40

Monthly Commuting Costs = $6.40 x 20 days = $128

When applying online, follow the on-screen directions and fill out all of the required fields (second screen). After submitting your request, you will receive two emails from "CAPS Admin." The first is a confirmation of your submittal and its pending status. The second will either be an approval or a request denied. If approved, you will receive instructions regarding your SmarTrip® card (if you did not provide one when applying) and other pertinent instructions. If your request is denied, a reason will be provided in the email.

The NIH Program management will conduct monthly audits on its members' benefit usage accounts. These audits will ensure participants are providing accurate commuting cost declarations and that the benefits are used. The NIH Program management reserves the right to modify any participant's monthly subsidy at any time, without prior notice. We will use the above method in determining commuters' monthly costs.

If you do not have access to the NIH network or are waiting to be issued a PIV card, you may submit a paper application, NIH Form 2705-1, Transhare Program Application via email at nihparkingoffice@nih.gov, or fax (301) 480-0854 to the NIH Parking Office.

Annual Recertification/Renewal

Recertifications are required for the Transhare program every year in the month listed below, according to the first letter of the participant's last name. 

LAST NAME
INITIAL
RECERTIFICATION
MONTH​
A - B - C​
​JANUARY
​D - E - F - G​MARCH
​H - I - J - K - L​MAY
​M - N - O - P​JULY
​Q - R - S​SEPTEMBER
​T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z​NOVEMBER

 

During the renewal month, you will receive an email directing you to log in to CAPS and renew. After logging into the CAPS system, please choose the "Renew" button. If your commuter cost or mode of transportation has changed during the last year, you should select the option to "Renew and Modify." This option allows you to both renew and modify your membership at the same time.

Change/Modify

To change/modify your commuting cost declaration, commuting mode, home address, SmarTrip® card number, etc., please log in to CAPS and select the "Modify" button. There, you will follow the prompt screens and you can update any information concerning your home address, commuter cost, etc. (second screen). 

Due to system limitations established by the WMATA SmartBenefits system, requests to "change/modify" benefits cannot be made after the 21st of the month. Modifications must be submitted the 1st of the following month

You will receive an email confirmation of your submission to modify your account. Members will also receive an email confirmation after the modification has been approved by the NIH Parking Office.

Terminate

You may terminate from the Transhare Program at any time by logging in to CAPS. You can choose to terminate immediately or at a future date, such as in two weeks or a month from now.
 
You will receive an email confirmation of your termination request. When your removal is approved, your benefits (if you have any remaining) will be suspended and you will be removed from the program. Please note that any personal funds you have on your SmarTrip® will remain on your card and you will keep your card, the NIH does not collect SmarTrip cards.

IMPORTANT: Members are responsible for terminating any monthly pass allocations with Commuter Direct or a third-party company. If you are terminated from the program and you have not canceled your orders, your personal credit cards may be billed. You will need to contact a third party to resolve any issues. The NIH is not responsible for any cost billed from third-party vendors and will not reimburse. 
 
Once removed, you may re-enroll in the NIH Transhare program at any time, or you are eligible to receive parking benefits.
 
If you do not have access to the NIH network, you may submit the NIH Form 2705-5, Termination of Program Participation for termination via email at nihparkingoffice@nih.gov, or by fax (301) 480-0854 to the NIH Parking Office.