; findings (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Transit Benefits Modernization Act . (b) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ( WMATA ) provides approximately 2.3 million Metrorail and Metrobus trips per year across the National Capital Region to Federal employees, commuters, and millions of visitors to the Nation’s capital. (2) Approximately 40 percent of WMATA peak-hour commuters are Federal employees. (3) WMATA began building its rail system in 1969, currently serves 91 stations, and has 117 miles of track. (4) The Federal Transit Administration ( FTA ) and the National Transportation Safety Board have found significant safety concerns resulting from a backlog of deferred maintenance. (5) WMATA has designed a plan, called SafeTrack, in an effort to address this backlog of deferred maintenance. (6) SafeTrack would close the system earlier on weekends and expand weekday maintenance by reducing the number of rails in use at certain stations from two to one. (7) The plan includes 15 Safety Surges with around-the-clock single tracking or segment shutdowns that will impact rush hour commutes. (8) FTA’s review of SafeTrack’s first two safety surge areas found a number of defects in the plan’s execution. (9) SafeTrack is scheduled to conclude in March 2017. (10) During SafeTrack, WMATA is encouraging customers to utilize other commuting options, including ride-sharing services. (11) WMATA has indicated that service disruptions will continue to occur following SafeTrack as routine maintenance is needed. (12) The Federal Government, which is negatively affected when employees cannot easily commute to and from work, has an interest in assisting employees with alternate commuting options. 2. Providing a fringe transit benefit for use of transportation network companies For purposes of section 132(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the use of a transportation network company by Federal employees as provided for in this Act shall be treated as a fringe