Photo by moworld.

Yesterday, we reported that two federally-mandated changes would force a reduction in the maximum SmartBenefits allocation that thousands of Washington-area employees could make. New laws will cut the maximum amount one can set aside, pre-tax, from $230 to $120 — in addition, parking and transit benefits will now have to be kept in separate pots, and cannot be used interchangeably.

Metro has responded by asking its customers to lobby their employers and members of Congress to reverse the cut. “Contact your employer for information and request that members of Congress preserve the benefits,” read an “urgent update” which was sent by WMATA via email yesterday. The Examiner reports that Metro is actively seeking the assistance of its customers to help reverse what could be as much as of $10 million revenue hit for the agency — a spokesperson told the paper that “Metro carries a lot of federal employees to work every day and that reducing this subsidy could cause a hardship.”

Obviously, there will be plenty of people who are up in arms about the cut — especially those who commute into the city from the suburbs. But there are certainly some people who commute within D.C. which will probably be just fine with the $120 month limit. (Of course, the basic principle of encouraging transit use might be enough to push some of those individuals into taking action.) So we’re curious: will you be pitching in on behalf of Metro and contacting a legislator, or is this just a war that’s already run its course?