SEPTA today announced that its SEPTA Key Advantage employee benefit program is coming out of pilot and will be available for companies with 500 or more employees (with smaller companies soon to follow).

It’s a huge step forward for the initiative - the pilot was praised by riders and transit buffs alike and is already being used by over 7000 employees.

Jawnt has been working with SEPTA to bring this program out of its pilot phase into general availability. For employers looking to sign up for SEPTA Key Advantage, or employees who’d like to advocate for their company to participate, we’re excited to announce that they can sign up using the interest form we built with SEPTA here. As they prepare for an influx of employers and riders, we worked with SEPTA to build a user-friendly way for applicants to express interest - either from behind a desk or on the train - and for SEPTA to continue to manage those inbound leads.

Through the program, SEPTA provides riders with all-access passes — valid on bus 🚍, subway 🚊, regional rail 🚂, and other SEPTA modes. Employers provide all employees with access to the benefit and in exchange, receive a highly cost-effective price point. Standard tickets for this level of transit access cost anywhere from $75-200 / month, but are offered during the introductory period for $26.67 / month.

Our favorite quote from one of the pilot customers (a leading higher education institution in Philadelphia), which we think sums it all perfectly:

“This program is great for employees, the city, the environment, and the university.”

SEPTA Key Advantage helps employees get to work more reliably and more affordably. For employers, the program provides a differentiated recruiting tool, supports return to office planning, alleviates parking shortages, and demonstrates their commitment to sustainability. And last but not least - this initiative is critical to revitalizing downtown Philadelphia and its transit system after the pandemic.

“SEPTA is thrilled to launch this exciting new program, which will provide real benefits for people working in our city and region,” said SEPTA General Manager and CEO Leslie S. Richards. “This has the potential to provide a significant boost in ridership, which is critical to ensuring that SEPTA can sustain and grow service as we recover from the pandemic.”

For those in Philadelphia who are interested in learning more about SEPTA Key Advantage, here are a few resources:

• SEPTA’s expansion announcement
• Overview notes for employees and employers
• The overarching Program Guidelines
• A One-Pager on SEPTA Key Advantage
• And Jawnt’s interest form for the program

As the people of Philadelphia and around the US begin to return to their offices, we at Jawnt are honored to be working with employers and transit agencies to provide a better, greener, employee benefit and ensuring that everyone has equitable access to employment. We’re thrilled to be working alongside SEPTA on SEPTA Key Advantage.

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Jawnt’s direct integrations with 100+ employer payroll / benefits systems enables frictionless management of SEPTA Key Advantage, ensuring eligible employees are onboarded without issue and employee rosters are kept up to date. Let your HR team focus on the things that matter to them - not distributing transit benefits. We can handle the process from start to finish - get started with Jawnt today to learn more.

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash