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The Express

Everything you need to know about transit, Jawnt, and more.

👋 Welcome to The Express, a new newsletter from your favorite (we hope) transit provider, Jawnt

• In case it’s been a while… Jawnt makes transit the best way to move around our city. We give riders access to every bus, subway, bike, and scooter – all through the jawnt platform.
• In this newsletter, we’ll provide updates on what’s happening at Jawnt, share news on transit trends across the USA, highlight notable events, and include articles that we think you’ll find interesting.
• Our aim is to keep you in the loop on what’s happening in the world of transit, so you can stay informed as you make decisions about your employees, your commute, or your riders.
• You’re receiving this because you’ve expressed interest in learning more about us in the past, but of course if you’d rather not hear from us again, you can unsubscribe here.

⏲️ in brief

📰 Philly’s shift-based workers stand to benefit so much from employer-subsidized transit benefits. Check out why in our new blog post. TL;DR:

• SEPTA’s strategic plan aims to move the system beyond the traditional 9-5 commute. Good news for shift workers!
• However, the cost of commuting still hits shift-based workers especially hard.
• Partnering with Jawnt can help employers lessen this cost burden, improving employee happiness and retention.

📉 Transit’s fiscal cliff

• Transit agencies across the country are facing a fiscal cliff, as federal pandemic relief funds are set to run out in the coming years.
• Transit agencies have been relying on those relief funds to fill the budgetary gap left by decreased fare revenues.
• While ridership has steadily increased since the start of the pandemic, fare revenues are still not high enough for agencies to maintain balanced budgets in the coming years.
• Agencies are considering a wide array of options to close the funding gap.
• Keep reading to learn more

🚌 We’re hiring!

• Jawnt is looking for a Partnerships Manager - Transit and a Business Development Manager - Employee Benefits.

• More info below

🚎 mobility news

📉 Deeper Dive: Transit’s fiscal cliff

• With federal pandemic relief funds set to run out in the coming years, transit agencies are considering a range of options to avoid budgetary shortfalls.
• Some agencies are already cutting costs to prepare for the fiscal cliff.
• WMATA, the transit agency serving the Washington, DC metropolitan area, has not brought its service back to pre-pandemic levels like Philadelphia and New York.
• This is having an outsized impact on Black and low-income residents, who have access to fewer jobs via transit than other groups in the region.
• A recent survey of transit agencies found that 2/3 of transit agencies are anticipating budget shortfalls by 2025.
• Despite that grim forecast, transit agencies have a wide range of options for closing the funding gap.
• Agencies are considering everything from raising fares and cutting service to local ballot measures to increase funding for operating costs.
• Many are hoping for continued federal relief, even though federal funds are typically dedicated for capital costs such as building new rail lines or purchasing new buses.
• In Philadelphia, SEPTA is hoping that it can bring riders back by modernizing its system with initiatives like Bus Revolution and Reimagining Regional Rail.

🚗 Parking Woes

• The Editorial Board of the Philadelphia Inquirer penned an op-ed explaining how limited parking makes it difficult for Philly schools to attract and retain teachers.
• The piece comes after school district officials took the issue to City Council in February.
• It’s no secret that parking in Philly is a problem, but the school district’s struggle highlights how parking policy, and transportation policy more broadly, impacts the city in unexpected and frustrating ways.
• Among the Editorial Board’s proposed solutions: “[T]he district should consider signing teachers up for SEPTA’s Key Advantage program, which would provide employees with free transit passes at a discounted rate for the district.” No arguments here!

🚨 Jawnt news

🚌 Interested in joining the Jawnt team or know someone who might be? Take a look at a few of our current job postings:

• Have experience in the transit tech ecosystem? Want to work on getting more people out of single-occupancy vehicles? Join us as a Partnerships Manager - Transit
• Have experience in the employee benefits ecosystem? Want to leverage your background working with benefits brokers and employers? Join us as a Business Development Manager - Employee Benefits
  
• We're also hiring a Front-end Software Engineer and Lead User Experience Designer.
  

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 We’ll be attending the Philly SHRM Symposium on March 22!

• The conference offers insights into best practices for HR leaders.

🚴 We’ll be attending the Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition’s 2023 Vision Zero Conference on March 31!

• The conference will include various sessions on creating safe streets for all Philadelphians, as well as a forum for mayoral candidates to describe their mobility policy priorities.

💐 potpourri

🚊 Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) systems are bus/streetcar hybrids that operate on rubber wheels but utilize active suspension technology to provide a smoother ride than traditional buses. Could the technology be successful in the US? (CNBC)

🦸‍♂️ In January, SEPTA bus operator and local hero Chris DeShields used his bus to thwart an attempted carjacking in Fishtown. In February, he was invited to the State of the Union address. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

📬 The Cut put out a list of etiquette rules for our post pandemic world. Number 99? “Ignore your colleagues on the subway.” It’s been a spicy discussion here at Jawnt. Some tend to agree… the commute is not an office happy hour. Others thought it is a great open space. We’d love to hear your take… respond to this email to weigh in!