Modern Commuter Benefits
Article by Jeff Stade of Jawnt
Even with many employees continuing to work from home, 15% of all trips undertaken in the US are for commuting. Commute trips concentrate around peak times and places, giving employers ample incentive to shift demand away from driving and towards more efficient uses of time, money, and land.
Commuter benefits have reliably shifted drivers towards transit for decades. If provided by their employer, employees can choose to withhold some of their income for use on transportation before it is taxed (a 25-30% discount). In 2025, these benefit withholdings were allowed at up to $325 per month for transit+vanpool combined. In urban areas with reliable transit and costly parking, as many as 83% of employees have access to some form of commuter benefit.
Many transit agencies and employers are looking beyond this baseline. Several transit agencies offer discounted monthly passes for employees. One study in Philadelphia found that employees with access to their regional employee pass increased their transit ridership by 73%. Employers can also choose to subsidize transit passes, either partially or fully. That same study in Philadelphia found that fully subsidized passes increased transit usage by an additional 40%.
Beyond improving basic access to a transit pass, employers are experimenting and finding
success with several other strategies, including:
“Post-tax” bike benefits, such as free annual bikeshare and scootershare membership, bike or scooter rentals, or reimbursements for expenses related to buying, storing, and maintaining personal bicycles.- Transit debit cards, similar to flexible spending cards for health and other expenses, give employees more control over how they use their transit funds and reduce administrative effort for the HR departments responsible for enforcing reimbursement policies.
- Transit awareness marketing and travel concierge, to help first-time riders feel comfortable planning and executing their transit commute.
Top image - SEPTA's Regional Rail approaches, with the City of Philadelphia skyline in the background
Bottom image - Passengers await their stop from a SEPTA bus as the city passes by outside.