Wawa Participates in Public Transportation Pilot Program

PHILADELPHIA — Wawa Inc. is taking part in a pilot program with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) whereby the retailer can obtain "SEPTA Key Advantage" cards directly from the Authority and distribute them to employees at its Philadelphia locations.

Phase I of the program will be a six-month pilot with Wawa, as well as two other partners, Drexel University and Penn Medicine. According to SEPTA, these three partners are ideal to help launch this program, as they all have multi-site facilities and represent a broad range of organizational types, including retail, medical, and higher education.

Wawa will reach out to employees with information on how to register for the program in the coming weeks. The passes will be ready for their employees to use starting on May 1.

Participants can use a new or existing SEPTA Key card for their pass. SEPTA Key Advantage passes can be used on all SEPTA modes, including Regional Rail, Market-Frankford Line, Broad Street Line, Norristown High Speed Line and city and suburban buses and trolleys. The passes will be automatically reloaded each month for the six-month period.

"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."

Programs like SEPTA Key Advantage have proven to increase ridership at peer transit agencies across the country, including Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Seattle, the organization noted.

The benefits extend to everyone traveling in the region, not just those who use SEPTA. By encouraging more people to take public transit, SEPTA Key Advantage is designed to help reduce traffic congestion. In addition, by providing this incentive for using SEPTA to employees at these organizations, this program will help alleviate demand for parking.

"We are honored that SEPTA turned to us to participate alongside Drexel and Penn Medicine in SEPTA's Key Advantage pilot program, as we are always looking for ways to take care of our associates and make a positive impact in our community," said Wawa Senior Director of Store Operations Dave Simonetti. "We value the public transportation system and are proud to play a role in bolstering the recovery from the pandemic."

The passes can also be a powerful recruitment tool for businesses as they compete to hire and retain talent in the current job market, SEPTA added.

"Institutional pass programs are an important way the Philadelphia region can get more residents back to riding transit, and this is going to be a critical piece of greater Philadelphia's economic recovery as we emerge from COVID-19," said Transit Forward Philadelphia Executive Committee Member Jon Geeting. "We are thrilled to see such significant progress from SEPTA on one of our long-running goals and appreciate their collaborative spirit in working with advocates and companies in rethinking their approach to transit benefits."

The Authority plans to expand the availability of SEPTA Key Advantage to additional organizations. SEPTA will soon propose a tariff change to make the program permanent and allow for a wider Phase II expansion. A public hearing on the tariff and vote by the SEPTA board are expected this spring.

"This rollout is just the start of what we hope will be a revolutionary initiative," said Richards. "Our goal is to expand SEPTA Key Advantage to a diverse and inclusive group of employers, universities, and other businesses that are committed to the future of greater Philadelphia."

Pennsylvania-based Wawa operates c-stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.