Swarthmore/UPass First Month Results
November 21, 2023
It’s our pleasure to announce the first month of results from SEPTA’s Key Advantage UPass program - currently in use at Swarthmore College.
The program is a universal benefit for students that provides them with a monthly All-Access Pass to SEPTA’s system. This means that they can go anywhere, anytime, on any SEPTA vehicle. The pass also comes at a very low discounted price which SEPTA can provide since the program must be made available to all students. Essentially - UPass is the part of the Key Advantage program aimed towards students - so it functions quite similarly to the corporate program.
However - the benefits to its users are different. While corporate participants may see the bulk of their travel on weekdays for commuting - we theorized that universities and colleges - since many students live on campus or nearby - would have usage that trended more towards leisure - exploring the region that they live in. Whether that is through attending Philly sports, checking out a new restaurant, finding a street fair, or any number of activities, the Key Advantage UPass is their key to the Philadelphia area - helping them to break out of the campus bubble even if they don’t own a car.
This hypothesis proved to be true when it came to Swarthmore. As a residential small liberal arts college in the suburbs - their quickest and easiest route into the city is through the Regional Rail station located on their campus. From looking at the data, we can see that the majority of trips were taken on Saturdays and Sundays. These are not students commuting to class; these are young adults taking the initiative to get to know the area that surrounds them. What’s more is that it is not just one trip per student - either. Swarthmore students made an average of 207 trips each day, which comes out to over 3 trips per student, showing that they dove into this benefit with enthusiasm.
From the first month of usage, it is clear that this program is valuable to the students who can participate in it - and that it will help to deepen their connection to the Philadelphia area. We are so excited to see how Swarthmore’s usage develops next!
Interested schools can apply and inquire about SEPTA Key Advantage here
ABOUT SWARTHMORE COLLEGE
Swarthmore College is a highly selective college of liberal arts and engineering that has empowered students to contribute to a better world for more than 150 years. Swarthmore's longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability builds proudly on its Quaker legacy of social responsibility and intentional stewarding of resources. For more information about Swarthmore College - please visit swarthmore.edu.
