USC to subsidize public transport for staff


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The Expo Park/USC Station is located right across from USC’s campus. According to a USC News Release, USC employees who use public transportation will have their transport costs subsidized by the University.
( Ling Luo | Daily Trojan)

USC will subsidize 50% of public transit costs of University employees in the new USC Transit Subsidy Program, President Carol Folt announced in a letter to faculty and staff Tuesday. The program will take effect Oct. 1.

According to the USC News release, the USC Transportation-administered program, which improves upon a previous subsidy that was discontinued in 2015, will provide greater incentive for all USC employees in the United States to take the bus or rail to work, aiming to reduce the number of single-passenger cars for commute purposes. 

“One common request I heard during my listening tours was how much our staff and faculty wanted their transit subsidy back,” Folt said in the release. “I’m especially thankful to our employees in the HR community for expressing their wishes, and that we could quickly restore and improve upon the program. Choosing public transit is a great way to positively impact our environment on a daily basis.”

Folt wrote that the program will supplement the existing options made available to graduate and undergraduate students. The discount, Folt wrote, will be established in addition to lower base rates negotiated by transit partners including those in LA Metro, Metrolink and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

According to the release, USC Transportation will offer employees LA Metro E-Passes that can be purchased through the USC Transportation services office. The E-Passes grant access to all Metro rail, Metro local buses, Metro Rapid buses, LADOT DASH and Culver City and Pasadena Transit municipal buses. Additionally, the subsidy can be applied to LA Metro EZ Transit, Commuter Express and Metrolink passes. 

“Metro’s E-Pass Program makes transit easier to ride for employees by providing unlimited boardings on multiple transit agencies,” Phillip Washington, CEO of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said in the release. “The E-Pass has increased transit riders by participating employers up to 15%.”

Compared to the program discontinued in 2015, which capped at $30 per employee per month, the new subsidy program will allow employees to pay for the E-Passes with payroll deductions in pre-tax dollars. According to the release, this will provide “even greater value” to faculty and staff enrolling in the program.

The subsidy also marks the “first step” in a “comprehensive transportation demand management plan” that will be included in the Sustainability 2028 Plan currently in development. 

“Transportation demand management is an essential part of modern urban planning,” the release read. “At its simplest level, it is about providing travelers with additional commuting options; this is most frequently used in an effort to minimize the number of cars on the road, especially single-passenger vehicles.”