Everything You Need To Know About Getting to Work in Boston

Boston's public transit is anchored by the MBTA (better known as the T) which runs a robust network of subways, commuter rail, buses, and ferries across Greater Boston. The MBTA is one of the latest US transit agencies to launch Tap to Ride, making it easier for riders to pay and board with any contactless credit or debit card.

Commuters coming in from other cities can hop on Amtrak, while locals have an expanding network of bikeshare options to get from neighborhood to neighborhood. Keep reading to see how commuter benefits can support all these trips and keep your employees moving.

Does Boston have a transit benefit mandate for employers?

New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and others require all employers over a certain size (usually 20-50 employees) to provide commuter benefits. Instead, Boston’s individual cities have robust Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs, and negotiate with individual employers and developers to require transit benefits at the project-level. The following cities and towns currently require new developments and major renovations to provide transit passes to employees (and residents!).

• City of Boston Transportation Demand Management Point System
• City of Cambridge Transportation Demand Management Ordinance
• City of Somerville’s Development Review
• City of Medford’s Traffic Impact and Access Plan
• City of Everett’s Transportation Demand Management Ordinance
• Town of Brookline’s Town-Wide Parking and Transportation Demand Management Policy
• Town of Watertown’s Transportation Demand Management Regulations
• Looking forward, the Town of Malden and City of Revere have both committed to creating TDM ordinances, too.

Why are commuter benefits good for employers?

• When employers allow their employees to use their pre-tax salary to pay for their transit and/or parking expenses, employers can save on FICA taxes (7.65%).  Every $100 an employee sets aside from their taxable salary towards transit or parking is $7.65 less the employer will pay in payroll taxes.
• Competitive benefits help employers win and retain top talent.
• Commute costs are often cited as an obstacle for employees to embrace return-to-office. 
• Subsidized transit is the most effective way to alleviate demand for parking, which can be expensive to provide.
• Pre-tax transit benefits are a relatively low cost, high impact, and demonstrable commitment to carbon reduction and environmental sustainability. Jawnt can help you measure and report the carbon your organization is saving by supporting transit.

What transit benefits can employers provide in Boston?

Boston has one major transit agency – the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, also known as the MBTA or the T. The MBTA runs:

• Buses
• Subways (the Red, Orange, and Blue Lines)
• Light rail (the Green Line)
• Commuter Rail: twelve lines that run north, south, and west across half the state of Massachusetts and to Providence, Rhode Island. Many commuter rail stations have parking lots or garages.
• Ferries

Additionally, Amtrak operates commuter and intercity services to and through Boston. Its Acela and Northeast Regional services run from South Station to several cities south of Boston, including Providence, RI, New Haven, CT, New York City, and beyond. North Station is the destination for Amtrak’s Downeaster line, which runs through Southern New Hampshire all the way to Brunswick, Maine.

Through the commuter tax benefit program, employers can offer their employees tax-free ways to use these services with Jawnt Pass, Jawnt's commuter debit card. Jawnt Pass can be used to buy single rides on both the MBTA and Amtrak, as well as the following passes:

• Buses, subway, and light rail: 7-day and monthly passes
• Commuter rail: 10-rides and monthly passes
• Ferries: monthly passes
• Amtrak: monthly passes and 10-ride packs

In addition, with Jawnt Pass, employees can add their pre-tax monies to a transportation wallet that allows pass holders to pay for the T’s subway or bus services by tapping their card to ride. This new contactless payment system makes it easy to ride multiple services and allows for variation in your daily commuting pattern. For more information on Tap to Ride, see below.

What benefits do Boston employees most want?

The most popular transit benefit offerings in Boston include:

• A travel wallet with funds for the MBTA and Amtrak. Employees can receive up to $325 per month (in 2025) in transit benefit pre-tax, though most monthly passes cost only $90.
• An annual Bluebikes membership, available at a bulk discount to employers.
• An annual budget towards owning and maintaining a bicycle, as well as a NEMO membership for mobile repairs and peace of mind.

What bike benefits can employers provide in Boston?

Bike commuters in Boston have a variety of strong options. Running a best-in-class bike benefit program costs a tiny fraction of what it takes to meet baseline transit or parking expectations.

• Bluebikes is the official regional bikeshare program, with 480 stations and 4,500 bikes across greater Boston. Since 2024, Bluebikes has offered electric bikes, too. Employers can offer annual passes, and since e-bikes cost a bit more than pedal-powered bikes, some employers choose to offer funds for those fees as well.
• Some bike commuters prefer to own and maintain their own bike. For them, Boston has dozens of bike shops, and employers can offer funds on a mobility wallet that can be used at bike shops.
• Thrifty bike commuters prefer to find good deals on used bikes on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, and some employers reimburse for these cash purchases with proof of purchase.
• Boston is also home to Nemo, a mobile bike repair service. Nemo members can text or call when they have a flat and a repair team will come out to meet them in about 15 minutes. Read our interview with Nemo founder Worth Smith to learn more about the peace of mind this benefit offers.

What’s new with transit benefits in Boston?

Since tokens were phased out in 2012, most adults have had only two ways to pay for the MBTA:

• Going to a fare machine to load money onto a personal CharlieCard or CharlieTicket
• Getting a Perq pass from their employer

On August 1, 2024, the MBTA successfully launched a new way to pay to ride. Called “Tap to Ride”, every MBTA bus, subway, and light rail now accepts a simple tap from your regular debit or credit card. Tap to Ride accepts physical cards as well as the mobile cards in your Apple or Google Wallet. This means no more standing at fare machines, no more losing CharlieCards with value left on them, and a new easier way for employers to pay for your commute. Simply tap to pay the same way you’d tap to buy a cup of iced dunks.

Boston's MBTA is just the latest US transit agency to launch Tap to Ride, following New York City, Chicago, San Diego, and Miami, among others, with dozens more rushing to launch their own version in the next few years. Tap to Ride is already widely used across Europe and Asia.

As an employer, Tap to Ride opens the world of possibilities for commuter benefits. The Perq program has been the primary option for commuter benefits for years. Now employers can work with any commuter benefit provider they choose, and load money onto their preferred commuter debit cards.

The Jawnt Pass, for example, is a commuter debit card that is optimized for use with Tap to Ride. With the Jawnt Pass, employers can:

• Load stored value onto each employee’s card every month, not just a monthly pass.
• Customize the amount of value loaded per employee. Perhaps employees coming in five days a week receive more than those coming in only twice.
• Set up subsidies. Perhaps employees receive a 50% match up to their first $100 a month of transit benefits.
• Adapt to real life. If an employee doesn’t ride as much transit as usual one month, they can be simply topped up to their preferred amount rather than getting their full subsidy. Reduce the risk of banking an unusable balance, and roll back unused funds when employees leave.
• View detailed enrollment and utilization data. Self-serve reports give real-time insights into how employees are using their transit funds (within reasonable limits on location and privacy).

Want to learn more?

Jawnt is available to help your team design a commuter benefits program that will save your HR time and money while giving employees benefits they'll actually enjoy using. Drop us a line today to get started.

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