We write today to share our contingency plans for a possible SEPTA service disruption, which could begin as early as Monday, November 1. This work stoppage would impact the City Transit Division of SEPTA, which includes bus, trolley, Market-Frankford Line, and Broad Street subway services. Regional Rail, Customized Community Transportation, the Norristown High-Speed Line, and Trolleys 101 and 102 would continue to run.
We recognize that a SEPTA service disruption would pose significant challenges to our faculty and staff, whose resilience and flexibility have enabled all of us to sustain our core missions through the disruptions of the past 18 months. We are committed to doing everything we can to support our community. We encourage everyone to be as flexible as possible in considering requests for temporary adjustments to staff work schedules (provided they do not disrupt our operations), especially as some staff members may already be working flexibly and/or partially remote due to the pandemic. We offer specific guidelines on Flexible Work Options to help staff and supervisors consider such options as working from home, earlier/later arrival/departure times, and longer but fewer work days.
A service disruption will also pose challenges for our instructors who use SEPTA to come to campus or whose children may be in the Philadelphia School District. We are preparing supports for instructors to help continue to offer in-person course meetings, and we will provide more information about those resources should SEPTA services be interrupted.
In the event of a SEPTA service disruption, Penn will partner with Drexel, UPHS and CHOP to provide free transit services to all employees, as well as employees of affiliated organizations. You will find more details and updates on our Commuting Resources webpage, which also has more information about parking options. In addition, the LUCY Shuttle will continue normal operations, with free service for employees of Penn, UPHS, CHOP, and Wistar.
We are enormously grateful to every member of our community for your extraordinary work this semester. We encourage you to visit the SEPTA website for updates, and we will continue to communicate any new developments.