Dear HUCTW Members,

We are writing to let you know about two exciting changes that you may not have heard about that will affect many HUCTW commuters – the first is significant cost reduction for most 5-day unreserved Harvard parking permits, and the second is cost reduction for all MBTA passes.

PARKING PERMIT COST REDUCTIONS

Harvard’s CommuterChoice Office has announced that, starting on July 1, 2024, there will be a new tiered pricing structure applied to 5-day unreserved parking permits in Harvard-run surface lots and garages (except for those at Peabody Terrace which are already steeply discounted through previous HUCTW negotiations). For those who purchase 5-day parking permits at an unreserved garage or surface lot, their parking costs will be determined by which income tier their Harvard salary falls under, with lower paid staff paying less for their permits than higher paid staff. This change will result in a decrease in cost of about 30% – 40% for most HUCTW members who purchase these types of parking permits, with the largest savings going to those at the lower end of the HUCTW salary range.

Income-tiered parking rates are an idea that HUCTW has been pushing for many years and we are thrilled that Harvard is implementing the change. You can find the new income tiers and associated parking permit rates on the CommuterChoice website.

Although we are very pleased with this outcome, we recognize that parking rates are still a significant cost burden for many members, and HUCTW leaders on our Joint Housing and Transportation Committee will continue to push for more affordable and accessible parking options.

MBTA PASS COST REDUCTIONS

Harvard’s CommuterChoice office has also announced that, starting on July 1, 2024, Harvard will be increasing the University’s subsidy of monthly staff 5-day MBTA passes from 50% to 60%, which will lower members’ portion of the cost of their MBTA bus, subway, commuter rail, and/or ferry passes to 40% (down from 50%). You can see the updated rates for all MBTA zones and modes of transport on the CommuterChoice website.

HUCTW TRANSPORTATION FUND

Again, these new rates described above will not be applied until July 1, 2024. HUCTW will also continue to help with commuter costs through the Transportation Fund, which reimburses members for some of the costs associated with permits/passes for Longwood parking lots and garages and commuter rail passes for Zones 4-10, among other eligible expenses. The next deadline for this reimbursement fund is July 31, 2024 for expenses incurred between January and June 2024. You can learn more and apply for the Transportation Fund on the HUCTW website.

Please let us know if you have any thoughts or questions about any of the above  by reaching out to your HUCTW organizer or writing to us at huctw.info@huctw.org.

Thank you,
HUCTW