How to Update Your Commuter Benefits
Whether you’re returning to the office, starting a hybrid schedule, or changing your commute for seasonal reasons, it’s a good idea to review your commuter benefits. The right setup can help you save money, avoid last‑minute stress, and make your daily trip a bit smoother.
This guide walks you through when and how to adjust your commuter benefits for transit, parking, and biking, any time of year.
Why It’s Important to Revisit Your Commuter Benefits
Your commute isn’t static. It can change when:
- You start going into the office more (or less)
- You change jobs or office locations
- Your schedule shifts (e.g., new project, different shift, kids’ school schedule)
- Seasons change (e.g., biking more in summer, driving more in winter)
- You move to a new neighborhood
Your commuter benefits should match your current routine. Reviewing them regularly helps you:
- Avoid paying for more transit or parking than you need
- Make sure you have enough set aside for your actual commute
- Adjust benefits if you switch your primary commute mode
- Take full advantage of any tax savings or Harvard perks
Changing your Commuter Enrollment
Your commute may shift over time - whether you’re coming to campus more often, less often, or switching between transit and parking. Below are the main ways you can update your enrollment and what to expect.
IRS regulations prohibit the refund of payroll deducted pre-tax benefits.
Exchange Permit Types
You can exchange your annual parking permit at any time by contacting the Campus Service Center (CSC) at parking@harvard.edu, calling (617) 496-7827 or visiting them on the 8th Floor of the Smith Campus Center (Mondays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Please note that permit type and location availability may change, but we will work with you to find a reasonable accommodation if your request cannot be fulfilled.
There are a limited number of available parking spots in Cambridge and Allston. Check our Parking Availability and Annual Permit options.
Switch from Transit to Parking
If you are moving from transit to driving/parking as your primary commute:
- Cancel your transit order by the 7th of the prior month (in Jawnt). If you are enrolled in autopay for a monthly MBTA pass, cancel that before the 22nd of the prior month.
- Tip: If you plan to start parking mid‑month, consider how you’ll cover the remaining transit rides for that month. Add extra funds to your commuter debit card, and use pay‑as‑you‑go transit until your parking permit begins.
- Apply for an annual parking permit.
Switch from Parking to Transit
If you are moving from driving to transit as your primary commute:
- Cancel your parking permit by the 5th of the prior month by emailing or calling the Campus Service Center.
- Enroll in transit by the 7th of prior month (in Jawnt).
- Use the commute calculator to estimate your monthly commuting expenses
- Go to jawntpass.com/signin/harvard and log in with your Harvard Key credentials
- From the My Passes page, click to enroll in Jawnt Pass
- Follow the steps to set up your monthly contribution amounts
Switch from pay-per-ride to monthly pass
If you find yourself needing to commute more often, you may want to switch from pay-per-ride to a monthly pass. To make changes for the upcoming month, be sure to submit your update by the 7th of the previous month. Visit this support guide for more details.
- Use the Commute Calculator to determine your estimated monthly transit costs
- Log in to your Jawnt account using your Harvard Key credentials
- In the My Passes section of your Jawnt account, find the Jawnt Pass benefit and click the Edit button.
- Use the Commute Calculator to determine your estimated monthly transit costs
- Log in to your Jawnt account using your Harvard Key credentials
- In the My Passes section of your Jawnt account, find the Jawnt Pass benefit and click the Edit button.
- On the next page, scroll down to your Monthly Transit Amount and click to edit it.
- Enter the new value in the pop-up window, then click Update.
- At the bottom of the page, click Update enrollment.
- Optional: If you want to automatically reload your monthly pass every month, we recommend setting up auto-pay on the MyCharlie website. Follow these steps to set up an auto-pay subscription using your Jawnt Pass debit card as the payment method.
Switch from monthly pass to pay-per-ride
If you will be commuting less frequently for a while, you may find yourself wanting to switch from a monthly pass to pay-per-ride. To make changes for the upcoming month, be sure to submit your update by the 7th of the previous month. Visit this support guide for more details.
- First, if you are enrolled in auto-pay through the MyCharlie website, be sure to log in and cancel your auto-pay subscription. This ensures you won’t get charged for auto-pay when you don’t intend to use it.
- Sign in at mycharlie.mbta.com
- From the top menu, go to Auto-pay, then select Your auto-pay subscription
- Select the option to cancel your auto-pay subscription
- Use the Commute Calculator to determine your estimated monthly transit costs (or if you already know how much you plan to spend, skip to the next step)
- Log in to your Jawnt account using your Harvard Key credentials
- In the My Passes section of your Jawnt account, find the Jawnt Pass benefit and click the Edit button.
- On the next page, scroll down to your Monthly Transit Amount and click to edit it.
- Enter the new value in the pop-up window, then click Update.
- At the bottom of the page, click Update enrollment.
The Jawnt debit card gives you the flexibility to mix and match how you commute - use it to pay as you go on transit and for short‑term parking on campus, or to cover a monthly transit pass and parking at your transit station. Visit this support guide for more details.
Before you get started, you’ll want to have a general estimate of how much you’ll be spending on both transit and parking per month. If you’re not sure, we highly recommend using the Transit Calculator and Parking Calculator to estimate your expenses. You can always round up these estimates and add a little more to ensure you’re covered for any unexpected expenses throughout the month. Unused funds roll over from month to month and into the following calendar year.
Once you’ve got your monthly amounts for transit and parking, follow the steps below to complete enrollment.
- Log in to your Jawnt account using your Harvard Key credentials
- In the My Passes section of your Jawnt account, find the Jawnt Pass benefit and click the Enroll button
- Read the information provided, then click Get Started
- On the Monthly Election page, enter your estimated monthly amounts for transit and parking
- For the monthly biking amount, enter $0 (transit/parking and biking are separate benefits that can't be combined in the same month).
- Choose whether you want to receive a Physical or Virtual-Only card (learn more about these options)
- Accept the terms and conditions
- Enter your personal information. Your data will never be shared with third parties outside of Jawnt and your employer.
- Enter the address where you want your card mailed
- Review your enrollment selections. If all looks good, click the Complete enrollment button.
Your benefit is designed to be flexible to accommodate month-to-month mode changes. If you bike in warmer weather but take transit in winter, you can switch to the transit benefit right from your Jawnt account:
- Log in to Jawnt with your Harvard Key credentials
- In the My Passes section of your Jawnt account, find the Jawnt Pass benefit and click the Edit button
- On the next page, scroll down to edit your monthly amounts:
- Change the Monthly Biking Amount to $0
- Change the Monthly Transit Amount to your reflect how much you anticipate spending on transit each month (Tip: Use the Commute Calculator to help estimate your total monthly transit cost)
- If needed, change the Monthly Parking Amount to reflect how much you anticipate spending on parking each month (there's a Calculator for that, too!)
- At the bottom of the page, click Update enrollment
When you're ready to switch back to biking, log in to Jawnt and follow the same steps, changing your biking amount back to $30 and your transit and parking amounts to $0. Keep in mind that the deadline to update your enrollment for the next month is the 7th of the preceding month.
When switching from the bike benefit to transit, any already-accrued bike benefit funds will still be available on your Jawnt Pass, and can be used even while enrolled in the transit benefit.
Similarly, any existing transit or parking funds accrued while enrolled in the transit and parking benefit can be used while enrolled in the bike benefit.