The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the nation’s fifth-largest transit system, set out to develop a transformational five-year strategic plan that would give its 9,000-plus employees a shared direction for the agency’s future. The pandemic, aging infrastructure, and fiscal pressures had required SEPTA to focus on the basics, but agency leadership saw an opportunity to move from stabilizing the system to something more ambitious.
From the start, SEPTA wanted a plan that could resonate with staff across the organization. Foursquare ITP’s role was to bring that vision to life by surfacing the priorities, ideas, and solutions already within the agency. We conducted extensive engagement and analysis, listening to and synthesizing the perspectives of over 1,000 staff. Through collaborative workshops with senior leaders, we aligned those voices into a shared vision, mission, and goals. We helped create a program of actions that SEPTA can take to achieve its goals and meet its performance metrics, thereby keeping the agency accountable.
The final plan clearly outlines the role every employee plays in achieving SEPTA’s mission. The SEPTA Board adopted the plan in 2026, charting a course from back-to-basics to best-in-class, and overhauled the agency’s KPIs to measure the outcomes that matter most to riders, staff, and stakeholders. Implementation was already underway before the ink dried, from new rail investments and a redesigned bus network to staff development programs and updated IT infrastructure.
Solutions and Outcomes
- Engaged more than 1,000 staff to surface priorities and shape the plan’s direction.
- Conducted a state of the authority assessment covering key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- Overhauled agency KPIs to measure outcomes that matter most to riders, staff, and stakeholders.