Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly will offer its annual $5 shuttle service to the Philadelphia International Airport ahead of spring break.
Penn Transit Services will operate the shuttles, which will pick up students at the Upper Quad Gate at 3700 Spruce St. and stop at all departure gates. Airport shuttles — with tickets available for purchase on TicketLeap — will operate from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday.
In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Communication Director of the UA and College sophomore Taya Allardice described the shuttle service as “very accessible” and “simple for any Penn student that's getting to the airport.”
”A UA member will be in front of the bus checking everyone’s ticket code to make sure that they bought a ticket,” Allardice added. “Obviously the shuttle can’t work around traffic if there is any, but it will be the same as taking an Uber — except you only need to pay $5.”
According to Allardice, the UA has coordinated shuttles to the airport for over 20 years, referring to it as an “ongoing” project, adding that the shuttle system services “thousands” of students each year.
UA Secretary and College sophomore Julia Axler, who secures funding for the shuttle system, told the DP that she pushed for the program because the UA “wanted a cheaper alternative” for students to travel to the airport aside from Uber and SEPTA — both of which are “more expensive and sometimes unreliable.”
Amid a “funding emergency” — which the body wrote about in a February guest column — Axler said the UA has “fought really hard” for students to “get home in an affordable, sustainable way,” with an estimated “600” tickets sold last semester.
According to Axler, the program previously cost $10,000 annually, but the UA “negotiated the number down” to $8,000 for the 2025-26 academic year.
RELATED:
Penn Undergraduate Assembly unanimously passes resolution to increase club sports funding
Penn alum, former UA speaker launches campaign for Pa. House of Representatives
UA Treasurer and College junior Moe Mansour explained that the body will fund the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) program with the revenue generated from sales, and will also receive “allocation from the Vice Provost of University Life.” The program will also be supported by “a bit of allocation from the UA annual budgeting process from last year” and from money that the UA requested through Penn’s student government steering fund.
According to Mansour, the shuttle program “used to cost $3” but the UA had to “up the price” to $5 because Penn “legal services [were] phasing out funding for the program.”
He added that “Business Services was fully absorbing the cost of the program” during FY23, but “did not fund it at all” in FY25.
Allardice added that of all of UA’s projects and initiatives — which are often “under the radar” or “embedded in the University and day-to-day operations” — the airport shuttles are “highly visible” and recognized by Penn students.
