Guest Commentary: SEPTA, a View from the Inside

It was a hot day in the summer of 2022 when Ayanna Matlock called to offer me a job in SEPTA’s brand-new Transformation Office. At the time, I was serving as chair of SEPTA’s Youth Advisory Council, a volunteer role I took on while studying at Temple University. As an advocate — and an enthusiastic rider of the B and the 23 — I knew I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to shape SEPTA from within. Two months later, I stepped through the large revolving glass door at SEPTA’s 1234 Market Street headquarters and got to work.

Knowing that transforming bureaucracy can be difficult, I wasn’t sure how many changes we’d be able to make. After two and a half years, though, we’ve done more than I could have imagined with hundreds of employee-generated ideas implemented — and we’re just getting starte