James Kemp, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, is a junior at St. Joseph’s University studying public policy and quantitative economics. He is the president of the student section 54th Airborne and involved on the orientation team and Phi Sigma Pi, an honors fraternity. He sees public transit and UPass as tools that can help reshape how St. Joseph’s students experience and engage with the Philadelphia community.

Coming from Baltimore, where there is only one metro line and one light rail line, Kemp grew up without using public transit. This limitation hindered his ability to pursue internships and work opportunities at home as a high schooler, as he would have had to walk. Now, as a college student within the SEPTA service area, Kemp uses SEPTA each day to get from campus in West Philadelphia to his internship at City Ave District in Bala Cynwyd, taking Bus 65 or 44. 

“I think I would not be able to do my internship if transit didn’t exist. I would have had to walk 25 minutes, both ways, which especially over the summer, would not have been very fun, but that wouldn’t have been necessarily as possible or as easy,” Kemp said.

In addition, the benefits of SEPTA reach beyond the professional realm, especially as college students in urban Philadelphia. 

“The social aspect of (college) life has definitely been altered because of transit. There’s so much more to do in Center City, or in University City than there is in our part of West Philly. Taking transit into those parts of the city opens up a whole world of activities that you can do,” Kemp said. “Yesterday, I really wanted to get some work done at a coffee shop, so I took the train into the city to try and find a nice little coffee shop, get away from campus to really lock in. These opportunities are available to me because transit exists.”

He believes that UPass could help to integrate St. Joseph’s University students into Philadelphia by removing the cost barrier, which will encourage students to venture off campus.

“We (St. Joseph’s University) would no longer be in a spot where people feel like they’re not really in the city,” Kemp said. “I remember my freshman year, we rarely went into the city — maybe twice the whole year. But if UPass existed, then that barrier wouldn’t quite have been there. My friends and I expressed interest in going into the city several times, but we never really got around to it, partly because that barrier exists.”

According to Kemp, one of the strongest reasons for St. Joseph’s University to invest in UPass is to alleviate the burden of parking a car on campus. All students, except for residential first years, are allowed to purchase a parking pass for $300 an academic year. Many students come to St. Joseph’s University from the Philadelphia suburbs and New Jersey, meaning they are familiar with Regional Rail, but often are new to the bus system.

“Most people have their cars and parking is a massive issue on campus. It seems like almost every student that is an upperclassman has a car. They definitely drive themselves to and from class, the grocery store, or any activities they want to do.”

Kemp is working with fellow students juniors Faith Adedokun and Ava Bullis and sophomore Matt Tsucala, and they represent the Student Senate Committee on SEPTA. Currently, they are in the research stage, working with the SEPTA YAC, Student Senate, and the school administration to gather information and prepare to send out a survey to better understand student demand for SEPTA UPass. According to Kemp, UPass can serve as a powerful recruiting tool for the university.

“We talk about how close we are to the city. We’re not really that close if you’re driving, but it’s a 10-minute Regional Rail ride,” Kemp said. “You (St. Joseph’s University) can further hammer in all the things you already talk about, but it has more credibility. You already talk about how close we are to the city, all the activities and all the opportunities that are in the city, all the professional opportunities. Now, it’s more persuasive because (students will) have a free pass that can get you there easily.”

From internships and groceries to coffee shops and nights out, Kemp sees public transit as woven into daily life in Philadelphia. Making that access universal would give students the freedom to explore beyond campus.

“A problem we run into is the lack of comfortability with transit, knowledge that it exists, and that it’s a real option. UPass would help with that, especially if we’re marketing it correctly. It does help to broaden the campus understanding of transit in Philadelphia, of how SEPTA works and what our lines are and where you can get to. It’s a positive feedback loop, that people will then use it more.”