TransitScreen launced a new product to ease employees’ return-to-office commutes

With COVID-19, company leaders can no longer leave consideration of the commute part of the work day up to their employees — they must be a part of the discussion as well, argues a downtown D.C.-based public transit software company that created a product to help with that.

TransitScreen launched CommuteWise this week to offer employees returning to work an automated trip planning experience by assessing all local transit routes and fares. This new product is an extension of TransitScreen’s commute management solutions and also simplifies commuter benefits options (say, if your employer offers a $100 pre-tax subsidy to be used for a monthly transit pass) so employees can analyze their trip costs and time before signing up for anything.

To use CommuteWise, employees answer question about their commute habits, such as where they’re traveling to and from, and the platform calculates which routes and commuting methods make the most sense for them. Then employees pick their preferred commute, and CommuteWise refers them to a benefits provider to purchase their relevant travel or parking pass, if applicable.

CommuteWise would be most useful during the onboarding process or when companies reboard employees, according to TransitScreen.

“We designed our newest product to be essential in employee onboarding, and what we’re looking at right now is the largest simultaneous onboarding process of all time,” said CEO and cofounder Matt Caywood in a statement. “Return-to-work task forces are focused on so many considerations right now, but a plan for the elevator won’t make much difference if your employees can’t get to the office.”

TransitScreen got its start in 2014 by making digital displays showing transit data that hang in corporate buildings and apartment complexes. The company says it has more than 2,000 data feeds of transportation information including metro lines, buses, escooters, ebikes, ridesharing services and more.

With CommuteWise, employees can manage their own commute plans within a mobile application that features TransitScreen’s usual offerings, real-time public and private transit information. Similar to Transitscreen’s first mobile app CityMotion, CommuteWise will feature service alerts from transit agencies about closures or disruptions, but it also features company messages about occupancy levels and any procedural changes due to the coronavirus.

“Our combined solutions suite saves immense time in employee communications, both during onboarding and throughout their time at the company,” Caywood said.

TransitScreen’s new product can integrate with benefit providers and vendors such as Edenred, Wageworks, Scoop and Commute with Enterprise. The company will assign account managers to assist with customization and updates.

TransitScreen also recently released a new design of its flagship mobile app.

Could not be more proud of our @TransitScreen mobile app design and UX team. The new CityMotion release is a work of art, and incredibly useful for navigating any city transportation. pic.twitter.com/iqEpbECXe6

— Ryan Croft (@ryankcroft) August 3, 2020