Perq for Work: Commuting, With Benefits

We understand that many employees' commutes have changed due to the spread of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, and Perq administrators may want to change their orders to reflect that.

Note: This guidance only applies to companies working directly with the MBTA to order passes—organizations working with third-party benefits administrators should contact their administrator for assistance.

Flash Passes (Commuter Rail / Ferry / Express Bus)
To avoid purchasing passes that commuters may not use, log in to your account at perqadmin.mbta.com, navigate to "Employee Flash Passes," update the quantities you want to receive, and click "Update Current Order."

For further assistance, or if you are unable to access your pass shipment, please contact our customer service team at passprogram@mbta.com or 888-844-0353.

Smart Cards (Subway and Bus, including LinkPasses)

You may choose to keep your Smart Cards active through April and May to simplify account management when transit use increases again. The MBTA will provide credits against future invoices for any Smart Card that remains on your account but shows zero usage in the months of April or May.

Alternatively, you can choose to remove cards from your account. Note that you’ll need to order new ones when work resumes, and replacing multiple cards will take time. To deactivate your cards, log in to your administrator account at perqadmin.mbta.com and navigate to Employee Smart Cards > Smart Card Management.

The board approved a fare increase effective July 1, 2019. For July orders, this change will be reflected in your June invoice.

Download a PDF of the new prices for our monthly passes

Smart Card

• For bus and subway only
• Valid for 1 calendar month
• Same card kept month-to-month
• Assigned to a user in the system
• Invoiced for when assigned or used
• Can be shut off and replaced if lost

Flash Pass

• For Commuter Rail and ferry, with bus and subway service as well
• New card sent to office each month
• Valid for 1 calendar month
• Distributed physically only
• Paid for on order
• Cannot be replaced if lost or stolen—treat as cash

Note: Express Bus passes can be bought as either a Smart Card or a Flash Pass.

Monthly LinkPasses offer unlimited bus and subway travel for $90.00 per calendar month.

Employees who pay for the pass through a pretax payroll deduction see an effective discount equal to their individual tax rate.

Monthly LinkPasses are the most common T pass purchased through this program, but other passes are available. Learn more about all the monthly passes we offer, and see the estimated cost savings Perq provides.

Download a PDF of the prices effective July 1 for our passes

Please see our zones page for an in-depth explanation.

Yes. There are two types of Perq user accounts:

• A super-user can change financial, billing, and shipping address information, or create access rights for other administrative staff. Only 1 person at each company can be a Super-user.
• An administrator can place or make modifications to orders and register new employees. They cannot change banking, billing, or shipping information. There is no limit to the number of administrators for each company.

We require all companies to email us at PassProgram@mbta.com, and attach a formal letter on company letterhead stating super-user changes. Include a brief note that explains which user is leaving and who will replace them. Also include:

• Company name
• Company number
• Address
• Federal tax ID
• New user email

Check out Making Your First Perq Order as a first step. For more detail, take a look at the Perq Administrative User Guide.

When you’ve finished inputting orders in your account for Smart Cards and Flash Passes, click Review Current Order to make sure you’ve ordered the amounts you wanted.

Yes! We redesigned the Smart Cards to align with our new Perq brand, but the old cards work the same as the new ones.

After you receive your Smart Cards, they need to be confirmed before the 1st of the month. You can do this in your account in the Employee Smart Cards tab.

Check out our Perq Administrative User Guide for instructions.

Before you can hand Smart Cards out to employees, you need to assign them to employees. You can do this in your account after you confirm the cards by clicking the Assign Select Smart Cards button.

Check out our Perq Administrative User Guide for instructions.

Any new card you order through Perq will be sent to your office (or whichever shipping location you’ve designated).

• Flash Passes are delivered each month
• Smart Cards are reused month-to-month

Yes. If you ordered more monthly Commuter Rail Flash Passes than you need, you can return them. Fill out our order return sheet, send it to us with the cards, and we will credit your account on the next invoice.

Please review your current invoice on the 15th to ensure all orders are placed on time. Also, if an employee’s monthly Flash Pass is no longer required, please be sure to adjust the order number by the 15th.

You can give Flash Passes to your employees as soon as you receive them. They will be automatically re-ordered every month unless the order number is adjusted.

Flash Passes cannot be turned off once they’re distributed, and we’re not able to replace lost or stolen cards. Flash Passes should be treated like cash.

Customers who lose their Flash Pass one month will still receive a new one for their next monthly pass.

If a Smart Card is lost, stolen, or malfunctioning, delete the card in your account to block it. Click the Employee Smart Cards tab and select Report Lost/Damaged Card.

If you have extra Smart Cards at your office, assign a new card to the rider. Or notify our Customer Support Team at 888-844-0353 and we will ship one to you.

Check out our Perq Administrative User Guide for in-depth instructions.

Sign up to receive monthly invoices by email. Or, sign in and go to Review Current Order and select Print Invoice.

When you order Smart Cards online, the subtotal will be $0. You are charged for Smart Cards (including LinkPasses) once cards are confirmed and assigned to employees. Once confirmed and assigned, the Smart Cards will be added to your invoice for the next billing cycle.

For more information on confirming and assigning cards, check out our Perq Administrative User Guide.

A Late Order Adjustment happens when riders leave or join your account.

Here is an example of what you might see as a Late Order Adjustment on your invoice: Adj Type[LOA]: Month Of Use[January, 2019] Activated[46] Deactivated[0].

In this example, the administrator made an order for January on December 15th. After they confirmed the Smart Cards later in December, they assigned 46 LinkPasses to employees, generating a charge for January usage. Since the next invoice was issued on January 15th, where charges for February would normally appear, the January charges were added to it in the form of a Late Order Adjustment.

Anytime a Smart Card is activated or deactivated in the latter half of a month, an LOA will appear on the next invoice along with the next month’s pass order charges.

This fee is for use—it is not administrative.

An Early Usage Adjustments happens if a card is used “early.”

Here is an example of what you might see as an Early Usage Adjustment on your invoice: Early December 2018 usage, Monthly Link Pass (ID number); First used 12/30/2018 Activated on 12/21/2018; Based on use, fee is 84.5000 x 33% = 27.89000

In this example, the rider was assigned a card on December 21, 2018, for use in January 2019. They used the card on December 30, 2018, a few days early. The MBTA fare system charges for monthly use on a prorated basis starting when the card is actually used for the first time, which is reflected in the Early Usage Adjustment you can see above.

Note that the charge is prorated based on thirds of a month: since the card was used in the last third of the month, the Early Usage Adjustment reflects the cost of one-third of a month of ridership.

This fee is for use—it is not administrative.

If a card is used without being assigned to an employee first, we charge the company it was issued to for a month of use, and it is valid for that calendar month. Then we turn the card off.

Note: Assigning cards ensures you can track who is using what card.

This fee is for use—it is not administrative.

Because of the way our billing system works, you aren’t charged for monthly LinkPasses when you place your order, but rather when you confirm and assign them to employees. After you assign a monthly LinkPass to an employee, the charge for that first month will appear on the next invoice you receive.

Monthly LinkPasses are often assigned in the second half of a month, so the charge for the current month is rolled into the invoice as a Late Order Adjustment.

With all types of adjustments, it’s important to remember that they are all fees for use—they are not administrative.

If you have questions, get in touch with our Customer Support Team at 888-844-0353.