The SEPTA Board approved an increase in SEPTA Key Card and contactless payment’s cost from $2.00 to $2.50 effective Dec. 1, the transit agency announced Thursday.
“For two years, we have been warning about the dire consequences facing SEPTA – and our region – due to the looming fiscal cliff,” wrote Ken Lawrence, SEPTA Board Chair, in the announcement. “With no prospect of a statewide solution to help fund the everyday operating expenses of public transportation systems, we have no choice but to continue plans to confront this stark reality.”
The new cost will go into effect on the Broad Street Line, Market Frankford Line and the bus and trolley systems.
The board also announced plans to discuss another 21.5% fare increase and will hold public hearings on Dec. 13. The board will vote to decide on the second increase Dec. 19.
Regional rail costs will increase in tandem with the city transit division. Zone 4 fares will increase from $6.50 per ride to $7.50 for Key Card users, and from $8.00 to $9.00 for other payment options.
In June, SEPTA began treating fare evasion as a citation crime instead of a $25 ticket. SEPTA plans to install fare evasion gates at the Cecil B. Moore station on Main Campus alongside five other stations. The changes come after SEPTA announced a $240 million deficit in their budget.
Ridership on SEPTA buses is at 81% of its pre-pandemic numbers, while the metro system is at 69% of its pre-pandemic ridership according to SEPTA’s recovery dashboard. Regional rail has been slower to recover, and has hovered around 65% ridership for the past six months.
The proposed January increases would raise the cost from $2.50 to $2.90 for both cash and SEPTA Key Card payments for the city transit division. The cost for a Zone 4 weekday regional rail ticket would increase from $7.50 to $8.75. SEPTA is holding a public hearing for the proposal on Dec. 13 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
SEPTA attributes the increase because of the $240 million budget deficit as well as the exhaustion of federal relief funds from COVID, according to the announcement. They anticipate generating nearly $50 million in additional annual revenue with the combined fare increases.
Be the first to comment