SEPTA Navigates a New Normal, Lowering Regional Rail Fares and Facilitating Transfers to Boost Ridership

By

SEPTA Key Card kiosk
Image via The West End at Creative Commons.
A SEPTA Key Card kiosk at 30th Street Station; integration of fares across all modes of transportation in the SEPTA network is being planned.

To adapt to a ridership drastically changed by the pandemic, SEPTA wants to be more commuter-friendly. Toward that goal, it plans to lower its Regional Rail fares and make travel across different modes of transportation — buses, subways, rail, trolleys — more convenient. Thomas Fitzgerald navigated the details for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

This move is part of SEPTA’s overall strategic goal to meld its sprawling transit system into a significantly more unified network.

According to SEPTA General Manager and CEO Leslie S. Richards, “nothing is off limits” when it comes to achieving this goal. Fares, schedules, and connections are all being reexamined as part of the system’s new normal.

Several out-of-kilter policies are being examined.

For example, the one-way cash fare for using Regional Rail within the city is $6. That is more than double the $2.50 fare for a bus, trolley, or subway ride across the same distance. It’s even higher than SEPTA Key Card travel wallet fare of $4. And the wait for a Regional Rail train can cost commuters an hour at certain times during the day.

SEPTA assures riders that their input is critical to the revisions it is considering. It launched an online survey to gather opinions.

Read more about SEPTA’s post-pandemic plans, including those for regional rail fares, in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Connect With Your Community

Subscribe to stay informed!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement
Creative Capital logo