New SEPTA FAREGATE PIC

I guess. I was under the impression that all faregates at subway stops would be replaced with new ones, and the adds of them on the RRD. I SAY GET ALL NEW ONES..I THINK the current ones are ugly.

sammy2009 wrote:I guess. I was under the impression that all faregates at subway stops would be replaced with new ones, and the adds of them on the RRD. I SAY GET ALL NEW ONES..I THINK the current ones are ugly.

So make sure you go to a hearing so SEPTA can listen to what YOU THINK.

I'm going tomorrow hopefully I can get a question in. I bet some ppl wanna tear their heads off already.

Patrick Boylan wrote:I believe people who don't have credit cards or at least a bank account have bigger problems conducting their lives than just public transit. Also I believe people outside the city are more likely to have credit cards or bank accounts than those inside the city.
And if I SEPTA's proposal correctly, one may, for a fee, get a SEPTA card that will act as a rechargeable fare medium. I don't agree with exacting a fee for that privilege, and would find it more palatable if that fee were instead for example a deposit towards the first recharge, but unless I'm wrong one doesn't need credit card or bank account to take advantage of the new payment technology.

SEPTA is following industry practice for charging for the card, usually between $5 and $10 dollars with anywhere between $5 and $7.50 pre-loaded onto the card. PATCO sells their Freedom Card for $5 with nothing loaded. Some systems waive the card price if the rider registers their card online or establishes an online account, so your concern about a fee for the privledge is misplaced.

Everybody keeps whining about "The Poor" in this city, but many of "the poor" are running around with smartphones, and are not that cash-poor. They may not have an income like a Main Liner, but they can get a SEPTA card, and with the savvy they use with passes and tokens , they can get around the city just fine.

Mdlbigcat wrote:SEPTA is following industry practice for charging for the card, usually between $5 and $10 dollars with anywhere between $5 and $7.50 pre-loaded onto the card.

1--The tariffs will effectively set only a maximum price for the card. I would not be surprised if the initial rounds of card distribution are free or effectively free (as suggested above), and I think I recall some SEPTA people talking about a plan like that at a stakeholder meeting.

2--Unlike predecessor systems, SEPTA's system will let you bring your own card or other device, such as a school or work ID, and use it as a SEPTA card. The University of Pennsylvania has said it will soon start issuing compatible IDs.

Matthew Mitchell wrote:

Mdlbigcat wrote:SEPTA is following industry practice for charging for the card, usually between $5 and $10 dollars with anywhere between $5 and $7.50 pre-loaded onto the card.

1--The tariffs will effectively set only a maximum price for the card. I would not be surprised if the initial rounds of card distribution are free or effectively free (as suggested above), and I think I recall some SEPTA people talking about a plan like that at a stakeholder meeting.

2--Unlike predecessor systems, SEPTA's system will let you bring your own card or other device, such as a school or work ID, and use it as a SEPTA card. The University of Pennsylvania has said it will soon start issuing compatible IDs.

Temple's new OWLcard IDs were designed to be compatible with NPT, and are ready to go.

Matthew Mitchell wrote:

Mdlbigcat wrote:Unlike predecessor systems, the SEPTA system will let you bring your own card or other device, such as a school or work ID, and use it as a SEPTA card. The University of Pennsylvania has said it will soon start issuing compatible IDs.

That brings an interesting point. Could a partnership with PennDOT one day be in the works to allow DMV cards/IDs? A PA State Senior Card is already available for ages 65 and older.

R36 Combine Coach wrote:Could a partnership with PennDOT one day be in the works to allow DMV cards/IDs? A PA State Senior Card is already available for ages 65 and older.

That not only is exactly what is happening, once NPT is in place, those will be the only cards accepted. There was considerable misunderstanding and apprehension about this at the hearings, but there are good reasons to phase out the old blue and yellow cards and it would be in line with what was done in other states. Actually, it would be easier than what's been done in other states (having shepherded my parents through getting senior Charlie Cards in Massachusetts).

Mdlbigcat wrote:

Patrick Boylan wrote: And if I SEPTA's proposal correctly, one may, for a fee, get a SEPTA card that will act as a rechargeable fare medium. I don't agree with exacting a fee for that privilege, and would find it more palatable if that fee were instead for example a deposit towards the first recharge

SEPTA is following industry practice for charging for the card, usually between $5 and $10 dollars with anywhere between $5 and $7.50 pre-loaded onto the card. PATCO sells their Freedom Card for $5 with nothing loaded. Some systems waive the card price if the rider registers their card online or establishes an online account, so your concern about a fee for the privledge is misplaced.

Please explain why is my concern misplaced? Just because everyone else does it doesn't make it right, and in fact you mention that some systems waive the card price. If SEPTA's going to waive the price, as in my example where it's just a deposit towards paying for transportations, that would take care of my concern, but I haven't read anything that says there will be any waiver. And considering the other proposed shenaningans, like charging full price for changing vehicles and passes with ride caps, I wouldn't be too surprised if they do impose the fee and don't give any credit towards rides.
PATCO's also a pretty horrible example. As you acknowledge, they charge $5 for their card. They also, as I've mentioned a few times in this forum, sell single ride tickets that are good for only 3 days from date of purchase. So infrequent riders must decide, pay $5 for a rechargeable card, or buy one ticket at a time, or buy more than 1 at a time and risk not being able to ride before the unrefundable ticket expires. That kind of limits the time saving advantages of advance buying tickets for family outings, and at least in my family's case have resulted in several trips to Philly in which we could have taken public transit, but instead drove.
SEPTA, and PATCO, have obviously decided that it's better for them to get that $5 than it is to get people actually to ride. I don't agree, I think, along with railroad surcharges that arent' surcharges coupled with limiting ways to buy railroad tickets, charging for transfers, etc... whatever lost revenue they might now be getting pales compared with the revenue they might get from having a few extra discretionary rides.

I went to the board meeting last night. And I will say SEPTA got their ears banged lol. they main concerns and complaints was the turnstiles , and ride caps. everyone voiced the opinion and also the fact that their reader won't tell how much left kn the card after you swipe. I voiced my opinion. and also the senior citizen card was also another sticking point.

Regarding the senior citizen card, I got a response from the SEPTA website that the magnetic strip on a PA driver's license contains the information they need to verify age, and it will be possible to swipe the license upon boarding a vehicle or entering the system, so it shouldn't slow things down as much as I originally thought. It's still going to be a nuisance having to fish the license out of your wallet every time (I can't imagine anyone wanting to wear their driver's license around their neck), but there doesn't seem to be much chance of flexibility on the matter of issuing a separate senior ID card.

Of course there are identity theft and visit the motor vehicle department issues as well, but, strictly counting dollars to replace, it's riskier to dangle a monthly railroad pass around your neck than a driver's license.

ExCon90 wrote:Regarding the senior citizen card, I got a response from the SEPTA website that the magnetic strip on a PA driver's license contains the information they need to verify age, and it will be possible to swipe the license upon boarding a vehicle or entering the system, so it shouldn't slow things down as much as I originally thought.

The Date of Birth of the cardholder is recorded on the mag stripe of the card.
And without being to able to verify that the person actually swiping the card is 65 or over, the turnstile unlocks for the 20yo who finds a senior's card and uses it. Again and again.

ExCon90 wrote:Regarding the senior citizen card, I got a response from the SEPTA website that the magnetic strip on a PA driver's license contains the information they need to verify age, and it will be possible to swipe the license upon boarding a vehicle or entering the system, so it shouldn't slow things down as much as I originally thought. It's still going to be a nuisance having to fish the license out of your wallet every time (I can't imagine anyone wanting to wear their driver's license around their neck), but there doesn't seem to be much chance of flexibility on the matter of issuing a separate senior ID card.

I seem to remember a problem this past election where a non-insignificant number of seniors were found to be lacking an official government photo ID. Don't these people remember what happened less than 6 months ago?

Also, why is it that we're now subsidizing out-of-state seniors? I guess the amount is probably infinitesimal on the grand scheme of things, but to be constantly complaining about budget issues while simultaneously opening up free service to 40 million new people seems kind of counter-intuitive to me.

Maybe this is a rare case where the bean counters, who otherwise seem obsessed with penny wise pound foolish measures, might realize that the few out of state elderly residents who might take advantage of free and discounted rides are also likely to contribute to Pennsylvania's economy out of proportion to whatever expense we incur.
Also I understand that the senior funding mechanism, although based on how big the elderly population is, gets its funding not from taxes, but from lottery proceeds, and there's no requirement that one be a resident to buy lottery tickets.
However I feel taxes would be a more efficient and fairer way to raise the funds than lottery gambling, which I call the "poor person's tax", but that's another argument a bit removed from this thread's subject. Sorry for taking us further off topic.