by Head-end View
I like the old fashioned slot boxes. They are a simple, effective method. Not dependent on computers or the internet or electronics.
Railroad Forums
Moderator: AlexC
As with Transit, we will take a few months to evaluate how SEPTA Key is working on Regional Rail to determine if there are adjustments that need to be made for our customers and train crews before we resume the sale of new Key Cards for TrailPass purchases.
While no new Key Cards are available for sale at the Center City Regional Rail Stations we want to encourage our Early Adopter customers to continue to reload their Weekly and Monthly Zone 3 or 4 TrailPasses online at septakey.org or at one of the Center City Regional Rail Sales Offices. Early Adopters with valid Zone 3 & 4 TrailPasses loaded on a Key Card will continue to present their Card to the Conductor for validation, upon request.
Legacy TrailPasses for all Zones will continue to be sold at outlying Ticket Offices and at the Temple, Jefferson, Suburban, 30th St., and University City Regional Rail Station Ticket Office.
Head-end View wrote:I like the old fashioned slot boxes. They are a simple, effective method. Not dependent on computers or the internet or electronics.I despise those slot boxes. The only positive thing I can say about them is they would work in case of a blackout.
Literalman wrote:I got my senior Key card on Nov. 5 while passing through Philly (I live in Virginia but usually am in Philly half a dozen times a year and always use Septa, and I turned 65 in August). From what I've read in this forum, not to mention on the Septa website, I wasn't sure what to expect. The Septa website said same-day service was available at 1234 Market St. on weekdays to obtain a senior Key card. I didn't have all day, but it took only about 15 minutes, I think. It went smoothly, and I was pleased to learn that to ride regional rail I just show the card to the conductor and ride free pay $1 extra if riding out of state. I gathered from this forum that the reason regional rail is free and not half price for seniors might be due to problems with the fare system.Hi Literalman I live just outside of Philly and decided to get a Senior Key Card in conjunction with the free intra-PA rides on Regional rail that went into effect on September 1st. It';s the first time I've traveled on SEPTA since moving here 18 years ago.As a clarification the $1.00 charge was in effect for senior travel on intra-PA travel prior to September 1st; Trips to/from DE and NJ were and remain half fare. All transit (Bus, trolley, Subway, Norristown High Speed Line) are free.
fcqjx wrote:[quote="Literalman"...I used my NJ drivers license to get my senior Key Card.
I am curious what kind of ID you used to get your Senior Key card at 1234, I have a friend who also lives in VA who might be interested in getting a card.
-Matt
Literalman wrote:I gathered from this forum that the reason regional rail is free and not half price for seniors might be due to problems with the fare system.My understanding from a couple of different sources is that senior travel is free because SEPTA either decided against - or quite possibly overlooked - equipping senior Keys with a stored-value option. However that doesn't take into account how half-fares for out of state trips will be collected and recorded. I've only used my card w/in PA so I can't say how those fares are collected, but I'd guess it's still being done the old-fashioned way. By comparison, I also have a DC Metro Senior SmarTrip card that carries a stored value just like standard SmarTrips and half-fares are collected just like standard fares *.
A pilot program to expand the SEPTA Key fare inspection process to Weekends, at Center City Regional Rail Stations, will begin at Suburban Station on Saturday, November 17.Fare Collection Ambassadors will be around during the hours of 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
I will be ever so glad when Key on the regional rail side is fully implemented, because I feel like the Ambassadors look more like dead weight around these turnstiles.Half the time they're blocking one or more of the turnstiles. It's not really their fault -- where else are they supposed to stand? -- but I feel like riders (including me) see their presence as a tremendous waste of money.
dcipjr wrote:I feel like riders (including me) see their presence as a tremendous waste of money.It would be VERY interesting to know how much it's costing SEPTA's to satisfy its G.E.L.D.* fixation, versus the amount of leakage it's actually preventing.
Head-end View wrote:If SEPTA would have implemented a better thought out system, maybe there wouldn't be so many confused passengers and so many employees wouldn't be needed.The Key is also costing them money through things like elimination of transit zone fares and RRD senior fares, both apparently forced by major design gaffes.
SEPTA's right to try to implement a system that will insure the highest percentage of fare collection possible. After all they need all the money they can get to maintain operations. But it looks like in their desperation to do this, they may be shooting themselves in the foot so to speak.Agreed. I spoke (off the record, of course) with a couple of planners from 1234 who told me there was an almost palpable concern with capturing every possible fare that's blinding them to the costs of making the system 99.99% leakproof. It reminds me of a relative who would drive 15 or 20 miles to a particular food market "because they had better prices", ignoring that their big car slurped nearly 2 gallons of gas.