SEPTA NPT card will be "SEPTA Key"?

AH: Implementing fare collection at stations was just one possibility of what would have occurred
if SEPTA had their way and transitized what originally was (1983 to June 1985) the Regional High
Speed Lines...which was retitled "Regional Rail Division" beginning in July 1985.

Back then SEPTA had plans to "transitize" the Commuter Rail system primarily by running frequent
headways on branch lines using single unit MU cars at all off peak hours as an example. This would
have increased service to something perhaps similar to frequencies of the NHSL, 101 and 102.

Pay rates would have been cut from prevailing Conrail wages to be about equivalent to City Transit
Division rates of pay which enraged railroad union craft employees in particular and was the prime
reason for the 108 day rail strike in 1983.

With the transition to fare collection at stations there could be a reduction of on-board train crew
staffing that could perhaps become something along the lines of what GO Transit as example use
on their trains which is just an Engineer and Conductor with all fares collected off train. With their
use of POP since the early 1990s they have fare enforcement officers that regularly ride trains and
patrol stations to check for compliance and to prevent fare evasion.

When the Key is fully operational there may well be cuts to the size of train crews on board.
This could be the biggest upcoming change once the Key establishes itself over time...MACTRAXX

That ties in with the name change from High Speed to Regional Rail. SEPTA was trying at the time (1983) to get out from under the FRA and especially the Railroad Retirement Act, avoiding the use of the word rail -- we're not a railroad, nobody here but us trolley drivers -- but they couldn't make it stick and remained subject to the RRA, acknowledging the fact by changing the name back to Rail.
Next: Regional Rail timetables to be read from left to right instead of top to bottom? They tried that for a while too.

ExCon90 wrote:That ties in with the name change from High Speed to Regional Rail. SEPTA was trying at the time (1983) to get out from under the FRA and especially the Railroad Retirement Act, avoiding the use of the word rail -- we're not a railroad, nobody here but us trolley drivers -- but they couldn't make it stick and remained subject to the RRA, acknowledging the fact by changing the name back to Rail.

That's when they operated R8 Newtown Branch as a diesel (RDC) service using transit operators instead of engineers and then the tragic crash with a fuel tanker.

R36: The Newtown Branch north of Fox Chase was retitled by SEPTA the "Fox Chase Rapid Transit
Line" beginning at the start of SEPTA operation in September 1981. This ill-fated line ran for about
16 months and would end up being closed in January 1983. The RDC car-gasoline truck accident in
Southampton which occurred during 1982 was a prime reason that train service ended.

This was SEPTA's test bed to transitize the Commuter Rail system (as it was known in Conrail days
and before) which would eventually fail. The R numbers were not introduced until late 1984 when
the Center City Commuter Connection (the original given name) opened to unify the former RDG
and PRR/PC rail systems. I wanted to reply here before we go too much off the Key topic...

MACTRAXX

Everyone:

Another SEPTA transitize thought was that they could have tried to implement an automatic fare
collection system something similar to what PATCO and Chicago's IC/Metra Electric once had...

The big difference was that a majority of SEPTA RRD stations were low-level platforms that would
have had to been more secured to create distinct paid areas with fencing, walls and related means
to prevent trespassing and fare evasion along with a greater law enforcement presence. Both of
these systems relied on surveillance cameras to a large extent for additional security.

As most know Metra Electric eliminated the magnetic tickets and turnstiles in 2003. PATCO went
with the conversion to the Freedom Card eliminating their "legacy" ticket types about 10 years
ago. Both fare collection systems were of 1960s origin with the turnstiles upgraded during the
mid to late 1970s era that over the course of time would come to the end of their useful lives.

Had SEPTA implemented a fare collection system of that type they would also have been likely
seeking to replace it with more modern technology as PATCO has during the same time period.
Fare collection may have changed much sooner had SEPTA adapted the Freedom Card system
and expanded it widely with perhaps a much lower system cost overall than the Key.

MACTRAXX

Whoever laid out the fare line gates in 30th Street should be made to walk through them every day. Ugh.

Whose bright idea was the 30th st Station turnstile layout? This is going to be a PR nightmare...

They've got some difficult constraints. They need to preserve the ability to transfer between platforms but must also leave space for Cira Center access to the Amtrak concourse.

I'm concerned that there may be issues around the inability of handicapped individuals to transfer between platforms without passing through faregates, though.

andrewjw wrote:They've got some difficult constraints. They need to preserve the ability to transfer between platforms but must also leave space for Cira Center access to the Amtrak concourse.

I'm concerned that there may be issues around the inability of handicapped individuals to transfer between platforms without passing through faregates, though.

This is true, but perhaps making it a little more minimally invasive would have been better. Like having less fencing.

It would also be much less of an issue if the could reactivate the eastern upper level concourse and the stairs to N 30 St.

I think they are planning on it. They removed the advertising signs on the upper concourse around those stairwells which was the precursor to the other turnstiles being implemented.

andrewjw wrote:It would also be much less of an issue if the could reactivate the eastern upper level concourse and the stairs to N 30 St.

There's another concourse at the bottom of the stairwells on the east side of the platforms? I thought those were emergency exits? If they are, God forbid an emergency happen if you don't have your SEPTA Key ready to exit the emergency evacuation turnstiles!

The stupid is hurting my brain.

Interesting point, and not just there. I would say that ideally there should be a number of panic buttons in vaious places that would enable any of the station staff to release all turnstiles immediately if an emergency occurs. (Maybe there is?)

R3 Passenger wrote:

andrewjw wrote:It would also be much less of an issue if the could reactivate the eastern upper level concourse and the stairs to N 30 St.

There's another concourse at the bottom of the stairwells on the east side of the platforms? I thought those were emergency exits? If they are, God forbid an emergency happen if you don't have your SEPTA Key ready to exit the emergency evacuation turnstiles!

The stupid is hurting my brain.

They are currently emergency exits through a space which is planned to be converted to another concourse.
I'm not sure what the source of your concern is. In most exit-swipe areas, emergency exit gates are present, and exit turnstyles can be hooked up to the alarm system to allow free exit.

Everyone:

SEPTA has determined when token sales will end and where it already has ended for the remaining
seven RRD stations that have continued to sell tokens:

Sales ended July 1, 2018 at Ardmore, Norristown TC and Wayne Junction.

Sales will end August 1, 2018 at Chester TC, Langhorne, Lansdale and Queen Lane.

http://www.septa.org/key/2018-03-token-sales-rrd.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These four stations may well be some of the last remaining sales outlets in which tokens were
available directly from SEPTA.

There may be outside venues that still have tokens available depending on how many that they
have already on stock and if SEPTA will continue to supply them for continued sales.

Tokens will need to be accepted for at least the next six months to a year depending on about how
many remain in circulation and if they plan to continue to keep them available in bulk to outside
organizations. It will remain to be seen how this final(?) token drawdown will pan out...MACTRAXX