SEPTA fare changes

[JeffK]

Interesting discussion on the SEPTA Key and fare equity. So as of now, are transfers not free if you're using cash or are they not possible? Sorry, I've never used SEPTA

To try to set out the various (and yes, contorted) options to the extent I understand them. Note these apply to the transit side of the system (bus, subway, elevated, light rail) and not to the commuter rail division.

The current and proposed systems will be essentially the same for riders paying cash or using a Key card with a pass option enabled. Cash riders pay $2.50 with no transfer privileges. If your trip requires more than one vehicle you pay $2.50 for each boarding. For pass users, the up-front cost covers all travel up to a (relatively high) maximum number of boardings per week or month.

The significant changes are aimed at riders who load funds onto a Key card for payment by the trip. Under the current system the first boarding costs $2.00 with another $1.00 for each connecting vehicle, if any. IIRC there’s a time limit on connections to prevent cheating on round trips. Under the proposed system the first boarding will rise to $2.50 (same as cash) but subsequent transfers will be free, up to certain limits on time and (potentially) connections.

The proposed changes address inequities that have been an issue for decades on both SEPTA and its predecessor agencies. Much of Philadelphia's street layout is grid-based, so a lot of trips thus require transferring.This policy makes the cost of a trip dependent on the number of vehicles needed rather than the length of a trip*. In addition a significant number of bus routes intersect in some way with rail lines. The need to pay a transfer fee or even a full second fare has been shown to discourage riders from using those bus lines as feeders to the faster, more-efficient trains.

The objection that I and some others have to the proposal is that it does almost nothing to help riders who for whatever reason can’t maintain a Key card. A 2019 study by the Pew Foundation found that SEPTA's fare structure places a comparatively heavier burden on lower-income riders than it does on those of us who are better off. It’s in large part due to design and policy changes that were made during the Key's development ... but that’s a long and different thread.

* As an extreme example, it costs more to travel a mile on two buses anywhere in the system than it does to take a single bus 20+ miles from Center City to an industrial park in Chester County.

[daybeers]

Thanks for the rundown! That's silly SEPTA doesn't have a paper transfer system. I suppose it takes an extra second for the farebox to print a transfer slip, but that's what lots of bus systems around the country do.

Also, why can't SEPTA provide Keys for free to people who qualify for reduced fares or are in a certain income bracket? And can the Keys be reloaded at retail locations like grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores?

[JeffK]

SEPTA’s transit division had paper transfers until about 2 years ago. It was small-d democratic in that anyone who paid by the trip could transfer for $1 regardless of whether they paid by token or the higher cash fare. (If you used an open pass the price was set to average out as if you’d bought a week’s/month’s worth of transfers absent a Key.

Once the Key was up and, well, mostly functional they decided to pull the plug on paper transfers across the board and require a second full fare if you didn’t have a Key. Apparently someone at HQ decided that a 67% cost increase for cash customers was the best way to incentivize Key use. The change of course never took into account that a Key isn’t appropriate or even practical for some riders (e.g. irregular users, visitors) and that conditions placed on buying and maintaining a Key can be obstacles for low-income users. In fact at the outset the Key’s initial purchase price didn’t even correspond to an integral number of trips and the reload minimum was out of reach for some riders. After a lot of public complaints they eventually rationalized the prices, but they’ve absolutely refused to address the lack of transfers absent a Key.

Getting and reloading a card is super-easy IF you have a bank account and internet access. The sticking point is that roughly a quarter of Philly residents lack one or both. It’s true that SEPTA’s website show a lot of places where Keys can be bought or reloaded in person; the “BUT” is that they’re concentrated along certain main axis lines. These may not be readily accessible to users whose travel needs don’t match those of what’s come to be known as SEPTA’s “ideal commuter” - someone who commutes to a major destination during normal business hours. The options are to make special arrangements to get and/or reload a card, or suck up the double fare.

[MACTRAXX]

Jeff: Good feedback about the Key and its shortcomings for occasional riders...

Since SEPTA ended transfers we both know that there has been a loss to rideshare
services such as Uber and Lyft along with ridership losses on transit in particular.

With the dramatic losses in ridership because of the Coronavirus problem SEPTA
should offer incentives to build the system back when normal makes a return -
and not seek a fare increase three months from now. The timing is just bad...

Mass transportation is NOT designed for "Social Distancing" and it may take YEARS
to build back the ridership that SEPTA has lost in just these past six weeks.

These passenger losses could make "the bad old days" of the early 1980s look like
almost nothing in comparison...MACTRAXX

[JeffK]

MT: Thank you! I couldn’t have put it any better.

What I find both sad and frustrating is that SEPTA so often makes decisions that hurt passengers as well as the agency itself. Your point about Uber and Lyft is spot on: didn’t anyone think that if some passengers found their trip costs jumping from 3 bucks to $5 or even $7.50, they just might seek alternatives?

[ryan92084]

currently transfers are not possible for cash fares