No, they just need to be maintained properly and brought up to current standard w/r/t the bill acceptors (which performed poorly even before the currency redesign, and when they were relatively new)
From what I've heard, the machines are non-upgradeable. Anotherwords, they will never be able to accept our current currency (they only take the old-old $20's.) Obviously SEPTA has a quality problem, be it ticket machines, automated announcement systems or the plain old service.
Walking down Market Street, I'm amazed at the number of private bus companies which run services through Center City, be it hte London "Big Bus" company, the fake trollies, or Ride the Ducks(I think there are 3 or 4 companies). SEPTA is missing a huge market here, since the city decided to make its primary industry tourism, SEPTA has decided to make its primary mission asking for handouts. They were actually more intuitive back in the '70's when they still had trollies in Center City, such as the one that looked like a boat that ran down 5th Street. If we had some kind of trolley system for tourists today, I'm sure they could get $5/ride or some kind of day pass for them. Kind of like San Francisco, where their buses are $1 (guessing) and the cable cars are $2.
While our tourists go and Ride the Ducks, SEPTA plays 'Hide the Buck$'.
Even though this is a rail forum, I'm glad this topic is getting this much attention on a broad scale, because we do need a complementary system that works. The trains are no good without the subways and buses (which should be trollies), and the entire system is at risk, nevermind that we've lost so much of it in the past 23 years.
I'd like to encourage everyone to post, and not just read. We need ideas, I think there are some good ones here, and we need a way to make it happen. As I mentioned earlier, the solution is not just giving SEPTA a blank check. The current system is broken and needs to be fixed, and its not as easy as just firing everyone at 1234 and bringing in a new crew. We need oversite and accountability. We need someone other than SEPTA taking control of long term planning, and putting the plan into action.
Sorry for making this so long, but one more point. Since our city made its primary industry tourism, we've also created another problem which ties into our sprawl problem. We probablly have almost as many people commuting out of the city for jobs as we do people coming in, and not just on the railroads. We have tons of people in the service sector going to places like King of Prussia, Oxford Valley, Neshaminy Mall, and other outlying communities for work because of the lack of it here. People are again moving into the city, but they're not doing it for jobs, they're doing it because its a lower cost of living here, and since they're not working here, they're probablly not using SEPTA. So to that extent, SEPTA's problems are not all self-inflicted.