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Community Corner

SEPTA To Update Fare Collection Methods

SEPTA hopes its New Payment Technology initiative will make fare collection more convenient than ever for both riders and conductors.

We all know how annoying purchasing tokens, tickets and anything else granting you access aboard any SEPTA mode of transportation can be.

This past Friday, SEPTA explained how through its New Payment Technologies initiative, riding will be easier.

The initiative will replace the obsolete method of paying for tokens, tickets, paper transfers and transit passes.

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The method can be compared to that of the EZ Pass, which allows drivers to navigate toll roads without the hassle of stopping to physically pay the tolls.

No longer will standing in line for tokens be a necessity to board a train as riders will be paying fares with bank issued, contactless credit or debit cards, cell phones and other contactless devices.

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Prepaid cards with an available balance able to be reloaded will be available as well. Everyday riders can register their cards or phones with transit passes or 10 ticket packages so the electronic reader will debit the registered account at the discounted rate rather than debiting the rider’s checking account with the everyday, full cost.  

The rider will tap his or her device of choice to an electronic reader that reads his or her account and grants the rider access through a turnstile in less than half a second.

The plan is to put new fare lines and accessible gates equipped with electronic readers at the five Center City stations (30th Street, Suburban, Market East, Temple University and North Broad) that are Zone C stations. Zone 1 stations will be equipped with the gates and readers as well.

So any riders entering or leaving Zone C from Zone 1 will tap their cards when they board the train and again when they get off to confirm that they traveled a short distance and will not be charged extra fares.

Zone 2 riders, in contrast, entering or leaving Zones 1 or C, will only need to tap their electronic device once as the fare is calculated immediately. Riders from Zones 3, 4 and 5 will interface with the conductor, who has a handheld device and will tap riders' devices to calculate the fares.

Why not simplify the new process of payment even more by putting gates and electronic readers at every station in every zone? The equipment costs money, to which there is no endless supply at the moment.

“The plan for now is to put validators at the Zone 1 stations,” said Kevin O’Brian, senior program manager for SEPTA. “It can be modified with more validators later on so Zones 3, 4 and 5 conductors won’t have to manually check rider fares, but not now.”

So what does this mean for riders from the Main Line and Northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia? Riders going to and from Zones 1 and C on the Manayunk/Norristown line from Spring Mill to Elm Street will have their cards tapped by the conductor to calculate their fares, as will the riders on the Media/Elwyn line from Swarthmore to Elwyn and riders from Bryn Mawr to Thorndale on the Paoli to Thorndale line.

The Chestnut Hill and Cynwyd lines will be automatically calculated upon tapping the readers when they leave Zones 1 and C and will have the conductor calculate the fares when they are entering Zones 1 and C.

For the riders, this means seamless travel across all SEPTA services, accurate payment history, improved convenience, reliability and security, added fare purchasing options including self-service and simplified fare system and policies.

For SEPTA, the new system improves “revenue accountability, reduces operating and maintenance costs and allows for real-time analysis of fare and ridership data,” according to the NPT press release.

Further, for riders, the security of the new system is more cost effective than the one currently in place. If riders misplace their cards or have them stolen, no more will they need to repurchase their tickets or transit passes, which run more than $100 a piece.

“If you happen to lose your card, it’s registered, so you can report it and receive another card,” said John Sykes, senior construction inspector. “If it’s stolen or lost, you can call the 800 number or go online, report your problem and they’ll immediately cancel your card and issue you another.”

Implementation of the system, which is being funded by a low interest loan of $175 million from the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, will take two and a half to three years following the contract award to be announced this summer.

The early focus of implementation will entail design and testing of the new equipment followed by partial deployment with customer service support eventually leading to full deployment of the services.

All sides win in this new and exciting initiative to improve the SEPTA experience, which has received its share of criticism in recent years.

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