Byko: Will SEPTA Key's arrival be a token gesture?

EVERYTHING THAT's old is new again.

I'm talking about SEPTA senior passes, not necessarily the people who use them.

Like me.

In April of last year, Newsworks reported that SEPTA would not accept driver's licenses as proof of age for seniors, while it did accept Social Security cards, Medicare cards and, of course, it's own blue senior ID card.

That policy was curbed after it created confusion and anxiety, but no more so than the chronically behind schedule SEPTA Key, a cashless payment system.

Let's start with the senior passes, because it's age before beauty, right?

About a month ago, in a tropical-type downpour, I ran into the southbound Susquehanna-Dauphin Station on the Broad Street Subway and flashed my SEPTA blue-paper ID at the cashier. Usually, the cashier hits a button releasing the turnstile and I walk through. Free passage, thanks to the Pennsylvania Lottery. (Keep scratching. LOL.)

This time, however, she didn't hit the button and tried telling me something through the bulletproof glass. I mouthed, "I can't hear you."

With minimum danger to herself, she courteously cracked open the door to tell me she had to see my driver's license.

Huh?

Did she think I wanted to drive the train?

There's a new rule, she said, which requires people like me (alleged seniors) to get new ID - a plastic photo ID, like a driver's license.

I hadn't heard a thing about this - and that was deliberate, I learned. The new ID rule was not announced, and the cashier got it wrong, said SEPTA deputy general manager Richard Burnfield. "The ID you had been using will continue to be in use," he said, but will be replaced over time.

When it is, Pennsylvania driver's licenses will be accepted by the turnstile. (A secret: The new turnstiles already accept seniors' driver's licenses.)

I went to SEPTA headquarters at 1234 Market St., headed to the lower lobby, filled out a form, and had a picture taken for the new ID, which was to be mailed to me. (I'm still waiting.) About a dozen people were there doing the same.

The ID rollout was conducted beneath the radar because "[w]e don't want 100,000 people standing in front of 1234 Market," said Fran Kelly, assistant GM for public and government affairs. SEPTA is setting up a system whereby riders will be able to apply for new ID at the offices of their state reps and state senators.

SEPTA is in the midst of massive makeover, but the Key isn't behaving.

Ah, the SEPTA Key - where Good News and Bad News intersect.

Although SEPTA has raised its fares on its lines every three years since 2007, there will be no fare hike this year. That's the Good News.

Why?

SEPTA's Key system has more bugs than the Everglades. That's the Bad News.

The reason for delaying the fare hike is tied to the postponement of the debut of the SEPTA Key, the long-delayed smart card. The Key will replace the tokens being used by SEPTA, the only major transit system still to do so. (I will miss them. I still have a couple of PTC and Red Arrow tokens in my jewelry box. Maybe they'll be cuff links someday.)

The death-to-tokens plan has been kicking around since 2008, which means getting it done took SEPTA eight years, or the same amount of time it took the United States to create the technology for a lunar landing.)

Last year's planning called for SEPTA to slowly roll out the Key, starting with monthly passholders this spring. In other words, now.

It was not ready on time and SEPTA (wisely) wants to make sure the Key - which works with a tap rather than a swipe - is right before it launches. The plan now is for a slow rollout, with the first batch being given to riders on a first-come, first-served basis, perhaps in June.

Those riders will serve as the canary in the coal mine, to discover possible glitches.

Speaking of glitches, on Friday I dialed up SEPTA public information manager Manny Smith and left a message on his voice mail asking him to get back to me. After more than several hours, I tried someone else, who told me Smith left SEPTA almost two weeks ago.

Maybe SEPTA can fix this in less than a year.

stubyko@phillynews.com

215-854-5977 @StuBykofsky

Blog: ph.ly/Byko

Columns: ph.ly/StuBykofsky