SEPTA moves a step closer to "smart cards"

After months of delay, SEPTA closed the bidding yesterday for a new "smart card" fare system.

Several firms presented proposals for an electronic system to replace tokens and paper tickets for buses, subways, trolleys, and trains.

Firms that said they submitted bids are Affiliated Computer Services Inc. of Dallas and Cubic Corp. of San Diego. Also believed to have submitted a bid is Accenture Inc. of New York. All have been active in producing automated fare systems in other cities.

With the new system, SEPTA passengers would be able to wave a card at a sensor on a turnstile or fare box and be on their way. SEPTA says it wants a system that will allow passengers to use credit cards, prepaid SEPTA cards, and even cell phones to pay for trips.

SEPTA hopes to award a contract for the system by next spring, said John McGee, the agency's revenue and ridership chief. It will be several years before a system can be built and installed.

The system is expected to cost about $100 million, although SEPTA urged bidders to offer innovative financing proposals, such as public-private partnerships, to reduce the cost to the agency.

SEPTA seeks federal stimulus funding to help pay for the system. The agency has applied for about $100 million from a $1.5 billion federal grant program for national and regional transportation projects. The Obama administration will announce the winners of those grants on Jan. 15.

McGee said there were multiple submissions for the system but he declined to identify the companies. He said SEPTA would spend several months evaluating the complex bids.

"We've entered a new phase," he said. "Our goal is to make an award as early as we can."

Michael Nash, a vice president at Affiliated Computer Services Inc., one of the bidders, said his company was "looking forward to following through with the process," but he declined to discuss specifics of the company's proposal.

SEPTA had originally set March 17 as the cutoff for bids but postponed the deadline four times as potential bidders raised questions about financing, intellectual-property concerns, and other issues.

If SEPTA doesn't get federal stimulus funding, paying for the system could be a major hurdle because anticipated Act 44 state financing for transit systems is threatened in Harrisburg.

State legislators have not come up with a way to replace about $450 million a year for transportation projects that may be lost without expected revenue from adding tolls to Interstate 80.

Without income from tolls - which the federal government has not allowed - SEPTA stands to lose about $110 million a year for capital projects, such as the new fare system, starting in July.

"We remain optimistic that the Act 44 challenges, especially on the capital side, will be solved over the next year," McGee said.