Higher SEPTA fares kick in Sept. 1, but people who buy monthly passes will see a bigger bill sooner
It’s a quirk of SEPTA’s implementation of its doomsday budget, with a fare increase as well as service cuts set to begin Aug. 24.
SEPTA’s average 21.5% fare increase takes effect Sept. 1, but some monthly pass customers will notice the higher price earlier.
It’s all a quirk of SEPTA’s implementation of its doomsday budget, which includes the fare increase as well as service cuts that are scheduled to begin Sunday. It takes time to arrange the electronic processing of advance purchase of passes.
Monthly passes traditionally go on sale on the 20th of the month, and most people like to have them in hand before the beginning of the next month, for a seamless transition.
Customers’ passes, however, will not have the higher fare deducted from their balance until Sept. 1.
Gone are the old days “when people could hoard tokens at the old rate and use them as long as they wanted,” spokesperson Andrew Busch says.
The transit agency says it has no choice because of a lack of new state funding from Harrisburg.
The details
Anyone who reloads a monthly pass online, at a fare kiosk, or at a retail location Wednesday will be charged the new rate.
If you get your pass via Key Commuter, the federal transit-benefit program sponsored by your employer, the September price begins Wednesday and will be reflected on our your pay statement this week — but at least you’re paying with pretax dollars.
If your monthly pass is set to autoload, expect to see the higher payment on your credit or debit card or bank account on Aug. 26. About 2,400 SEPTA customers use autoload.
The new fares
A monthly TransPass, which can be used to ride buses, trolleys, subways, and light-rail — everything but Regional Rail commuter trains — will cost $116, up from the current $96.
A Regional Rail monthly TrailPass will rise from $174 to $217.50 for passengers traveling from Zone 3. The TrailPass also is good for the bus and the other transit services.
The Anywhere Pass, good on everything with no restrictions, will be $255 on Sept. 1, up from $204.
Weekly passes are available for purchase on the Wednesday of the previous week (Aug. 27 in this case).
Participants in Key Advantage, in which some employers pay a discount so workers get cheaper Anywhere passes, will not see a bump in the fare until their next six-month renewal period, SEPTA says.
Same with students who get passes through their colleges or universities in the UPass program.