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Launch Recap | Proposed Fare Plan
COVID-19
We at Transit Forward Philadelphia want to first take this moment to check in with you regarding COVID-19. As a transit advocacy coalition, we care about the health and safety of riders and want to encourage everyone to take protective measures, especially when it comes to riding transit and SEPTA. Not everyone has the privilege or opportunity to forgo transit service so please be careful and respectful of others when riding. SEPTA will be reducing Regional Rail Service and city transit service by 25% effective Tuesday, March 17th for two weeks in order to prevent outbreak of the virus.
This might be a good time for riders who are able bodied and need to travel shorter distances to possibly consider alternative forms of transportation, such as walking and biking, to prevent overcrowding on public transportation. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has resources on biking in the city and the Indego bike share network is still operational and a helpful form of transportation.
Transit Forward Philadelphia would also like to thank all of the SEPTA operators, cashiers, and janitorial staff who are working hard to serve riders during these critical times. As always, please remember to be kind, respectful, and considerate of SEPTA staff and remember the rule of social distancing when needing to engage. We support and appreciate all of the operators, cashiers, and janitorial staff in their continued dedication to serving and connecting residents to life-line services.
Get up to date notices about SEPTA operations during the COVID-19 crisis here.
Q&A Panel Discussion at Transit Forward Philadelphia's Launch
Thank you to everyone who attended our coalition launch on Thursday, March 5th. It was amazing to see so many people interested and passionate about transit related issues in the Greater Philadelphia area. We had over 200+ people show up and listen to the Q&A Panel with Leslie Richards, General Manager of SEPTA, Chris Puchalsky, Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for City of Philadelphia's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (oTIS), Helen Gym, City Council Member at Large for the City of Philadelphia.
Watch the entire event and discussion
https://youtu.be/SZ83SCWmaNo
Below are some highlights from the panel
Leslie Richards, General Manager of SEPTA
“We will devise a bus network redesign plan that fully engages our public so that we can provide the greatest bus service possible. The public outreach effort for this project will be big.”
Chris Puchalsky, Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives at oTIS
“Reasonable fees on TNC’s [Uber & Lyft] are something that could be a source of funding for SEPTA. In NYC, every TNC trip is charged $2.50 that goes directly to the MTA.”
“There should be more streets in Philly where transit is prioritized similar to NYC's 14th Street transitway.”
“We have to go out and listen to coalitions and build support for such projects. Often it's the rider's voice that is missing from these things.”
Council member at Large, Helen Gym
“Dedicated funding for SEPTA is a top priority for me.”
“Efficiency isn’t always equitable, we really need meaningful engagement with communities during the bus network redesign planning process.”
Proposed SEPTA Fare Restructuring Plan
Last week SEPTA announced their Proposed Fare Restructuring Plan where they detailed proposed changes to the fare structure. Some key details of the restructuring plan include:
-Increasing the base fare for SEPTA KEY Users from $2.00 to $2.50
-Keeping the base fare unchanged for Cash Users at $2.50
-Allowing ONE free transfer within a 90-minute window for SEPTA KEY Users only (Cash Users will have to pay a full $2.50 fare when transferring with cash)
-Allowing children between the ages of 5-11 to ride for $1
-Introducing a new 3-day/72-hour convenience pass for $18
-Increasing Weekly TransPasses from $25.50 to $26.50
-Increasing Monthly TransPasses from $96.00 to $99.00
-Keeping the base fare unchanged for riders with a disability who utilize the Disabled Fare at $1.25
-Allowing ONE free transfer within a 90-minute window for SEPTA KEY Users with a disability who utilize the Disabled Fare
-Keeping the base fare unchanged for CCT Paratransit/Shared Ride users at $4.25
SEPTA will be posting notices of the proposed fares starting March 20th and will be holding 10 public hearings (two in each county) from April 20th to April 27th. They plan to vote on the plan May 28th and have the new fares implemented by July 1st, 2020.
Transit Forward Philadelphia will keep you updated on the status, location, and time of these meetings as they are released. We encourage everyone to participate in the public hearing process in order to voice your opinions, concerns, and ideas of the plan.
You can read more about the proposed fare plan at PlanPhilly and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Transit Forward Philadelphia official Twitter account is @transit4philly
