SEPTA began its transition to a contactless card-based fare system on June 13 when it launched the SEPTA Key Early Adopter pilot program.
It took just over two weeks for the transportation agency to sell out of 10,000 contactless cards, which will take the place of weekly or monthly TransPasses for regular bus, subway or trolley riders. The Early Adopter phase will allow SEPTA to begin sharing the benefits of its fare modernization initiative with the public while continuing to work toward system-wide implementation.
“The SEPTA Key will bring long-needed upgrades to the Authority’s fare payment and collection system,” said SEPTA Chairman Pasquale T. Deon Sr.
“We’re excited to share this product with our riders through the Early Adopter program.”
For the Early Adopter program, key cards were made available at fare kiosks at 12 stations on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines, as well as the SEPTA sales office at 1234 Market St.
All existing methods of fare payment will continue to be available for purchase and use throughout the SEPTA system. SEPTA will give advance public notice before any existing fare instruments such as tokens, paper transfers, tickets and magnetic stripe passes are phased out of use.
When fully implemented, all riders will be able to use SEPTA Key branded cards or other contactless payment devices to ride seamlessly throughout the system on all modes of travel. Regional rail and CCT Paratransit will be included in a later phase of the SEPTA Key rollout.
There are several benefits of the SEPTA Key. Holders will not have to purchase a new TransPass every week or month because the contactless card can be reloaded online or at fare kiosks. Holders can also register their cards to protect against loss or theft. Visit www.septa.org/key for information. ••
