SEPTA proposes fare increases to address budget deficit

With federal COVID relief funds near exhaustion, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) on Sept. 5 proposed raising fare rates and eliminating several discounts in an effort to address its $240 million annual budget deficit.

As the sixth-largest public transportation agency in the United States — with a budget of more than $2 billion and a vast network of 9,500 employees that enable the five million residents of the Greater Philadelphia region to connect to each other — SEPTA says the proposed fare adjustments would generate an additional $14.4 million in annual revenue.

“We worked hard to make sure this fare proposal is equitable,” SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie Richards said. “We know that no one wants to pay more for anything, but we are pulling out all the stops to try to avoid devastating service cuts.”

Richards added that without new state transit funding, SEPTA will have to consider additional fare increases in the spring. “What we are announcing today is an initial step toward planning for our uncertain future,” she said yesterday.

While the state budget includes a small additional distribution to SEPTA, it is less than one-fourth of what the authority originally requested, and the need for a permanent solution grows more urgent by the day, according to SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth E. Lawrence, Jr.

“The SEPTA Board has worked tirelessly to advocate for transit funding,” said Lawrence. “We are optimistic about an agreement on funding in Harrisburg; however, we need to act now to ensure that SEPTA is best positioned to provide reliable service to the city and region.”

The authority’s proposal would bring the Travel Wallet fare on buses, subways, and trolleys to $2.50, which is the same as the cash fare. Free transfers on Transit would remain, and SEPTA would eliminate restrictions on direction of travel for transfers — introducing new flexibility that would allow for more roundtrips on a single fare, SEPTA said.

The proposal also would increase most single-trip fares on Regional Rail and align Travel Wallet and Quick Trip pricing. All daily, weekly, and monthly passes would remain the same price, according to SEPTA.

SEPTA’s last fare increase was in 2017. Planned fare increases in 2020 were deferred due to the pandemic, said the authority, which has already enacted close to $20 million for fiscal year 2025 so far. The authority SEPTA also continues to evaluate fiscal measures to reduce budgeted spending, including putting a hold on non-essential employee travel, hiring, and other expenses.

And starting on Sept. 23, SEPTA will reinstate parking fees with a phased approach following four years of offering free parking to help attract customers back to the system. Daily parking rates at SEPTA-owned surface lots will increase to $2 from $1 and to $4 from $2 at the Frankford Transportation Center, Norristown, and Lansdale garages. SEPTA said the fees will help offset parking lot maintenance costs.

At the same time, SEPTA must ensure that funding is available to continue efforts that are making the system safer, cleaner, and more secure. Since last fall, the authority has hired 40 new police officers, resulting in a  37 percent decrease in serious crime during the first half of this year.

The authority is also looking to add more full-length gates at stations to help prevent fare evasion, following a successful pilot of new technology.

SEPTA will hold public hearings regarding the proposed fare adjustments on Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Pending approval by the SEPTA Board Nov. 21, the proposed fare adjustments would go into effect Dec. 1.

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