SEPTA NPT card will be "SEPTA Key"?

MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2024 3:13 am SEPTA Smartphone "KEY TIX" tickets have been available for the past 11 months (March 2023) see:
www.septa.org/fares/how-to-use-septa-key-tix/

Key Tix doesn’t work with regional rail yet.

ryan92084 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 5:21 am There is a good reason the key rate is the same as the old 10 trip rate.

Let’s not allow facts to get in the way of a good rage on the internet.

Did SEPTA finally give up on the customized keycards and the non-expiring, non-debit keycards that were announced when the program started?

Looks like it, they changed the FAQ to remove that as a possibility.

There's still a 3-year expiration date on them, however. But if you register the card, the cost to "purchase" a new one becomes zero, and you can transfer the balance of the expired card onto the new one.

I suspect whatever contract they had with the original vendor to co-brand this with MasterCard will not allow them to change this anytime soon.

Starting next week a single key card will be allowed to tap multiple riders throughout the system. The card will need to be registered and have a sufficient travel wallet balance. Up to 5 taps are allowed and must be done within 60s.
This article also says autoload must be enabled https://www.phillyvoice.com/septa-key-m ... r-feature/ while this one descibes a yet to be rolled out option https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/new ... ey-feature I don't have information on that and SEPTA hasn't made an official announcement that on either website to clarify afaik.

EDIT: I forgot to check their third website where the announcement was relegated to the blog... The process seems to be a mix of the above articles and is described as the following:

The multi-rider feature allows up to five (5) riders on one SEPTA Key card. Multi-rider is available all modes including bus, trolley, Broad Street Line, Market-Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, and Regional Rail.

To activate and use multi-rider - you must have Travel Wallet autoload turned on. The threshold is $20 and the autoload minimum is $10. Your Travel Wallet must have a balance equal to the minimum amount required for the multi-rider trips. For example - you need $10 to tap on a bus five (5) times.

All multi-rider taps must occur within one (1) minute of the initial tap. Wait for the validator response (green check and accepted tone) between each tap. If there is a delay in the validator response - please wait. Do not tap more than one time for each ride. Taps can be on a single bus/trolley validator or a combination of taps on different turnstiles at a station.
...

• When riding Regional Rail - you cannot change the number of riders in your group once a trip has been opened.
• Conductors can open a multi-rider trip for the entire group.
• Same fare rules apply: up to two transfers on bus, trolley, Broad Street Line, Market-Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line; Two (2) hour Regional Rail trip limit; must tap-on and tap-off for correct fare, etc.
• You can leave the multi-rider feature on all the time or call the SEPTA Key Call Center to deactivate. Deactivation occurs at 2AM.

https://iseptaphilly.com/blog/multi-rider
Bolding is mine. Currently you can not set the threshold to anything but the default $10.

Ryan - Interesting Key update with the new option to pay for two to five riders with one Key card...
That should help some occasional passengers by not requiring each one to possess a Key card...

As example as long as there are enough Travel Wallet funds available to pay the required fares
there should not be a problem on that end...The $10 example for five transit rides is a good one...

A 60 second tap limit may be a potential problem with tapping in/out 3 to 5 riders depending on
how the reader being used is accepting the taps before boarding...An even seconds-long delay can
add up during multiple taps - Could allowing 90 seconds with a third tap give additional flexibility?

With the upcoming Philadelphia Flower Show - Saturday March 2 to Sunday March 10 - the timing on
this new Key fare pay option is good for Regional Rail patrons...For those unaware Flower Show week
can be one of the busiest times of any given year in terms of total Regional Rail ridership...MACTRAXX

P.S. For 2024 Flower Show information see: https://phsonline.org/the-flower-show
(General Public Hours: March 2 to 9: 10 AM to 8 PM; Sunday March 10: 10 AM to 6 PM)

The requirement that the card be registered and autoload be set up instead of just requiring a minimum fund severely limits the usefulness for events like the flower show as well as sporting events and tourists. It is an absurd choice imo.

Ryan - Good observation that I somehow overlooked...I was adding the Flower Show hours after noticing
that they have been made simpler and easier to remember in comparison to past PFS shows at PCC...
The only variation is the 6 PM closing time on the final PFS day-Sunday March 10...

This register and autoload requirement is just another example of how complicated and user-unfriendly
that the Key can be - especially during a busy period during Flower Show Week with a substantial number
of discretional riders that otherwise may rarely - or not at all - use Regional Rail...

It seems that SEPTA can take a good step forward by offering the new Key multiple payment option...
But a step or more backwards for what must be done instead of just having monetary value available...
MACTRAXX

ryan92084 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 23, 2024 8:20 am The requirement that the card be registered and autoload be set up instead of just requiring a minimum fund severely limits the usefulness for events like the flower show as well as sporting events and tourists. It is an absurd choice imo.

How would this work on regional rail where the final fare isn't known until you tap off? That's why the autoload option is required. Also prevents a situation in which you end up having enough fare to go in one direction but not to come back.

Set it up to require the minimum balance at the max rate of either 6.50 or 9.75 per person OR even better let them use flex passes in lieu of the autoload option. Historically the amount of day trip groups that come in where no one has a keycard far outnumbers the number of groups where one person is trying to cover for the group. If their hope was to help those groups this solution is not it and they should have taken that extra step. These are the types of groups where they just skip buying keycards since they'll never use the card again and the deposit+hassle+time outweighs the benefit.
Even just letting them use a balance minimum for the first trip would work better. I guarantee telling people they need to register and setup before their return would go over much better than telling them they need to register and setup before their train comes in <5 minutes.

Just checked and you still can not set a key card to be in compliance with the minimum threshold and there is no option to allow multi tap.

Ryan - I agree with you with your group ride observation making it hard for riders that only seek
to make a single round trip to Center City on a given day that travel in groups of two or more...

Jefferson Station - specifically the A Section closest to the Pennsylvania Convention Center - is a
VERY busy place during Flower Show Week - beginning with the Preview on Friday March 1 for PHS
Members and invited guests...The two Saturdays (March 2 and 9) should have the highest attendance...

SEPTA is NOT selling any discounted Flower Show entrance tickets this year am I correct?
For the record:
2024 Philadelphia Flower Show Gate Admission Prices: Adults $50; Student Age 18-24 With ID $35
Child Age 5 to 17 $25; Reduced Price Adult Admission after 4 PM $40 (Saturday-Sunday March 2-3
and Friday-Saturday-Sunday March 8-9-10) or $30 (Monday-Thursday March 4-5-6-7) until closing.

SEPTA RRD should be ready and able for Flower Show Week and that all works out well...MACTRAXX

Has anyone figured out how to activate multiple riders on a SEPTA Key card without calling SEPTA?

I heard that the website would allow you to do it, but I can't seem to find anything on the site to turn it on.

SEPTA is selling slightly discounted flower show tickets. Weekday (mon-thurs) adult tickets are $39, weekend haven't been distributed yet but i think they are also $1 off, and child are upon advance request only since they are rarely purchased.

dcipjr wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2024 1:45 pm Has anyone figured out how to activate multiple riders on a SEPTA Key card without calling SEPTA?

I heard that the website would allow you to do it, but I can't seem to find anything on the site to turn it on.

No, I haven't checked the app but the website definitely doesn't have the options needed. Allegedly the conductors can open a multiride for the day but I have no clue how that functions.

I just read that the online activation for multi-rider is coming soon. For now, you have to call.