More fare increases proposed

EDIT: Added link to SEPTA bulletin and noted that Inky story may be blocked for some configurations

SEPTA bulletin:
https://wwww.septa.org/bulletins/fall-2 ... nts/%5Burl

Inquirer summary (may be paywalled for some readers):
https://www.inquirer.com/transportation ... 40905.html

Major changes:
- Transit Division Key Card fares increased to same as cash fare
- Multiple RRD fare increases
- Current RRD peak-hour fares now apply at all times
- Tweaks to some zone boundaries

It's of course possible this proposal is a shot across the bow of the state legislature after its failure to provide funding that was promised for this years budget.

JK (and Everyone):

Remember that Inquirer articles are subject to the paywall for their links...

This initial proposed fare changes look to be in response to the lower level of PA funding being budgeted
for mass transit statewide including SEPTA...At least the PA GOP is open to some funding proposals here...

The increase looks to be around 7.5% if the fare changes are implemented on December 1, 2024...

Two Public Hearings are slated to be held on Wednesday October 16th at SEPTA HQ -
1234 Market Street in Center City Philadelphia (19107) at 10 AM and 4 PM...

Weekday RRD fares would be in effect at all times on Monday thru Friday...
Transit fares would be $2.50 for all - a 50 cent increase for pay-per-ride Key and other card users...

The Fare Zone ADJUSTMENTS (much better word than tweaking) is to shift three stations from Zone 2
to Zone 1: Overbrook (Paoli/Thorndale Line); Tulpehocken (Chestnut Hill West Line) and Wissahickon
(Manayunk/Norristown Line) to offer the Zone 1 fare at all times...All three stations already do qualify
for Zone 1 fares (Key pass riders) off-peak hours being within the City of Philadelphia...In Overbrook's
case it is barely since City Line Avenue - the boundary between the City and Lower Merion Township,
Montgomery County - is at the west end of the station...

In closing SEPTA needs to remember in their past history - the first half of the 1980s - that major high
percentage fare increases and service cuts caused significant ridership losses that SEPTA eventually
recovered from in the second half of that decade and later into the 90s not withstanding the railroad
routes that were lost with those cutbacks that have never been restored now more then 40 years later...

This time ridership is gradually recovering from the depths of "The Problem" in 2020...
An ill-timed fare increase will be a detriment for SEPTA riders systemwide...MACTRAXX

MACTRAXX wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2024 10:42 amSEPTA needs to remember in their past history... An ill-timed fare increase will be a detriment for SEPTA riders systemwide

I agree 100%. As structured, this increase seems to be more than a bit counterproductive.

• It discourages off-peak RRD ridership.

• It discourages transit riders' use of the Key, at least for those not needing to transfer.

• More irregular riders may pay in cash. If the Key offers little or no financial benefit, will it change how those riders balance payment convenience versus the need to maintain a card?

Remember that articles are subject to the Inquirer paywall for their links.

Interestingly I checked two browsers before posting the link and had no problems accessing it or other top-level stories. FWIW I used FF and Safari.

In any case here's a link to the tariff on SEPTA's site.
[url]https://wwww.septa.org/bulletins/fall-2 ... ments/[url]

JK: Yes - This fare adjustment actually discourages the use of the SEPTA Key for some riders...
Eliminating the discount incentive for Key pay-per-ride users may not be a good move here...

SEPTA has coined another new term: "PERIOD" Passes for Monthly, Weekly and all other Pass types...
There are NO changes (surprisingly) for this category in the December 2024 fares proposed...

Lower RRD Weekend fares ARE going to be retained...Evening fares on Weekdays will be discontinued...

I have learned that "Paywalls" can be not only different from websites - it sometimes can be the
device or computer itself and how it is set up that can make the determination...My device over
time has not been good with paywall restrictions from various news sites (examples) that I access...

This is the direct link to the December 2024 proposed fare changes:
www.septa.org/bulletins/fall-2024-propo ... justments/
It is best to get this information from SEPTA instead of a third-party Inquirer article...
MACTRAXX

Everyone - After reading the SEPTA RRD tariff effective December 1, 2024 I noticed these changes:

1-Evening fares after 7PM on weekdays are eliminated...Weekday fares will be in effect at all times
Monday thru Friday...

2-Zone 3 passes will no longer be valid to Zone 4 and Zone NJ stations off peak Monday thru Friday.

3-Zone 1 passes will no longer be valid within the City of Philadelphia off peak to Zone 2 and Zone 3
stations on weekdays...Zone 1 passes will remain valid at all times on the Airport Line...

There is possibility of an additional SEPTA fare increase effective January 1, 2025...

Mentioned is service cutbacks of 20 or more percent...The ridership loss could be substantial...
This in ways could end up being actually worse then what occurred in the first half of the 1980s...
MACTRAXX

All because there's a party divide in Harrisburg. Nothing ever gets done in Harrisburg. What this state needs is to be a direct ballot initiative state. Public transit isn't in just the cities and immediate burbs, rural areas have it too. Make public transit funding a ballot referendum. I told my state rep that.

Everyone - SEPTA has proposed further fare changes for 2025:
www.septa.org/news/proposed-fare-adjust ... nter-2025/

Two Public hearings will be scheduled on Friday December 13, 2024 at the
Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
10 AM and 4 PM...(adjacent to the A Section of Jefferson/Market East Station)

SEPTA's problems as of this post include TWO possible strikes -
City Transit Division AND Suburban Divisions - along with service cutbacks...

Ridership losses first and foremost could be substantial in 2025...MACTRAXX

The fare increases on the Regional Rail side are still below what inflation has been since the last increase by about 15%. I am not sure how much this hurts rush hour commuting as parking has increased even more during the same time frame.

BuddCar711 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2024 8:56 am All because there's a party divide in Harrisburg. Nothing ever gets done in Harrisburg. What this state needs is to be a direct ballot initiative state. Public transit isn't in just the cities and immediate burbs, rural areas have it too. Make public transit funding a ballot referendum. I told my state rep that.

A statewide transit ballot initiative would go down in flames.

The Democrats control every county in the SEPTA footprint. They could raise taxes to pay for SEPTA, but haven’t.

Everyone: Governor Josh Shapiro announced that SEPTA will be obtaining funding to prevent a 20 percent
fare increase and service cuts in 2025...Good news for all SEPTA riders after settlements were reached with
CTD and Suburban transit unions on new one year contracts to avert transit strikes this month...

https://6abc.com/post/gov-shapiro-annou ... /15573711/

This "one-shot" certainly helps but does not solve SEPTA's annual funding problem...
A stable (local) revenue source such as a one cent sales tax could be one method...
With major political changes coming in 2025 this should be a top priority for SEPTA...MACTRAXX

I know the MTA has a regional tax, did SEPTA ever have a regional tax revenue fund proposed?

R36 Combine Coach wrote: ↑Fri Nov 22, 2024 10:26 pmI know the MTA has a regional tax, did SEPTA ever have a regional tax revenue fund proposed?

The idea of a regional tax has been batted around for years, but given the fractious nature of PA politics it's never gotten a lot of buy-in.

Some admittedly cursory searching only turned up one formal proposal for a regional tax, in an old (1986) memorandum from the PA Economy League:

https://www.economyleague.org/sites/def ... ge-tax.pdf

Collar counties that have comparatively few routes have historically been quite reluctant to propose any additional levies. Many years ago there was a plan to put transit-related tolls on part of Route 422; the politicians who favored it were all kicked out at the next election.

JK: Implementing direct funding for SEPTA has always been a problem -
No one has ever been able to agree on any method to subsidize transit...

One source that has been used is PA Turnpike Act 44 toll revenue -
http://paturnpike.com/about-us/investor ... ct-44-plan
(PDF by year available: 2013 to 2025)

Another was to toll Interstate 80 across north-central PA (360 miles E/W from NJ to OH) and use
proceeds to assist PA mass transit - Philadelphia and Pittsburgh the largest urban agencies ...
That proposal had widespread opposition and was not implemented...

It made no sense to toll regions and areas of PA directly served by I-80 with the prime
beneficiaries PA cities that were not anywhere near the highway route...MACTRAXX

Zone 3 no longer getting anywhere privileges will be taking some people by surprise this week. I've heard anecdotal reports that the key system really struggled to properly track this so I wouldn't be surprised if that was a main driver here. I know one individual who would have to call weekly to have charges reversed and they noted recently that there was increased pushback.