Riders will be able to pay through a smartphone app later this year, SEPTA say

PHILADELPHIA – SEPTA has plans to roll out an update that will make ridership much more convenient.

Coming later this year, spokesperson Andrew Busch says they will implement a “multi-tap” feature for SEPTA Key cards, which means users can pay for more than one rider.

“That’s good because in New York you can do that,” said Rohan Pierre, a frequent SEPTA rider.

Busch said the new card readers have already been installed on buses and trolleys. They still need to be fitted on ADA gates on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines.

“Once it’s up and running on there, we will expand to regional rail,” Busch says.

Perhaps the most exciting update to come out later this year is mobile payment.

Busch said riders will be able to pay their fare through the SEPTA mobile app and get the same discounts as the Key card: $2 for a single ride instead of $2.50, and a free transfer.

That pilot program will also roll out on transit first, then regional rail.

“We’re close, we’re really close on this, this is a really great upgrade, and we think it’s going to come at a time when more people are going to be coming back to the system in this recovery from the pandemic,” Busch said.

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SEPTA acknowledged there are still bigger issues to address, such as safety, on several levels.

Among other changes, SEPTA said they plan to add “guides” to certain stations as an extra set of eyes and ears where officers cannot be.

While SEPTA has no official launch date for the exciting upgrades, they’re targeting sometime in the spring

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