SEPTA plans a September trial of technology that will allow passengers to pay with their smart phones to ride buses, subways, trolleys and the Norristown High Speed Line — a highly anticipated alternative to the plastic Key Card.
Chicago’s transit and regional commuter rail systems have offered a mobile payment option since 2016, and New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority began accepting mobile tickets on its buses and subways in 2019.
One feature of mobile payment in Philadelphia should be popular right away: the ability to “multi-tap” and pay fares for up to five riders at once, a convenience for families and friends traveling together. Key Cards can’t do that.
“That’s something that has been consistently at or near the top of changes customers have wanted to see throughout the process of introducing the Key Card,” SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said.
» READ MORE: SEPTA’s Key card program just got another $29.5 million. It’s far over budget.
Now, the agency is looking to recruit 200 to 300 volunteers to try out mobile ticketing starting next month. You can sign up here. In May, about 200 SEPTA employees tested the technology. Busch said it got good reviews, although sometimes cellular reception was spotty on moving buses. Signals have been boosted in trouble spots, he said.
If all goes well during the latest pilot, the phone payment technology would be available to everyone on city and suburban transit — possibly as early as October, Busch said. The goal is to outfit Regional Rail stations with mobile ticketing by spring 2023, Busch said.
At first, it will be available only through a Key Card account linked to the official SEPTA app. Later, the agency plans to accommodate payments via the Apple Wallet and Google Pay apps, as well as debit and credit cards, Busch said.
SEPTA also said it has installed fare readers on the tall roto-gates in eight stations, including at 30th Street and 15th Street. These gates are usually locked, so the change will allow riders to take shortcuts.
The plastic Key Cards are not going away immediately, and people who want to keep using them can do so, Busch said.
Key has suffered from glitches and cost overruns since it was introduced in 2016 — two years later than scheduled. SEPTA has paid about $239 million, nearly twice the original negotiated price of $122 million.
That’s because of changes SEPTA has required the contractor to fix initial problems, such as a confusing user interface in stations and on the web, as well as to keep the system updated. Software development and installation of new fare validators, or readers, capable of handling mobile ticketing in transit stations cost about $5.75 million, Busch said.
Meanwhile, the operating system is nearing the end of its life expectancy, and SEPTA is already drawing up plans for a next generation payment system it refers to as Key 2.0.
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