The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is preparing to institute a multimodal electronic fare payment system that will eliminate the use of tokens, tickets, and paper transfers when it enters service next year, system representatives
said at the June 2 Host Forum during the APTA Rail Conference in Philadelphia.

“This new fare system will dramatically improve customer convenience, act as an agent of change, and provide secure, reliable, convenient choices to our riders,” said Jeffrey D. Knueppel, the system’s deputy general manager, who moderated the panel discussion. He added: “This is the biggest project SEPTA has ever undertaken. It’s tough, but it will be worth it.”

When it enters service late next year, SEPTA’s new payment system will use a single electronic medium that will work with numerous common forms of payment, such as smart cards; contactless debit, credit, and prepaid cards; government-issued benefit cards; cell phones; and cash.

According to Knueppel, SEPTA is the last large public transit system to still use tokens for fares.

However, instituting the new fare medium is only the first step, he said. SEPTA also has to overhaul its 1,800 fareboxes, build and open five zone offices for support, and upgrade infrastructure—such as fiber optic communications for the subway lines and 3G/4G wireless network for buses—to accommodate the system. In addition, employees will participate in specialized training so they can serve as “ambassadors” during the transition.

“The timing was right and we were convinced it had to be done,” said John F. McGee Jr., chief officer, new payment technologies. “Before moving forward, we talked to our customers. They asked if we could design a system that didn’t require stopping at a vending machine, like EZ Pass for tolls.”

Ronald G. Hopkins, assistant general manager, operations, spoke about the “significant challenges” that occur with the rollout of a new fare payment system—particularly one that covers numerous modes.

“We see the least impact in our 1,600 buses and trolleys because the fareboxes don’t need further modification,” he said. “Nothing will change from the operator’s standpoint except for the end of paper transfers.

“On the other hand, subway riders will have to change how they do things,” he continued. “They are used to going through a fare line, dealing with cashiers in booths. We want our cashiers to come out of the booths and interact with passengers. This amounts to a change in the culture, so we’re providing them with training.”

Richard G. Burnfield, chief financial officer/treasurer, reported that SEPTA has revised its fare policies in preparation for the introduction of the new payment system.

“At SEPTA, we’re believers in incremental change. We listen to the public and hear their input,” Burnfield said. “We also realized that
price incentives would encourage our customers to begin using smart technologies—it’s costly to us to collect cash.”

The new fare technologies also will change the work demands of many SEPTA employees, he said: “With an operation as complex as SEPTA, we can reconfigure our fare collection jobs to create a better focus on customer service. Our aim is to make the new payment technology so convenient to use that our ridership will continue to grow.”

Steven C. Frazzini, vice president, fare payment solutions, for ACS, a Xerox Company, provided a vendor’s perspective on providing fare collection services across regional borders. “A customer, for example, can choose the mode of payment before tapping on at New Jersey Transit Corporation, then the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation, then the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and make the trip seamlessly,” he noted.

Photo by Mitch Wood Host Forum panelists, from left: moderator Jeffrey D. Knueppel, John F. McGee Jr., Ronald G. Hopkins, Richard G. Burnfield, and Steven C. Frazzini.