SEPTA raises fares again as token prices go up 15 cents

Thanks to SEPTA's latest fare hike, College sophomore Benjamin Brooke will have to shell out an extra $2.40 per month to get into and out of Center City.

Starting today, the price of SEPTA tokens and paper transfers will each increase 15 cents, to $1.45 and 75 cents, respectively. The cash fare remains at $2.

And while College sophomore Benjamin Brooke, who uses SEPTA twice a week, says the latest price increase isn't huge, he admits that the cost of fares has become "a bit exorbitant."

Faced with a $129 million budget deficit in July, SEPTA officials raised fare prices by 11 percent during the summer, appealed to the state for more funding and decided to eliminate paper transfers.

"We needed to do something to cover that deficit," said SEPTA spokesman James Whitaker.

The city argued that the elimination of paper transfers would harm low-income workers and successfully sued the agency to stop their cancelation.

SEPTA officials say the decision cost them $1.9 million through August.

But the state legislature approved a $150 million increase in funding for the organization in July, which, along with the 15-cent increases, will help cover the shortfall.

Most Penn students interviewed - many of whom only use SEPTA sparingly - said the increase won't affect their usage of the service, but many city residents and consumer groups expressed frustration with the fare increase.

"SEPTA should simply drop its appeal of the court decision against them and end this controversy," said Matthew Mitchell, the newsletter editor of the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, referring to a SEPTA appeal of the paper-transfer decision. "They're spending money on litigation instead of service."

Officials like Philadelphia city solicitor Romulo Diaz contend that the fare increase is a "step in the right direction" to resolving legal battles surrounding the paper transfers.

"We now have a basis to engage in a discussion that can ultimately resolve the transfers issue," he said. "System costs are increasing. SEPTA needs an opportunity to cover its costs, as long as any fare increase is fair to all riders."

But Mitchell says SEPTA is approaching its funding problems in "the wrong way."

"SEPTA needs to come up with a concrete plan to modernize its fare system" by getting rid of tokens and paper transfers, he said. "Modernization would have a positive effect on reducing expenses, while eliminating transfers is bad for all riders because it discourages passengers from using the system as a network."

Mitchell added that SEPTA has postponed its $49 million modernization project for two years due to cost overruns in its Market Street Elevated Reconstruction Project.

Meanwhile, SEPTA's appeal of the transfer decision, if successful, could result in a repeal of the 15-cent hike.

"When there is a court decision on SEPTA's ability to discontinue transfers, the Board will look at the whole fare structure all over again," said Whitaker.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.