A smarter way to ride SEPTA in the works

Penn students and Philadelphia residents might soon be bidding SEPTA tokens farewell.

With plans in the works for a new "smart-card" fare-collection system, SEPTA passengers will only need to wave a card to ride the subway.

SEPTA plans to use contactless bank cards that will make the use of public transportation just a "common retail purchase," SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax wrote in an e-mail.

He described two future options for SEPTA passengers - they can either choose to pay with their debit or credit cards or purchase a branded card from SEPTA with a preloaded sum of money.

SEPTA will issue a proposal request for this system in mid-2008 and hopes to award a contract by the end of the year, Fairfax wrote.

This new fare-collection system would completely replace the current system, which relies on the use of tokens and cash.

According to Fairfax, the system would be more convenient and offer riders more choices for payment.

SEPTA is just one of many public-transportation systems in the area looking to modernize and streamline its fare-collection systems.

PATCO, the rail line between Center City and South Jersey, implemented its own smart-card system in November, and New Jersey Transit hopes to develop a new fare-collection system that will be compatible with all other public transit options in the New York and New Jersey areas.

Other major U.S. cities have considered similar programs as well - San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit began testing a fare-collection program using cell phones at the end of last month.

Fairfax said smart-card compatibility with surrounding transportation like PATCO and N.J. Transit will be a major focus as the project progresses.

"SEPTA plans to work closely with transit operators adjacent to the SEPTA service area to make the systems interoperable," he wrote.

Such a system would be similar to E-Z Pass, the electronic fare-collection system used on toll roads in several east-coast states, in that it could be used throughout the region.

Penn students expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of a new fare-collection system involving smart cards.

"I think that would be a much better system," College sophomore Abby Schwartz said. "Instead of buying $50 worth of tokens and carrying them around, a card that replaces that would be much easier."

College sophomore Sarah Brody, who is from Washington, D.C., said that after using D.C.'s Metro system, she is excited to see a more efficient system here in Philadelphia. The Metro uses fare cards rather than tokens.

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