SEPTA will welcome its first Regional Rail customers to the future of fare payment with the launch of the SEPTA Key Regional Rail “Early Adopters” Program in August. This phase allows SEPTA to begin sharing the benefits of the Key with Regional Rail riders while work continues on system-wide implementation. The Early Adopters Program will begin with Monthly TrailPass customers who travel to-and-from one of 19 selected Zone 4 stations, when the August Monthly Passes go on sale starting July 20th. These new Key Cards will be good for travel beginning Wednesday, August 1.
“This is a major step forward in the SEPTA Key fare modernization project,” said SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey D. Knueppel. “We are excited to begin sharing the SEPTA Key with Regional Rail riders through the Early Adopters program.”
SEPTA will be bringing the Mobile Fare Kiosk truck out to the Early Adopter Stations for events where customers will be able to purchase a Key Card, buy a Zone 4 TrailPass, and register their new Card to protect it in the event of loss or theft. Key Cards will also be available for purchase at SEPTA Regional Rail Sales Offices at Center City Stations. Regional Rail TrailPass transactions will not be available at Fare Kiosks during the initial rollout, but customers will be able to reload Monthly TrailPasses online at www.septakey.org or by calling the SEPTA Key Customer Service Center at (855) 567-3782. When the Key Card program for Regional Rail expands, customers will be able to purchase Weekly TrailPasses, add funds to the Travel Wallet, and TrailPass purchases will be expanded to Zone 1, 2, and 3 riders. Until then all existing fare instruments, including magnetic stripe passes and paper tickets, will remain available for purchase until further notice.
As part of the preparations for the Early Adopters launch the new Key turnstiles and ADA gates are being activated at all Center City Rail stations. The turnstiles at Jefferson Station are currently in operation and will be followed by University City on July 2, Temple University on July 9, Suburban on July 16, and 30th Street by the end of July. The turnstiles will accommodate tap-and-go travel with the SEPTA Key Card, and customers with legacy TrailPasses can swipe through the turnstiles. Customer attendants will also collect paper tickets at the gates between 6 am and 8 pm. Monday-Friday. Conductors will use handheld devices to validate Monthly TrailPasses loaded on SEPTA Key Cards.
Customers who use the stations listed below on the Lansdale/Doylestown, Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton and West Trenton Lines are eligible to participate in the Early Adopters program:
- Lansdale/Doylestown: Doylestown, New Britain, Chalfont, Colmar, Fortuna, 9th Street, Lansdale, Pennbrook, North Wales, Delaware Valley University and Link Belt
- Paoli/Thorndale: Thorndale, Downingtown, Whitford and Malvern
- Trenton Line: Bristol
- West Trenton: Yardley, Woodbourne and Langhorne.
Starting Aug. 1, customers can use a SEPTA Key Card loaded with a Monthly TrailPass to tap the platform validator at their home station. Once they arrive at a Center City station, they will tap at the turnstile to exit. For the return trip, they will tap to go through the turnstile and tap again at their home station platform validator, after exiting the train, to close out the trip.
For more information, visit www.septa.org/key.
