Updated: Dec. 1, 1 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA’s first fare increase since 2017 took effect on Sunday. The SEPTA Board approved the 7.5% hike almost two weeks ago following public hearings in October. It raises the Travel Wallet fare for buses, subways and trolleys from $2 to $2.50.
SEPTA rider Rob, at City Hall Station, says he's accepted it.
"Well, I'm not really too concerned about it, because the price is just going to keep going up until it's at a price they like. So we're just going to have to deal with it, I guess, if you catch transportation," he said. "Or get a car."
Most single-trip fares on Regional Rail lines will go up, as well, between 25 cents and $1.75, depending on the zone. But you can still get daily, weekly and monthly Regional Rail passes for the same price.
That's what Mia did.
"I called it before and got my monthly before the first," she said. "That saved me some money, though, because I spent $200 on Lyfts, because they was canceling the buses."
David, catching a train at City Hall, said he didn't even notice.
"Because I just pay with my card and I don't even look," he said, with a self-deprecating laugh. "So, ignore your finances and keep going."
The SEPTA website has a full summary of fare increases.
SEPTA expects the fare adjustments to generate more than $14 million in additional annual revenue.
It could have been worse.
On Nov. 22, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that more than $153 million allocated to PennDOT would be given to SEPTA instead as stopgap funding, to wipe out a crippling budget for the transit agency. As a result, SEPTA is postponing its a second proposed round of fare hikes expected to hit in January (as well as the associated public hearing scheduled for this month) and putting off the deep service cuts it had proposed for the next fiscal year.