PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA has been installing new two-way turnstiles at many of its stations, allowing fare-paying riders to enter or exit from the same gate. SEPTA says the new turnstiles allow for more convenience and security, but some riders find them confusing.
The new so-called “roto-gates” are in place at eight SEPTA stations, including 30th Street on the Market-Frankford Line, and the Temple University regional rail stop. They work like typical one-way exit turnstiles, but a rider can also use them to enter a station using a SEPTA Key card.
After tapping the card on a validator screen, a green indicator light appears, allowing the gate to rotate for entry. They rotate on a vertical axis like a revolving door, allowing just one person at a time, and making fare-jumping impossible.
A rider has 15 seconds to enter after tapping a SEPTA Key card.
Sam, a would-be rider from Washington, D.C., tapped her card at 30th Street Station and got the green “go” indicator, but she accidentally rotated the gate in the wrong direction.
“I was going the wrong way. And then I tried to go the right way and it blocked me out,” said Sam.
Her card was denied when she tapped again, because Key cards can be tapped for entry only once every 13 minutes.
SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch says if there’s a cashier nearby, they can usually help.
“We certainly don’t want somebody to be in a situation where they tap in front of the pay roto-gate, and then for whatever reason can’t get through for a trip that they paid for,” said Busch.
Busch says the transit agency is also arranging to have its yellow-vested ambassadors at 30th Street Station to help with the roto-gates.
“We can’t just assume that people are going to know how to use it. We have personnel we can get out there to assist them,” Busch said.
Rider education is essential, he said, because many people may be returning to SEPTA for the first time in a year or two.