PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA is still looking for volunteers to test a long-awaited mobile ticketing system that will allow riders to pay fares with their smartphones. General Manager Leslie Richards says they want about 300 people.
“We’re still collecting names, and next month we’re really excited to go out with a pilot that will allow people to use their phone to pay for their transit,” Richards said.
SEPTA needs volunteers who ride the bus, subway, trolley and Norristown High Speed Line.
Volunteers can sign up with SEPTA's Mobile Ticket Pilot Participation Request Form to participate.
“We know that we’ll need some tweaking. And so we’re very eager to get those first members who are willing to give it a try, give us their feedback so that when we open it up to all of our customers it’s working well.”
Riders would pay at the turnstile by scanning a barcode that appears on the SEPTA app. The app would have to be linked to a SEPTA Key card account, but riders wouldn’t need to have the card with them. The app would also allow riders to pay for more than one fare -- up to five -- at a time.
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About 200 SEPTA employees did a field test of the system in May.
Mobile ticketing should roll out to all SEPTA riders on city and suburban transit lines by about October, Richards says. Regional rail riders will have to wait until at least spring 2023.
“It’s part of our five-year strategic plan, having a seamless and easy-to-use network. So this is part of that work,” Richards said.
“The easier it is to use SEPTA, the more riders we will have.”
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