SEPTA to expand 'free' travel hours for Seniors, discontinue paper transfers on August 1

PHILADELPHIA, July 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of recent changes in its fare structure SEPTA will expand "free" travel hours for seniors to 24-hours-a-day beginning Wednesday, August 1.

The expansion of free senior citizen travel hours is a direct outcome of the new transportation funding legislation recently passed by the PA state legislature. Seniors 65 years of age or older with a valid Medicare Card, Railroad Retirement Card or Transit ID Card will now travel for free on SEPTA buses, trolleys and subway-elevated lines 24-hours-a-day every day of the year.

In addition, seniors will be charged only $1.00 to travel on SEPTA regional rail lines within Pennsylvania (fare waved for PACE, PACENET or Medical Assistance/Access card holders). Travel to stations outside the state (such as Trenton or West Trenton) to or from Center City will cost $4.00 for tickets purchased prior to boarding and $4.50 for tickets purchased on-board. Currently, seniors travel at discounted fares during weekday off-peak hours (with regular fares charged from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) and all day on weekends and holidays.

In addition, paper transfers will be discontinued on August 1.

The number of riders using transfers has already fallen to an extremely low level. For those riders currently using paper transfers, SEPTA urges them to use a weekly, monthly or convenience pass.

For example, riders that use SEPTA buses, trolleys or subway-elevated lines five days a week currently using tokens and paper transfers now pay $19.00 per week. Under SEPTA's new fare structure, those riders can purchase a weekly TransPass for $20.75. For infrequent but multiple use riders, SEPTA also offers a one day convenience pass which provides one rider up to eight trips for $6.00.

As a reminder, all existing free interchanges will continue to be free.

For additional information about SEPTA fare options or services contact the SEPTA Customer Service office at (215) 580-7800 or access the SEPTA website at http://www.septa.org.