SEPTA to add card system, phase out tokens

SEPTA Key, the organization’s new smart card system that allows its subway, bus, and trolley riders to pay by debit or credit card, will begin testing this month, the Associated Press reported.

Several computerized kiosks, turnstiles, and fare boxes have appeared in subway and trolley stations and on vehicles, which allow riders to pay with a debit or credit card, and also through microchipped bank cards or a cell phone app.

The new Key cards – which won’t be fully available until 2015 for subway, bus, and trolley services and 2016 for Regional Rail – will mean the end for SEPTA tokens, which are still used by 22 percent of riders, according to SEPTA officials from the AP story.

Philadelphia is one of the last major U.S. cities still using tokens in its public transit system. Boston stopped selling them in 2006, and New York stopped in 2003, fully switching over to their current CharlieCard and MetroCard systems, respectively.

Steve Bohnel can be reached at steven.bohnel@temple.edu or on Twitter @Steve_Bohnel.