Proposal to Change SEPTA Regional Rail Access in Philadelphia - How Mi

[DivMiler]

(The whole subject was supposed to be "Proposal to Change SEPTA Regional Rail Access in Philadelphia - How Might this Affect Amtrak Passengers?" Oh well.)

I picked up The Philadelphia Inquirer for March 14, 2013 in the Club Acela at Philadelphia (PHL). The first page (A1) had a story entitled "Come July 1, revolution in SEPTA fares". One line in it says "(after the end of 2013) Regional Rail travel will be transformed by subway-style gates in Center City stations..."

My first thought was how will it affect Amtrak riders who have been able to travel for free with a same-day Amtrak ticket between the 30th Street, Suburban, and Market East stations? I hope SEPTA and Amtrak have a solution which doesn't involve eliminating the benefit!

 

[afigg]

If SEPTA and Amtrak keep the arrangement, one possible solution would be to show your Amtrak eticket to the attendant at the fare gates who would open the gate for you. Since the free travel only applies to the three major city stations, I would figure there will be a staffed booth next to the fare gates. However, if people are only checked at the fare gates at the 3 major stations or when boarding the regional trains at the other stations, how would they keep people from using the Amtrak eticket to take the regional train outside of the center city stations?

Good to see that SEPTA will finally be modernizing its fare system with smart cards and cell phone payments. Will be hugely beneficial to the system in the long run. What I am not clear on is how the cards are going to work for the regional rail trains and system. Maybe they are still working that out.

 

[SubwayNut]

If you read the full terrifs on SEPTA's website this is included:

6) CROSS-HONORING OF AMTRAK TICKETS: AMTRAK tickets are not accepted on SEPTA trains, except between Thirtieth Street and Market East Station. Passengers displaying a valid AMTRAK ticket will be carried between Thirtieth Street and Market East (and intermediate points) at no additional charge. This privilege is extended only when there exists a signed, written agreement between SEPTA and AMTRAK regarding this cross-honoring. AMTRAK tickets cannot otherwise be accepted for transportation on SEPTA Regional Rail Division service.

The only other mention of Amtrak under Free Transportation:

G) AMTRAK police when in uniform or presenting AMTRAK Police ID while traveling in conjunction with AMTRAK functions.

 

[the_traveler]

I still don't see how that can be done at 30th Street Station, where the routes to Market East and the airport use the same platform. Go one way it's free (or a subway token), go the other way you need a ticket depending on the zone of your destination! Or will there be a long fence along the length of the platform in the center, so "the criminals" can not go from one side of the platform to the other side? :wacko:

 

[PRR 60]

I still don't see how that can be done at 30th Street Station, where the routes to Market East and the airport use the same platform. Go one way it's free (or a subway token), go the other way you need a ticket depending on the zone of your destination! Or will there be a long fence along the length of the platform in the center, so "the criminals" can not go from one side of the platform to the other side? :wacko:

The Amtrak/SEPTA free transfer is only for the Regional Rail services, not the transit service. The Regional Rail requires tickets for all travel. The SEPTA transit service (Market-Frankford El) is a seperate station at 30th Street.

 

[AlanB]

I still don't see how that can be done at 30th Street Station, where the routes to Market East and the airport use the same platform. Go one way it's free (or a subway token), go the other way you need a ticket depending on the zone of your destination! Or will there be a long fence along the length of the platform in the center, so "the criminals" can not go from one side of the platform to the other side? :wacko:

The Amtrak/SEPTA free transfer is only for the Regional Rail services, not the transit service. The Regional Rail requires tickets for all travel. The SEPTA transit service (Market-Frankford El) is a seperate station at 30th Street.

No, I see where Dave is going with this. The story does say:

After that, Regional Rail travel will be transformed by subway-style gates in Center City stations, electronic card-readers in the suburbs, and new fare zones everywhere.

So one does wonder how SEPTA plans to keep someone boarding at 30th with a ticket to say Market East from entering that center platform and then boarding a train outbound from Center City. If the conductors are assuming that everyone got to the platform by using a valid ticket, then they aren't going to be checking tickets along the way.

And yes, it will become a problem for Amtrak riders who relied on that perk of a free ride in the past. I'm guessing that it will just fade into history.