SEPTA has announced proposed fare changes, including the elimination of the 50-cent fare discount for Key card and contactless media users, which means that they will have to pay the full amount of $2.50 per ride.

SEPTA officials say that the transit authority is facing a $240 million budget deficit after runnning out of COVID funding and getting less state funding than expected.

The $2.50 fare is the same as a single fare cost of a Quick Trip ticket, which can be purchased at SEPTA kiosks with cash. Transfers would remain free and SEPTA is not expected to raise the cost of daily, weekly and monthly passes. The last fare increase was adopted in 2017.

SEPTA will hold two public hearings on October 16, at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., where the proposed fare adjustments will be presented.

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Click to enlarge. The PDF version of the map is available here.

SEPTA has recently announced that its annual Trolley Tunnel Maintenance “Blitz,” during which trolleys do not operate in the tunnel, is scheduled to begin on Friday, July 12, at 10 p.m. This project is an opportunity for SEPTA crews to replace worn tracks and overhead contact wires in the tunnel and perform some necessary cleaning.

Here’s how the trolleys will operate during the Blitz, which will take place from July 12 through July 29 (see the map):

Route 10 [T1], Route 34 [T2], Route 13 [T3], Route 11 [T4] and Route 36 [T5] are suspended between 13th Street and 40th Street Portal until 6 a.m., July 29. Subway-Surface Trolleys [T] pick up and drop off riders at any bus stop along the diversion routes.

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Westpark Apartments (Photo: West Philly Local).

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), which provides affordable housing for Philadelphia’s low-income residents and which has been working on the redevelopment plan for the Westpark Apartments in West Philadelphia, will receive $21.3 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant will support the creation of a new street grid and pedestrian infrastructure to facilitate the redevelopment of the apartment complex located near 46th and Market.

The project will include an extension of the existing street grid in order to create new space for housing and connect the Westpark Apartments footprint to SEPTA’s 46th Street station. It will also create a new network of shared streets, sidewalks, and bike infrastructure that will help integrate new, forthcoming housing more seamlessly into the neighborhood.

U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) and U.S. Representative Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) helped secure the grant. The funding comes from a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) Grant, funded by the Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act (IIJA).

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SEPTA recently opened a newly renovated 30th Street Station, which has been renamed “Drexel Station at 30th Street.” The transformed station has a doubled capacity and features more seamless transportation connections. The station is served by the Market-Frankford Line (now identified by the letter “L” in signage), five Trolley lines (“T”), the LUCY Loop, and Bus Routes 9, 30, 31, 44, 78, 124, 125, and is across the street from Amtrak’s 30th Street Station.

Drexel Station at 30th Street is part of the Schuylkill Yards development, a multi-phase project by Brandywine Realty Trust. Extensive renovations were completed as part of the station reconstruction project to better integrate the station into Drexel Square and the broader Schuylkill Yards district.

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A two-block portion of Spruce Street will be closed or restricted to vehicular traffic beginning Monday, March 18 to accommodate trolley track renewal work, according to an announcement by SEPTA. The project includes the excavation and renewal of the existing corroded and broken rail on Spruce Street between 40th Street and 42nd Street. The intersections at 40th and Spruce and 42nd and Spruce will not be impacted by this work.

Posted traffic detours will be erected and maintained around the work area in progress.

Normal construction hours will be Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or sometimes later. Occasional weekend work may also be needed to maintain the project’s timeline.

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SEPTA is expected to receive $317,160,000 in infrastructure funding to purchase approximately 200 new rail cars on the Market-Frankford Line, according to a recent joint announcement by U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), U.S. Representatives Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2), Dwight Evans (D-PA-3), and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-5), and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rail Vehicle Replacement Program, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Pennsylvania delegation in Congress has consistently fought for federal funding for SEPTA to improve accessibility, promote sustainability and reduce emissions. This investment is thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

“A few weeks ago, I led a letter to the Department of Transportation on the urgent need to support SEPTA. Today, I am thrilled to join with my colleagues and announce DOT’s $317 million investment to support new cars on the Market-Frankford Line,” Fetterman said.

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