Prior to the Key System, SEPTA's fare collection was almost entirely manual. Monthly and Weekly passes were sold by a cashier at a SEPTA sales office. Tokens for bus, trolley and subway fare could be purchased from a vending machine at some stations, however exact change was required. In 2012, SEPTA announced the Key project. In 2014, SEPTA began deploying the new hardware necessary for the system at each station. The initial rollout of the key card on transit services began with an early adoption program which started on June 13, 2016. Sale of Key Cards was opened to the public on February 9, 2017. As of June 1, 2017, weekly and monthly TransPasses were no longer available in the old format, and users of those passes had to have a Key Card. Sales of paper weekly/monthly TransPasses will end at all Regional Rail stations by April 30, 2018, while token sales will end at most Regional Rail stations by April 30, 2018. Token sales will end at all transit sales offices on April 30, 2018. In April 2018, SEPTA launched the external retail network for Key Cards, allowing cards to be purchased and reloaded at businesses across the Philadelphia area. On August 1, 2018, SEPTA stopped issuing or honoring paper transfers; the only way to use the reduced $1 transfer fee is through the SEPTA Key card. On August 1, 2018, SEPTA began an early adoption program for SEPTA Key on Regional Rail from select Zone 4 stations for Monthly Zone 4 TrailPass holders. On October 1, 2018, SEPTA expanded the program to include select Zone 3 stations for Monthly and Weekly TrailPass holders. The SEPTA Key program extended to Zone 1 and Zone 2 TrailPass holders on May 1, 2019. Weekly TrailPasses will only be available on SEPTA Key starting the week of August 12, 2019 for Zones 3 and 4 and the week of September 9, 2019 for Zones 1 and 2; this will mark the end of the sale of paper Weekly TrailPasses. Monthly TrailPasses will only be available on SEPTA Key starting in October 2019 for Zones 3 and 4 and in November 2019 for Zones 1 and 2; this will mark the end of the sale of paper Monthly TrailPasses.
Technology/Use
Similar to a debit card issued by a bank, each Key card has a personalized 16 digit account number. A Mastercard Paypass chip is embedded in the card allowing it to be read wirelessly. Riders simply wave their card near a red fare validator pad. On buses, trolley routes, and the Norristown High Speed Line; the validator is mounted to the vehicle farebox. On the Broad Street Line and the Market-Frankford Line, the validators are located on the turnstiles that access the boarding area. At certain stations serving both subway and trolley lines, fare is collected at the turnstiles even for trolley routes. The Norristown High Speed Line collects fares at turnstiles at 69th Street Transportation Center and Norristown Transportation Center on weekdays while the fare is collected onboard at other times and at all other stations along the line. The system also has a "Quick Trip" feature allowing a single fare for the Broad Street Line or the Market-Frankford Line to be purchased from a Key vending machine. Instead of a plastic card with an embedded chip, the system prints a paper ticket with a magnetic stripe. A rider with a quick trip ticket will swipe it at a black card reader mounted next to the red pad to access the boarding area. Quick Trips can also be used on Regional Rail's Airport Line on trips originating from the Philadelphia International Airport; they can be purchased from machines located on the platforms. A card can be loaded with a weekly, monthly or single day pass. Unlike the older paper passes, SEPTA Key imposes a limit on how many trips a rider can take on a pass. This is designed to prevent sharing of cards. The system also has a "Travel Wallet" feature in which riders can load money on the card and have the fare for each trip deducted from the balance when the card is presented. The Travel Wallet fare is discounted from the cash fare and costs the same as a token. The system was designed to keep most of SEPTA's existing fare collection practices in place. For example, the system can automatically detect if a rider is transferring from another route and charge the $1 transfer fee instead of the full fare. SEPTA Key is accepted on all SEPTA rapid transit lines, buses, trolleys, and trackless trolleys. On weekends and major holidays, Key cards with valid TransPasses are valid for "anywhere" travel on all Regional Rail lines. As of May 1, 2019, SEPTA Key is now accepted on Regional Rail with a valid monthly or weekly TrailPass in Zones 1, 2, 3, and 4 only. Other Regional Rail riders can continue to use paper tickets and magnetic stripe passes until the program is rolled out to the rest of the Regional Rail system.
