Wanted: PATCO commuters to test joint fare card with SEPTA

CAMDEN — Attention PATCO Hi-Speedline riders — especially commuters who cross the Ben Franklin Bridge to Philadelphia and then transfer to other transit lines.

The Delaware River Port Authority is looking for 50 riders to test a long-awaited joint fare system in June with Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) using a new PATCO FREEDOM Fare card.

PATCO Hi-Speedline President John Hanson said the pilot program will begin June 25 and last at least two weeks to iron out any glitches.

"We hope to fully implement the program for any commuter by August once the test period ends," he added.

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Using a FREEDOM Fare card to ride both transit lines will eliminate the need for a PATCO traveler to buy a paper transfer ticket for SEPTA after arriving at the 8th and Market streets station in Philadelphia.

At that station, PATCO riders soon will be able to transfer to SEPTA's Market-Frankford or the Broad Street Subway lines, or to buses, using their own FREEDOM Fare card at ticket gate machines.

DRPA spokesman Kyle Anderson said PATCO would advertise for pilot program participants after the Memorial Day weekend.

"We’ll post on social media to encourage people to visit our website — www.ridepatco.org — to sign up. We expect spaces to fill up quickly, though, since it will only be 50 riders who will be testing the new system," he said.

PATCO operates between Lindenwold and Center City Philadelphia.

It has spent $2.3 million on a software upgrade to the 55 PATCO ticketing machines at its 13 transit stations, partly in order to install the new program.

“Technology is constantly changing and that includes the software and applications which run our fare collection system,” PATCO General Manager John Rink said.

"Moving to the next level of fare collection software will allow us to perform much of the 'housekeeping' work we need to complete, such as replacing hardware and upgrading the operating systems on our servers. Upgrading to the next level of software also allows us to move forward with planned projects, including our SEPTA integration.”

Of the 20,000 daily round-trip commuters who use PATCO, about 800 also use SEPTA.

Hanson said PATCO passengers have been asking for a better transfer system for some time because it would be easier and save time, especially during rush hours.

The final phase of the computer software upgrade required PATCO to stop allowing customers to use credit or debit cards to add value to their FREEDOM Fare cards over the Memorial Day weekend. The temporary outage will end Tuesday morning.

During this time, customers also cannot use credit or debit cards to buy paper tickets at PATCO stations. Only cash is being accepted at the vending machines until Tuesday.

"Scheduling the upgrades during the extended holiday weekend should also minimize the disruption to the majority of our commuting customers," Rink said.

Hanson said the new ticket integration with SEPTA will work more like the E-ZPass account system used by drivers to pay tolls on highways and bridges.

"Right now we have a system that allows passengers to store value by loading an amount onto their FREEDOM Fare cards at one of our machines, but under the integrated system that will no longer be the case" for riders who also use SEPTA, Hanson explained.



"A rider who wants to use his PATCO fare card for SEPTA, too, must first buy a new FREEDOM card and then visit our website, where he will put money onto the card using his credit card or bank debit card accounts," Hanson said

He said the FREEDOM card still must be inserted at fare gates, where a fare is deducted for each trip.

"We definitely think this new PATCO card will be more convenient for its riders," said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.

The current system of loading value on FREEDOM Fare cards will not change for customers who use them only to ride between PATCO stations.

Busch said SEPTA is also phasing out paper ticket transfers and tokens for fares. About 60 percent of SEPTA riders already use SEPTA Key cards

He also said SEPTA's new fare system upgrade will result in a 50-cent increase, to $4, in the round-trip cost of a SEPTA transfer.

PATCO commuters represent the majority of those boarding SEPTA trains at 8th and Market streets, he noted.

Carol Comegno: @carolcomegno; 609-856-486-2473; ccomegno@gannettnj.com

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