February 20, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Starting Feb. 26, SEPTA riders can tap their Key cards multiple times to pay the fares of up to four additional riders. All bus, trolley, subway and train routes, including Regional Rail, will support the feature.
Beginning Monday, SEPTA riders can use a single SEPTA Key card to pay for up to five riders making the same trip.
To take advantage of the long-awaited feature, SEPTA riders simply must tap their Key cards on the validator one time for each rider they are paying for. The feature can be used on all buses, trolleys, subways and Regional Rail trains, as well as the Norristown High Speed Line.
For example, a bus rider can tap their SEPTA Key card twice on the validator to cover the cost of an additional rider. At train stations, Key card holders can tap their cards at multiple turnstiles.
To activate the multi-rider feature, SEPTA Key card holders must turn on the autoload function on their Travel Wallets. This function replenishes the account after it dips below a certain threshold. Before beginning a multi-rider trip, the Travel Wallet must have a "balance equal to the minimum amount required" for each rider.
Standard fare rules still apply to each rider, including the two-transfer limit on buses, trolleys, the Broad Street Line, the Market-Frankford Line and the Norristown High Speed Line.
Riders traveling together must begin and end their trips at the same stations.
On Regional Rail lines, train conductors can open multi-rider trips for people traveling together.
Currently, the best way to pay for multiple riders is through SEPTA Key Tix, which allows people to purchase up to five tickets at once and scan a barcode at validators.
The multi-ride feature emerged as suddenly as details about it disappeared two years ago. In late January 2022, observant SEPTA riders noticed the SEPTA Key website outlined a multi-rider feature. SEPTA quickly removed the information, saying the feature would become available later that year.
Two years later, here it is. It comes after SEPTA rolled out contactless payment options, including credits cards and Apple Pay, last summer.
