SEPTA Riders Charged New Fare Price After Judge Halts Increase

PHILADELPHIA — SEPTA said it is working to refund customers who were overcharged recently.

According to SEPTA, some customers paid $2.90 instead of $2.50 when tapping Key Cards and other contactless payment devices at bus fare validators.

Riders who were charged $2.90 will get a refund of 40 cents credited to their Key Card or contactless device account as soon as possible.

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So far, the incorrect charges have only been reported on a few buses that were in service today. While the issue is still being investigated, it is likely that the fare payment software on these buses did not receive the last-minute updates that kept prices frozen.

SEPTA was set to implement system-wide fare increases Monday, including a change in the base transit fare from $2.50 to $2.90.

The fare changes were put on hold after a Friday ruling from a Common Pleas Court Judge, who issued a temporary restraining order requiring SEPTA to halt fare increases and stop any additional service cuts.

SEPTA has worked over the last several days to update applications that were programmed to charge the increase in fares Monday.

There have been no problems reported at station fare gate validators, and employees have continued to charge $2.50 for cash fares.

SEPTA urges all customers to review their fare charges from today and contact SEPTA if there is an overcharge by calling the Key Call Center at 1-855-567-3782.