SEPTA Fare Hearings: Have your say

We can make the case for fair fares but we need your help: call 267-313-6060 state your name and that you support the riders union fare proposal

Published: 5 minute read

The “virtual” hearings for the SEPTA fare increase are happening on Tuesday 5/26 and Wednesday 5/27. The fare plan SEPTA has proposed is the same plan they proposed before the pandemic. We’re trying to get SEPTA to pass a fare plan that lowers and simplifies fares for one year in response to the crisis and we need your voice.

We are making it easy for SEPTA riders to be heard in these hearings: Please call the TRU phone at 267-313-6060 and leave your testimony as a message, which we will play in the live hearings– you don’t have to work testifying into your schedule and you can still be heard. It’ll only take 30 seconds, promise.

Personal stories are good: what you’re going through and why you need lower fares right now.

Your message should be like:

Hi my name is YOUR NAME (first and last), spelled like (spell it) and I’m with the Philly Transit Riders Union.

** tell why you need lower fares now **

I support the rider’s union’s plan for lower, fairer fares.

Or you can read one of the scripts below. Pick any issue that speaks to you, call 267-313-6060 and leave it as a message. If you mess up, just start over, we’ll edit it. And please share this page with everyone you know and ask them to call.

If you think ACCESS/EBT cards should be used to ride SEPTA

Hi my name is (your name, first and last), spelled (spelling), I am a rider of the (your routes) and I am a member of the Philly Transit Riders Union.

SEPTA should allow anyone with a PA ACCESS or EBT card to ride the entire system immediately. A lot of people are out of work right now and can’t even pay rent.

The least SEPTA could do is allow anyone with these cards to ride the system. I support the rider’s union proposal to enact this in the fare schedule.

If you would ride RR if it was affordable…

Hi my name is (your name, first and last), spelled (spelling), I am a rider of the (your routes) and I am a member of the Philly Transit Riders Union.

SEPTA’s proposed fare plan prices me off the Regional Rail. In a time when we’re supposed to social distance, there’s no reason that there should be packed buses and empty trains. This is a public health issue that SEPTA must address immediately.

I support the riders’ union plan to make the Regional Rail trains and buses the same price for one year and ask SEPTA to implement the TRU fare schedule.

If you support opening the Regional Rail to transit riders…

Hi my name is (your name, first and last), spelled (spelling), I am a rider of the (your routes) and I am a member of the Philly Transit Riders Union.

If we truly value essential workers, everyone should be able to ride the Regional Rail and the buses for the same price. Trains allow for more social distancing and could alleviate overcrowding on buses. Now is the time to end the socioeconomic segregation of our transit system.

I ask that SEPTA do whatever is necessary to charge the same price for all modes for one year in the interest of public health and economic recovery.

If you didn’t really know that fares were going up…

Hi my name is (your name, first and last), spelled (spelling), I am a rider of the (your routes) and I am a member of the Philly Transit Riders Union.

If not for the riders’ union, I wouldn’t even know that fares were going up. I bet most riders don’t know either. SEPTA should listen to the riders’ union and lower all fares for at least one year to let everybody get back on their feet. We shouldn’t be doing a fare hike during a pandemic.

If you’re concerned about the hearings and the “digital divide” in Philly…

Hi my name is (your name, first and last), spelled (spelling), I am a rider of the (your routes) and I am a member of the Philly Transit Riders Union.

More than 20% of households in Philadelphia don’t have a computer with internet access. Because these hearings are being conducted “virtually”, during a pandemic, many riders will be unable to express how they are affected by these changes, which will raise some fares for 3 years.

For this reason, SEPTA should only lower fares at this time. Please listen to the riders’ union and lower all fares significantly for one year.

If you think the fare plan should’ve been changed in response to COVID…

Hi my name is (your name, first and last), spelled (spelling), I am a rider of the (your routes) and I am a member of the Philly Transit Riders Union.

The fare plan we are testifying about today was created before the pandemic and remains unchanged today. It seems insensitive to proceed with a pre-pandemic fare plan while our entire world has changed around us.

I believe that transit fares should be lowered and simplified in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Because unemployment is higher than it was during the Great Depression…

Hi my name is (your name, first and last), spelled (spelling), I am a rider of the (your routes) and I am a member of the Philly Transit Riders Union.

Unemployment has reached levels not seen since the Great Depression. Because Philadelphia is the poorest big city in America the fallout from this crisis will likely last longer than it will elsewhere. Transit fares should not be raised at all during this time. We should only be considering lowering fares right now.

I support the rider’s union plan one year fare plan, which will make better use of the system and allow the region to recover.

Sign to support Philly transit riders’ COVID-19 Recovery Plan