As SEPTA stares down a looming budget cliff, the authority plans to begin charging for parking on weekends and holidays at all of its surface lots and garages starting Monday.
The expanded calendar for parking fees is part of the “doomsday” budget SEPTA’s board passed last week as it prepares to increase fares and drastically cut service in the months ahead, unless state lawmakers come up with a funding plan for public transportation.
In the fall, SEPTA reinstated weekday parking fees at 96 surface lots and three garages — Frankford Transportation Center, Norristown Transportation Center and Lansdale Station — across the region. The return of parking fees on weekdays ended a four-year break that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when SEPTA ridership reached a low point and the authority sought ways encourage use of the system.
SEPTA charges $2 for use of its surface parking lots and $4 for the garages, which is double the rate that was charged for each before the pandemic. Those fees will now need to be paid at all SEPTA lots beginning Monday, and SEPTA officials said an additional 35 parking lots are now included among the locations that will charge year-round on weekdays, weekends and holidays.
“Collecting parking fees 24/7 is another example of how we are doing everything we can to generate revenue during this funding crisis,” SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer said.
SEPTA said the fees it collects help offset the cost of maintenance at its parking lots and garages.
People who use SEPTA’s lots can pay by license plate on the SEPTA Park app, make payments by texting the station ID to the number 727563, or by using debit and credit cards or coins at station kiosks.
Top lawmakers in Harrisburg continue to negotiate with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) on options to fund strapped public transportation agencies in this year’s state budget. Without new funding, SEPTA has a plan to scale back service dramatically beginning in August.
SEPTA’s first round of cuts will come Aug. 24 with the elimination of 32 bus routes, reduced trips on all rail services and the termination of express subway service to the Sports Complex in South Philly.
On Sept. 1, fares will jump by an average of 21.5% for all riders, raising the base fare for bus and metro trips from $2.50 to $2.90. Then on Jan. 1, SEPTA will eliminate five Regional Rail lines and more bus routes, in addition to imposing a 9 p.m. curfew on all remaining rail services.
“This budget will effectively dismantle SEPTA – leaving the city and region without the frequent, reliable transit service that has been an engine of economic growth, mobility and opportunity,” Sauer said after SEPTA’s board approved the spending plan last week.