How will my student receive a card?
- On the first day of school, all forms of transportation on SEPTA including buses, trains, and Regional Rail will be free to students so they can get to school safely on their first day.
- Once at school, the new Fare Cards will be distributed to eligible students by a school official.
How will the School District’s Office of Transportation notify families about the SEPTA Student Fare Card?
- Students whose transportation services include yellow bus, cab, or van, will receive a notification (Parent Notification Letter – PNL) from the Office of Transportation if their current transportation services are revised or changed. This process does not apply to Student Fare Cards. If a student is eligible for a student fare card, they should be notified by representatives at their school. If you have a question about Fare Card Eligibility, view this website, reach out to your child’s school, and/or call 215-400-4350.
When can the SEPTA Student Fare Card be used?
- The SEPTA Student Fare Card is active for each designated school day from the hours of 5:30 am to 8:00 pm.
- SEPTA Student Fare Cards will not be operational on national holidays, weekends, and predetermined non-school days.
What is a “Tap?”
- A “tap” is SEPTA’s term for contacting your fare card to the reader at turnstiles in rail stations or at the farebox onboard buses. It is a remote accessible way of entering the mode of public transportation, by using the SEPTA Student Fare card.
- Students will “tap” their SEPTA Student Fare Card as they board each mode of transportation.
- Each SEPTA Student Fare Card will be programmed with a maximum of eight taps per day. The number of taps per day cannot be increased under any circumstances.
How are students expected to get to school on the first day, if they won’t yet have their card?
- SEPTA will allow students to travel for free on the first day of school. No changes have been made to the existing process regarding transportation on the first day of school.
Which holidays are blocked on all SEPTA Student Fare Cards?
SEPTA Student Fare Cards are not operational on published school holidays or national holidays, in alignment with the School District’s academic calendar. If your school needs SEPTA Student Fare Cards activated for any of these dates, please have a school official send an email to transpass@philasd.org. Please review the school calendar for additional days that the SEPTA Student Fare Card is not operational.
What happens when a SEPTA Student Fare Card is lost, stolen or damaged?
- Schools will be given an inventory and have the ability to distribute replacement cards to students who report their assigned SEPTA Student Fare Card as lost, stolen or damaged.
- Schools will need to report cards as lost, stolen or damaged in the SEPTA Student Fare Card application. Reported cards will be sent to SEPTA nightly for deactivation.
- After an assigned SEPTA Student Fare Card has been marked as lost, stolen or damaged in the SEPTA Student Fare Card application, the school can assign a replacement card to the student, which will be active for the next school day.
- Once a SEPTA Student Fare Card has been deactivated by SEPTA, it can not be reactivated.
Are there any restrictions on when the SEPTA Student Fare Cards can be used for transportation services?
- SEPTA Student Fare Cards will be active for each designated school day from the hours of 5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Will new SEPTA Student Fare Cards be needed for all students at the start of each school year?
- Students who remain eligible for transportation services and are enrolled in the same school as the previous school year will be able to utilize their current SEPTA Student Fare Card for the new school year.
- Students who are enrolled in a new school from the previous school year, will need to be re-evaluated for eligibility and if eligible will require a new SEPTA Student Fare Card assigned for the new school year.
If a student loses, damages or has their card stolen before getting to school, how do they gain access to transportation that morning?
- The student will be responsible for purchasing their own fare to get to school that morning. The school will issue a replacement card, which will not be activated until the following morning. Since the replacement card will not be active until the following morning, the student is also responsible for purchasing their own fare to get home after school that day.
If a Student Fare Card is not accepted when a student taps to ride, what should the student do?
- The student will be responsible to purchase their own fare to get to and from school that day.
- The student must report the issue with their Fare card to their school administrator or through this SEPTA Student Fare Card Issue Tracking form.
- Your school administrator will determine if you need a replacement card.
A student forgot their SEPTA Student Fare Card. Will the student be able to gain access to ride?
- The student will be responsible for purchasing their own fares to get to and from school for that day. Replacement cards should only be issued in the event the card is lost, stolen or
damaged.