SEPTA fare increases for Media Trolley, Buses and Media/Elwyn (R3) Line

Like anything else, as of July 1st, 2013, you'll be paying a bit more to take public

transportation in and out of Media, PA.  Rate hikes went into effect earlier this month.  If you get a weekly train pass to center city, that'll now cost you $44, which is two dollars more than what it was before.  For a complete listing of rates check out SEPTA's site.

Also different is the discontinuation of the male/female sticker that accompanied passes.  I suppose the original reason why this was implemented was no longer needed.  It was also found to be a bit insensitive to the LGBT groups who applauded the move.

Something to look forward to includes the future NPT (New Payment Technology) system that Septa hopes to have implemented by early 2014.  Here's a basic run-down of how that'll work.   They'll also include payments by smartphone once a technology called NFC (Near Field Communication) is implemented by cell phone makers.  Essentially, it's an embedded chip in a smartphone that allows payments by swiping your phone in close proximity to a receiving scanner.

What I didn't know was that SEPTA is the last transit authority in the country that still uses tokens for payments. However, when NPT begins, it'll be the first transit authority to give riders the ability to pay by methods other than Septa issued cards.  Here's some more interesting information on SEPTA's plans.

Also check out the invaluable SEPTA Media/Elwyn Twitter Site and their smartphone train schedule app, Baldwin.