SEPTA Key Tix: Mobile ticketing in Philadelphia with QR code for groups - On top of Philly news - Billy Penn

You tin present usage your compartment telephone to wage for your SEPTA thrust — and for the rides of immoderate friends you person with you.

Called “SEPTA Key Tix,” the mobile outgo enactment is present disposable to anyone who downloads the beta mentation of the transit authority’s Apple oregon Android app. The QR codification fares presently enactment connected each transit modes but for Regional Rail, which SEPTA says is coming sometime adjacent year.

To bargain the passes, you besides request to person a recognition oregon debit card, positive an online SEPTA Key relationship (which is escaped to make connected the app).

Like a regular SEPTA Key tap, the $2 mobile passes see 1 escaped transportation wrong 2 hours.

Unlike a Key card, however, the QR codification lets you swipe done aggregate radical astatine once. Just participate the fig of radical going for a thrust — up to 5 astatine erstwhile — and bargain the pass. It’s bully for the bus, trolley, Broad Street Line, Market-Frankford Line, oregon Norristown High Speed Line.

The thought isn’t to regenerate Key cards for regular riders, per the agency. Rather, it’s “a elemental solution for occasional riders who privation to bask the aforesaid benefits arsenic cardholders.”

In a property release, SEPTA wide manager and CEO Leslie Richards touted it arsenic a bully enactment for radical question during the holidays.

Eventually, the Philly transit authorization plans to drawback up with respective different municipality transit systems and judge contactless payments similar Apple and Google Pay and tap-to-pay recognition cards — but that’s inactive respective months down the line. More accusation astir that is expected “soon.”

SEPTA has previously teased mobile ticketing and multiple-rider access, and the bureau held a closed pilot for SEPTA Key Tix earlier this year. Over 1,200 radical tested the app; not everyone was thrilled with the experience, The Inquirer reported past month.

How to bargain and usage mobile tickets

Want to effort it retired for yourself? Here’s what SEPTA says to do.

Android users person to archetypal download the SEPTA app. Once that’s done, you tin sojourn the Google Play store and follow SEPTA’s instructions for uncovering the beta version.

If you person an iPhone, you’ll person to download the app TestFlight, and past follow SEPTA’s instructions to get the beta mentation of the SEPTA app.

Once you’ve gotten the trial mentation of the app (which, astatine slightest connected iPhone, is simply a spot sleeker-looking than the regular version), you tin bargain mobile tickets by making oregon logging into your SEPTA Key relationship and tapping “Buy oregon Manage Key Tix,” located close astatine the apical of the app.

From there, you tin prime the fig of tickets you privation — you tin get up to 10 astatine once.

If you person a recognition oregon debit paper saved to your SEPTA Key relationship already, you tin usage that to pay. If you don’t, you tin benignant successful accusation for a caller outgo method. You can’t usage existing funds successful your question wallet to bargain a pass.

To really usage the tickets, you person to activate 1 per rider — up to 5 astatine a clip — from the “Purchased” tab wrong the Key Tix menu, and past propulsion up the QR codification from the “Ready to Use” tab to scan it astatine a presumption turnstile oregon vehicle’s fare paper reader.

You’ll request to person your telephone surface “facing upward astatine the bottommost of the autobus oregon gross validator.” If you’ve activated tickets for much than 1 person, you should lone person to scan the codification once.

Tickets enactment activated for 2 hours, and unactivated passes expire 6 months aft you bargain them.

If you person a occupation with the app, you tin taxable it to SEPTA astatine their mobile ticketing contented study form.