Judge’s order puts brakes on SEPTA fare hikes, regional rail cuts

After a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge temporarily halted SEPTA’s planned fare increases and service cuts on its Regional Rail lines, the transit authority is advising customers of some cuts that are on hold. 

The ruling was issued Friday and came after a lawsuit was filed by several SEPTA commuters. 

The transit agency has been seeking a last-minute financial lifeline from state legislators in Harrisburg to close its $213 million budget gap. 

The current plan for SEPTA calls for a combination of service reductions, fare hikes, and workforce reductions between now and early next year.

“SEPTA is fully complying with the court’s order, which means that fares and service levels will stay as they were on Friday,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The court order put the following changes on hold:

• Fares: A 21.5 percent fare increase that was set to begin on Monday, Sept. 1, has been put on hold. All fares will remain at their current prices until further notice.
• Regional Rail: A 20 percent service cut scheduled to begin Tuesday, Sept. 2, has also been placed on hold. Service on Tuesday will follow the same schedules that were in effect last week. Due to the last-minute nature of the changes, real-time schedules on SEPTA’s website, app and third-party apps may not be immediately available. Customers should consult the PDF schedules dated June 15, 2025, on SEPTA’s website.

The court order does not affect service reductions that have already taken place. 

The 20 percent service cut on buses and Metro lines that began Aug. 24 will remain in place. On Tuesday, SEPTA will begin supplementing bus service to schools under an agreement reached with Philadelphia government. 

SEPTA will continue to provide updates with any new developments on SEPTA.org or the SEPTA App.

On Monday, SEPTA officials acknowledged that some riders were incorrectly charged a higher fare on buses. 

The agency said some customers may have been charged $2.90 instead of the current $2.50 when using Key Cards and other contactless payment devices. 

Any customer who was incorrectly charged will receive a refund of 40 cents credited to their account.

“SEPTA apologizes for this inconvenience,” a statement said.

Officials said the incorrect charges were likely due to fare payment software on a small number of buses that did not receive the last-minute updates to keep prices frozen. The issue is still being investigated. 

No problems have been reported at station fare gate validators, where employees have continued to charge the current $2.50 cash fare.

SEPTA urged customers to review their charges from Monday and contact the Key Call Center at 1-855-56-SEPTA if they were overcharged. The agency is also monitoring payments to flag overcharges.

SEPTA will also issue refunds to customers who pre-purchased weekly and monthly passes at the higher rates. 

Monthly passes for September went on sale Aug. 20, and weekly passes on Aug. 27, at the expected new rates.