Latest news with #transitagency
CBS News
a day ago
- Business
- CBS News
SEPTA to begin charging for parking on weekends, holidays at lots and garages
SEPTA to begin charging for weekend, holiday parking at all lots and garages SEPTA to begin charging for weekend, holiday parking at all lots and garages SEPTA to begin charging for weekend, holiday parking at all lots and garages If you prefer to park in a SEPTA-owned parking lot or garage, prepare to pay for it. Beginning Monday, SEPTA will start charging those who park on weekends and holidays at any of its lots and garages, including 35 additional locations. These newly implemented charges come as SEPTA faces a massive funding crisis. The SEPTA Board approved the new parking charges as part of its Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget in June, which looks to cut service by 45% and raise fares by 21.5% to fill a $213 million recurring budget deficit. SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said the transit organization is committed to finding innovative ways to make the company more efficient without compromising the safety of its customers. "Collecting parking fees 24/7 is another example of how we are doing everything we can to generate revenue during this funding crisis," Sauer said. The daily parking rate is $2 at SEPTA-owned surfaced lots and $4 at its garages, including Frankford Transportation Center, Norristown and Lansdale. Monthly permit parking fees at SEPTA-operated surface lots and parking garages remain suspended. SEPTA offered free parking for four years to help reel customers back to using the system. The transit agency began initially reinstating parking fees in September 2024.
CBS News
20-05-2025
- CBS News
New study casts doubt on BART's fare evasion focus
As a transit agency that relies heavily on fare collection, BART is focusing on preventing fare evasion. But a new study casts doubt on the effectiveness of stopping freeloaders to improve public safety on the trains. In 2020, BART asked the non-profit Center for Policing Equity to evaluate how well BART Police interacted with the ridership. Now, with BART spending $90 million in its quest to combat fare evasion as a way of increasing public safety, it paid for a new study. The results weren't exactly complimentary. "Some folks will say, A plus B equals C. So, in this case, not paying the fare will result in loss of income and violence or disorder on the train," said CPE vice president Hans Menos. "Unfortunately, science needs more than that intuitive connection, right? We need a little bit more, and I don't think that's necessarily present. Our findings suggest that it isn't present." On Monday, crews were installing the new evasion-resistant gates at the Pleasant Hill station, and they're already up and running in Lafayette. But the study, released last week, accuses BART of not having an accurate understanding of fare evasion, from both a financial and public safety perspective. It concluded: "... BART's focus on fare evasion recovers minimal revenue, may be addressing an overstated problem, and is not effective at curbing incidents that make riders feel uneasy in the system." Menos said there also didn't appear to be any clear strategy behind BART's efforts. "An unscientific, not clearly communicated approach that focuses on the idea that fare evaders are A, costing them a lot of money, which we did not find evidence on, and B, creating a lot of crime, which again we did not find evidence on. So, absent those two approaches, why they are doing this remains very unclear." CPE, which focuses on social justice issues, said the big problem is not the gates, but the stepped-up efforts of BART police in fining or arresting people, often minorities, for evading the fares. One BART rider also sees a difference between crime and fare evasion, but he favors more enforcement. "I still see people forcing themselves through the new gates at Civic Center. So, it doesn't matter what kind of gates they have. They still try their way to get in," said BART rider Junius Setiawan. "I think they're better off getting more people in the train, you know, checking tickets or whatnot, or ambassadors on the trains, rather than these gates. I don't see the point of these gates." BART refused to go on camera on Monday, but in a statement, it said that despite the study findings, it doesn't plan to change its approach. "These new gates serve as a powerful deterrent against fare evasion and as a result will reduce the number of interactions between BART PD and would-be fare evaders," the statement said. "We look forward to new fare gates being installed at all 50 BART stations by the end of this year." In the past, BART has claimed that it loses $25 million a year to fare evasion, a number it backed away from on Monday. But BART insists the fare gates are working and claims a 17% drop in crime last year. If BART is concerned about people not paying to ride, they really won't like the suggestion of a rider named Irene from Martinez. "It's another way of stopping people who need a service, who can't afford it, not to get it. You know, to make sure they don't get it," said Irene. "My opinion is that there are things that should be free. Housing should be free, food should be free, education should be free, transportation should be free." That's not how BART sees it. And whether or not there's a scientific connection between fare evasion and bad behavior, it's something BART is willing to take on faith.
Associated Press
18-05-2025
- Associated Press
New Jersey Transit train engineers reach tentative deal to end strike that halted NYC routes
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Transit's train engineers reached a tentative deal Sunday to end their three-day strike that had halted service for some 100,000 daily riders, including routes to Newark airport and across the Hudson River to New York City. The union said in a statement the engineers and the transit agency came to an agreement Sunday. The main sticking point had been how to accomplish a wage increase for the engineers without creating a financially disastrous domino effect for the transit agency. The walkout that began Friday was the state's first transit strike in over 40 years, forcing people who normally rely on New Jersey Transit to take buses, cars, taxis and boats instead or consider staying home. A statement from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen sent by email said the terms of the agreement will be sent to the union's 450 members who work as locomotive engineers or trainees at the passenger railroad. It added that union members would return to work and trains would begin running on their regular schedules Monday. The statement said the deal would be submitted for a ratification vote by the national union and also require a vote of the New Jersey transit board at its next regularly scheduled meeting June 11.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Last chance to use TTC tokens and tickets fast approaching
Time is running out to use TTC tokens, tickets and day passes before they're phased out for good. The so-called legacy fares will no longer be accepted as of June 1, as the transit agency leans into more modern methods of payment, like PRESTO, debit and credit cards, and Apple Pay. The deadline was originally slated for Dec. 31, 2024, but the timeline was pushed back at a TTC board meeting to give customers more time to use the fares, as refunds, exchanges or credits are not being offered. The TTC has said that the number of customers who use TTC tokens, tickets and day passes is 'extremely low' with less than one per cent paying with legacy fares. 'The TTC has been working to modernize fare payment across the system and looking for ways to save lost revenue through fare evasion,' the TTC said in a post on its website. TTC tokens have been around since 1954, but the transit agency stopped selling them, as well as tickets and day passes, at stations in 2019. Customers can still use cash to access the TTC at station fare boxes, and on buses and streetcars.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Last chance to use TTC tokens and tickets fast approaching
Time is running out to use TTC tokens, tickets and day passes before they're phased out for good. The so-called legacy fares will no longer be accepted as of June 1, as the transit agency leans into more modern methods of payment, like PRESTO, debit and credit cards, and Apple Pay. The deadline was originally slated for Dec. 31, 2024, but the timeline was pushed back at a TTC board meeting to give customers more time to use the fares, as refunds, exchanges or credits are not being offered. The TTC has said that the number of customers who use TTC tokens, tickets and day passes is 'extremely low' with less than one per cent paying with legacy fares. 'The TTC has been working to modernize fare payment across the system and looking for ways to save lost revenue through fare evasion,' the TTC said in a post on its website. TTC tokens have been around since 1954, but the transit agency stopped selling them, as well as tickets and day passes, at stations in 2019. Customers can still use cash to access the TTC at station fare boxes, and on buses and streetcars.
