Philadelphia Could Lose Free Transit Program

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker omitted the city’s innovative free transit program from its upcoming budget, signaling a potentially abrupt end for a program that awarded free transit fare cards to over 24,000 qualifying low-income residents.

As Kea Wilson explains in Streetsblog USA, the program was the first of its kind in that it identified people who qualified based on other received benefits and sent them unlimited transit fare cards without making them go through an application process.

Of the more than 24,000 people who received that golden ticket as part of the initial two-year, $62-million pilot, the regional transit agency, SEPTA, says 64 percent are still riding today — a rate which proponents call “phenomenal” for a program that some feared would struggle to locate riders grappling with housing insecurity, or who might not believe their good fortune and just chuck their free cards in the trash.

According to Wilson, “A 2023 study showed that free transit doesn't significantly impact household earnings for low-income people, but it does ‘improve individuals’ well-being, and in particular health,’ which can have downstream economic benefits for public health systems, not to mention individuals' ability to access child care, medical care, or even simple quality time with family and friends.” Philadelphia transit advocates say extending the Zero Fare program would help improve SEPTA’s ridership and encourage other ‘choice’ riders who can afford fares but choose to drive to use transit instead.