No new fare hikes, service cuts after court order forces SEPTA plan pause

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- SEPTA riders are relieved to know that prices will not go up as originally planned, at least for now, following a court order on Friday.

"I'm glad that it's not happening. It's going to save the money in my pocket," said rider Ahdrese Willis on Monday.

However, the cuts to bus, subway and trolley lines that went into effect in August will remain in place.

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A 21.5% fare increase was set to begin Monday, but is now on pause. However, SEPTA said some customers may still have been overcharged.

The transit agency says it is aware that some customers may have been incorrectly charged $2.90, instead of $2.50, when tapping Key Cards and using other forms of contactless payment.

SEPTA apologized for the inconvenience and will issue refunds.

"SEPTA has worked over the last several days to update applications that were programmed to charge the increase in fares starting today," said the agency in a statement. "So far, the incorrect charges have only been reported on a small number of buses that were in service today. While the issue is still being investigated, it is likely that the fare payment software on these buses did not receive the last-minute updates that kept prices frozen."

Officials are also working to assist riders who pre-purchased tickets at the higher price before the court order was made.

"Those are our loyal customers. We certainly don't want them to think we're OK with them paying more than everyone else, so we're working on it, just a few details we have to work out," said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch.

"That would have been a lot of money for fares," said Ahdrese Willis from Logan. "I'm glad it's not happening. It's going to save the money in my pocket."

"I manage my expenses a certain way," said Nikkiah Powell from North Philadelphia. "If they increase, now I got to adjust my expenses."

Regional Rail cuts that were supposed to start Tuesday are also on pause.

Those cuts were put into effect before a judge ordered SEPTA not to make any more changes after a lawsuit was filed against the transit agency.

SEPTA advises users to look at the PDF schedules from June 15 for guidance.

"It's nice that there was a hold there, but then again, who knows what could happen next, so I'm still a little bit on edge," said Mariam Elias-Danjuma, who is a student at Temple University.

Some riders said they're tired of being caught in the middle of this situation.

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"It's frustrating and it's also very stressful because I don't know what's going to happen," said rider Jordan Hatton.

Starting Tuesday, there will be more frequent stops along a total of 11 bus and trolley routes that include 14, 20, 23, 26, 47, 63, 67, 70, 82, T2, and T5. This is happening because the city is tapping into its existing $135 million transit subsidy to improve service on those routes.

The goal is to help Philadelphia students get to and from school because they're having issues.

The school district says the cuts that happened last week during the first week of school led to a 54% increase in student absences and even more late arrivals.

RELATED: Philadelphia helping SEPTA restore some bus routes for students amid cuts

Busch said he understands it's been a bumpy ride for commuters.

"We're just trying to do as much as we can to make this as smooth as possible under what have been difficult circumstances for our customers," said Busch.

Meanwhile, customers and SEPTA continue their calls for action from lawmakers in Harrisburg.

"Please approve funding," said Elias-Danjuma. "There's so many people who use SEPTA every single day."

"It's the only way for a lot of people to get around. It's very useful. We need it," said Hatton.

"Our focus is going to be on making sure we're complying with whatever the court says, providing as high a level of service to our customers as we possibly can, and continuing to work on that funding solution," said Busch, who also said it seems like lawmakers are finding more common ground.

"I feel like the legislature has to get together and figure out how to fund SEPTA, said Todd Bressi, of Narberth.

SEPTA is ordered to wait until the next court hearing on Thursday to find out what it will be allowed to do.

Right now, state lawmakers are still at odds over how to fund SEPTA to avoid additional cuts.