For most of SEPTA's passengers - those who ride buses, subways and trolleys - the switch will be relatively easy. New card-readers will simply replace old turnstiles or fare-boxes.
But on Regional Rail, which accounts for 13 percent of SEPTA's riders and provides 25 percent of its revenue, the transformation may bring major changes.
SEPTA is considering charging rail fares only in one direction and installing subway-style gates and turnstiles at five Philadelphia stations: Suburban Station, Market East, 30th Street, University City, and Temple University.
Rail-passenger advocates have argued against those changes, saying they could encourage widespread fare evasion by riders who could train into Philadelphia free and find another way home.
Frequent rail passenger Douglas Diehl of Drexel Hill said he could envision riding free from Trenton on SEPTA's train and then returning on the cheaper NJ Transit River Line. He said he got conflicting answers from SEPTA representatives Friday about that possibility. And Diehl said rail passengers would not be happy with the proposed gates in Center City stations.
"Regional Rail passengers are a different breed of rider," he said. "And now SEPTA is going to treat them like subway riders and make them go through turnstiles?"
SEPTA's chief of new payment technologies, John McGee, said the Regional Rail changes were not firm.
"It's a point of discussion," he said. "We want to walk with people about what are the shortcomings." He said the new fare system offered a "chance to do something different" with the rail network "in terms of public policy and operational efficiency."
West Philadelphia resident Johanna Heine, 30, said she was looking forward to using the new fare system to make her regular trips on the Route 10 trolley.
