PHILADELPHIA — The cost for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s smart fare system, Key, has swelled to $192.5 million — almost $70 million more than planned — the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Most of the increase will pay for annual maintenance and services for the 8-year-old project, but it also includes unexpected costs such as replacement of SEPTA’s 4,226 card readers to process transactions. Those 6-year-old devices are already obsolete. The upgrades are needed to allow passengers to pay for a ride with a credit card without using one of SEPTA’s Key cards.
Introduction of the Key system for Regional Rail commuter trains has been slow, the newspaper reports. Problems have included handheld card readers, used by onboard crew members, that would not hold a battery charge.
