As of this week, SEPTA riders in Philadelphia have a new reason to bypass traditional payment methods and go digital — the public transit authority has implemented Apple Wallet's "Express Mode" for an expedited fare payment experience. According to 6abc, the feature is now available for passengers who opt to use their iPhone or Apple Watch, allowing them to make payments without having to wake, unlock their device, or open any apps.
This integrative move signifies a shift in the mundane transactional that once governed the turnstiles and fare boxes across the city's transportation network, it's providing users the ability to tap their device against a reader to purchase single-ride passes on various SEPTA services including bus, trolley, the Broad Street Line [B], Market-Frankford Line [L], and Norristown High Speed Line [M], as detailed by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The implementation harnesses the convenient and secure technology of Apple Pay, and requires users to enable Express Mode within it. Per NBC Philadelphia, compatibility spans across various Apple devices starting from the iPhone SE, iPhone 6s onwards and Apple Watch Series 1 or newer, given that the operating systems are up to date.
For SEPTA officials, this rollout clears the tracks for a more streamlined entry process into their transit vehicles and stations — Express Mode introduces a touch-and-go approach for riders, ensuring they can simply tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to an enabled reader to ride, without any additional fees, per the same NBC Philadelphia report. While currently, only bus and metro services are benefitting from this technology, regional rail lines are projected to join the fleet come fall, promising an even wider adoption of brisk, barrier-free transitions from street to the seat.
