Papal Pass lottery now live

After a false start two weeks ago, SEPTAbegan taking entries for its Papal Pass lottery at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3.

The lottery was announced last week after a deluge of visitors trying to buy tickets to ride Regional Rail lines during the papal visit — 54,000 in the first minute — crashed SEPTA’s e-commerce site.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, 12,000 people had entered the lottery, said SEPTA spokeswoman Heather Redfern. There were some early birds too — about 2,400 applications were received in the first hour.

SEPTA intituted the lottery system in hopes that it would space web traffic of pilgrims trying to buy ticktets throughout the day. Chances of winning a Papal Pass are equal no matter when you enter the system, SEPTA has said.

Tickets will remain on sale until 11:59 a.m.

“It seems like everyone has been able to register and we expect that to continue for the rest of the day,” Redfern said.

To sign up, visit septa.org and click “Enter Lottery.”

Individuals can sign up for up to 10 entries per day on Sept. 26 and 27. You can enter to win tickets at up to three outlying Regional Rail stations. The passes cost $10 each.

Winners will be notified on Aug. 6 via email and then asked to submit payment..

Only 18 Regional Rail stations will be in service during the weekend of Pope Francis’ scheduled visit Philadelphia.

The only Center City stations open will be 30th Street Station, Jefferson Station and University City Station.

There are 350,000 tickets available for the weekend of Sept. 26-27– 175,000 per day.