Reminder: SEPTA parking fees return beginning Monday

At a few SEPTA lots, riders will be charged fees Monday, marking the return of paid parking at Regional Rail stations following a more than four year-long COVID-19 hiatus.

The price is doubling, as well, from $1 to $2 at most stops. Drivers will now have to pay $4 to park at the Frankford, Norristown and Lansdale garages. Fees were previously during the early days of the pandemic to encourage ridership.

Transit officials are reinstating paid parking at nearly 100 lots in phases. On Monday, enforcement will begin at Jenkintown-Wyncote, Fern Rock Transportation Center and Glenside.

Later this week, riders will need to pay fees at the Norristown garage and transportation center, North Wales, the Lansdale garage and station, Frankford, Fort Washington, Ambler, Miquon and Ivy Ridge.

Paid parking will be implemented at the remaining stations in the coming weeks, with all lots expected to come online by Nov. 6. A full schedule is posted on SEPTA’s website.

Drivers can pay through the SEPTA Park phone application, which the authority said is now available for download on the Apple App Store and the Google Play store. The fees can also be paid using credit, debit and coins at an on-site kiosk or through a text-to-pay option, officials said.

Previously, a majority of SEPTA lots utilized coin slot boxes. The authority’s board in June approved a $12.3 million contract for a modernized system.

Riders are supposed to park so that their license plates are easily visible, as enforcement will be conducted through vehicle-mounted cameras, according to SEPTA. Officials said detailed instructions will be posted at stations.

Parking will continue to be free on weekends and holidays.

Reinstating the fees is expected to bring in $4 million a year, which SEPTA leaders said will be used to maintain the lots and garages. The authority is currently staring down a $240 million annual budget deficit; service cuts and steep fare increases could be necessary without an additional state funding stream, transit officials have warned.