Philadelphia officials say the launch of Zero Fare, a citywide program that offers free public transportation to low-income residents, has been a success in its inaugural year, and the initiative will continue with a new round of benefits.
Zero Fare is a two-year pilot program to determine the impact that access to free public transportation has on low-income residents. The city is fully subsidizing fares through direct payment to SEPTA based on usage.
In the first year, program transit cards were distributed to more than 24,000 Philadelphians living in poverty and cover unlimited taps on all SEPTA lines and services (bus, subway, trolley, Regional Rail, and SEPTA Access) at no cost to the individual.
Residents cannot ask to be part of the pilot or directly sign up for the benefit; Zero Fare identifies a random sample of individuals who are living at the lowest levels of poverty and enrolls participants automatically.
“During the first year of the pilot program, we’ve seen improved quality of life for many residents using the benefit,” said Nicola Mammes, Director of Zero Fare. “Participants have shared with us that riding public transportation at no cost to them has provided significant cost savings and has improved access to medical appointments, childcare, and job opportunities.”
About 90 percentage of participants were randomly selected using city data, and the remaining participants were enrolled through community organizations serving Philadelphia’s immigrant and refugee populations. According to city organizers, the purpose of this approach is to reach residents with the greatest need and who would benefit from it the most.
“Improving quality of life for all Philadelphia residents is a priority of this administration, and we are laser-focused on those residents in lower-income households who can prosper with greater access to benefits available to them,” said Mayor Cherelle Parker. “We are trying to make it easier for people to have access to those benefits. Zero Fare is making it super easy for many people in this pilot program to take transit at no cost, and we know that participants will have new opportunities because of it.”
According to a 2020 Community Needs Assessment, transportation is the highest-ranked barrier to finding and sustaining employment for low-income residents in Philadelphia.
As Zero Fare enters its second year, the city plans to distribute an additional 20,000 Zero Fare Key cards to eligible program participants – 19,000 will be mailed directly to residents enrolled automatically based on a lottery, and 1,000 will be distributed through the program’s nonprofit community partners. Program materials have been translated into at least 20 different languages.
The program has recorded over 4.3 million trips on SEPTA in the first year, with activity throughout the entire city and on all transit modes.
