Neighbors hopping on the 23 bus, at Armat St. and Germantown Ave. (Photo: Rasheed Z. Ajamu)

This story was produced as part of Next City’s joint Equitable Cities Reporting Fellowship with Germantown Info Hub.

In April, Germantown Info Hub and Next City held a community listening session with Germantown residents to discuss what is and isn’t working when it comes to economic mobility and the benefits cliff. Among the solutions that emerged was the potential for free transportation, an issue that’s been hotly debated among lawmakers in recent weeks, to reduce the financial strain on low-income residents and open access to more opportunities.

In 2020, the City of Philadelphia found that 39% of residents living in poverty pointed to transportation as their biggest challenge when finding and sustaining employment. Three years later, the city allocated $62 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to subsidize a two-year pilot of the new Zero Fare Program.

The program, which became the country’s largest low-barrier transit program for low-income riders, distributed more than 30,000 SEPTA Key cards to low-income Philadelphians, allowing them unlimited free rides on SEPTA buses, subways, trolleys, and Regional Rail lines. 

City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, then head of the Transportation and Public Utilities Committee, said then that he hoped the pilot program would be “successful so it can be expanded to include more Philadelphians in the future.”

But the Zero Fare Program has still not been expanded or made permanent, despite local transportation advocates’ efforts. It has, though, been extended through July 2027. On June 11, City Council approved a $7.1 billion city operating budget and a $6.98 billion capital budget for the fiscal year of 2027. SEPTA received $900 million over a five-year plan and $25 million to sustain the Zero Fare program for the next 12 months.

The impact of free transit in Philly

In its first year, the program granted free transit to over 24,000 people, with 90% of participants being automatically enrolled based on their income level. The other 10% were enrolled with the help of community organizations that assist immigrants and refugees. 

Between August 2023 and February 2025, Zero Fare provided more than 6.2 million free SEPTA trips. 

The Urban Institute released a study in May based on interviews with program administrators and community partners, and focus groups with recipients. Here are some of the researchers’ key findings on the program’s effectiveness:

• Users widely reported that free transit reduced financial strain, daily stress, and increased access to work, health care, errands, education, and recreational activities. Many described the benefit as life-changing, particularly those navigating unemployment, low income, disabilities, or caregiving duties.
• Automatic, application-free enrollment led to substantially high participation, and the participation rate among auto-enrollees reached 54.3%. This is higher than most income-based fare programs offered on large U.S. transit systems, which typically serve less than 30% of eligible users.
• Partnerships with trusted community-based organizations were essential for assisting immigrants who are excluded from other public benefits. Enrollment through trusted non-governmental organizations, with minimal documentation, helped folks overcome language barriers, government fear, and logistical constraints.
• The design of eliminating applications supported efficient administration, innovation, and a rapid launch. Using existing administrative data to identify eligible residents shows how data integration can make public programs more user-friendly.
• It increased public trust. Most recipients’ views of SEPTA and city government stayed the same, but sizable minorities said that the Zero Fare program improved their perception of the transit system and made them feel cared for.

Vince Allen, a 77-year-old Germantown resident, says free transportation can have a transformative effect on low-income families. He receives free transit rides under the separate SEPTA Senior Fare Program, designed for residents above the age of 65.

“You open the door for a parent or parents to show their child something different, other than I live in the brickyard, because for some of these people, that’s all they ever know,” Allen says, recalling his own train rides around the city with his daughter. 

“Limited transportation means limited opportunities to branch out, to grow, to get more experience, and to also receive more education. Transportation is the key.”

But he also knows free rides are not enough.

With the city’s budget now approved, Allen would like to see other improvements to assist frequent riders. These include adding more lines in his neighborhood and expanding bus service hours, increasing transit police presence along transit corridors, increasing sanitation service for piled-up trash at bus stops, and improved stationary stands for inclement weather.

“We have a good transit system; it’s just not being managed properly,” Allen says. “Better service, better security, and better access — the three main things I think they need to work on.”

Making Zero Fare permanent

Transit Forward Philadelphia, a coalition of Philly-based organizations advocating to improve transportation in Southeastern Pennsylvania, has been at the forefront of fighting to extend the Zero Fare Program months before the budget announcement.

More than 100 advocates participated in different events throughout this year to take action, including a February rally at City Hall, speaking at council budget hearings, and neighborhood town halls calling for Zero Fare to be funded in the city budget.

“Nearly a year after a 21.5% SEPTA fare increase, transit riders should not have to balance paying for food, medical care, and transit fare,” Transit Forward Philadelphia Coalition Manager Stephen Bronskill said in a press release. 

Getting the Zero Fare Program funded through July 2027 is just the start, he says.

“This budget moves us in the right direction. Now we are committed to advocating for a Transit Access Fund in Philly and a state budget that includes sustainable funding for SEPTA and transit agencies across PA.”

The Transit Access Fund would be a “dedicated local revenue stream” that would go towards making transit free for low-income riders. 

Councilmember At-Large Nicolas O’Rourke has previously proposed a plan to set aside 0.5% of Philadelphia’s general fund for this permanent fund, producing an estimated $34 million to give free SEPTA passes to 60,000 low-income residents over a single fiscal year. That would move the free transit initiative “beyond year-to-year budget fights,” O’Rourke says.

Expanding free transit for students

Advocates have also pushed for the city to provide year-round free transit passes for students, in an effort to make travel to school and other opportunities more accessible.

Nearly 100,000 Philadelphia students in grades 7 to 12 travel to and from school daily. Under SEPTA’s current Student Pass Program, student cards are only valid from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on school days, and only students who live 1.5 miles or farther from their campus are eligible for the cards. That leaves out more than 30,000 secondary students in Philadelphia.

Transit Forward’s Student Fare Coalition has been actively advocating for an expansion of student fare cards so that kids can freely ride during evenings, weekends, and summers. 

In April, Councilmember At-Large Rue Landau presented a resolution for students to have year-round access. City Council approved the resolution, which allows for future hearings on the subject to be held. 

Landau and advocates have also raised concerns about SEPTA and the School District of Philadelphia’s implementation of a fare evasion enforcement pilot program, which aims to crack down on students who attempt to ride SEPTA without paying.

In this program, students are issued a warning and entered into the diversion program if caught evading SEPTA fare on a school calendar day during the active hours of their Student Fare card and can present a valid district ID.

Students have a three-violation maximum before they will be issued an official citation. If a violation happens outside of school calendar days and hours, it will result in an official citation immediately.

Councilmember Landau has criticized this program as counterproductive.

“We should be expanding access for young people in Philly to reach jobs, opportunities, and programs that will help them build their futures, not criminalizing them while they’re taking public transportation.”

Pryce Jamison is Germantown Info Hub’s community engagement reporter and a Next City Equitable Cities Reporting Fellow. He covers Germantown and Philadelphia, with reporting that includes features, news, solution-focused and community-focused stories.