SEPTA says dump the dollar bill

Most Americans may hate dollar coins, but SEPTA would love to see them replace dollar bills.  

Alfred Outlaw, SEPTA’s Director of Revenue Operations, says dollar bills cost three and a half times as much to process, and sometimes jam up ticket machines.

“As long as that dollar note is out there customers will always use the the note versus that of the coin,” said Outlaw.

SEPTA is trying to get local lawmakers to back legislation to get rid of those paper George Washington’s.  Outlaw says he testified back in the 90’s before Congress on the matter.

“I requested at the time in ’97 as it is did today for the elimination of the dollars note that would certainly force a behavior to use the dollar coin,” he said.

Outlaw says SEPTA is still moving forward with it’s new electronic fare collection system that should cut down on the amount of cash that it handles but that is still several years away.