SEPTA executes 10th change order on SEPTA Key

The SEPTA Board is expected to authorize the transit authority’s 10th change order on its contract to develop and implement SEPTA Key, the long delayed new fare payment system. Change orders are essentially amendments or extensions to an existing contract, which either expand or modify the underlying project’s scope of work.

This change order authorizes another $4,799,800 in payment to ACS/Xerox Transport Solutions, Inc., who was awarded the SEPTA Key bid back in November 2011. With other change orders, the total cost of SEPTA Key is now $140.6 million. The original contract listed total costs at $129.5 million.

This change order did not state when SEPTA Key may be activated. The authority has been installing kiosks and card readers in vehicles and stations across the system. SEPTA Key will activate first on buses, subways and trolleys. A few months later, SEPTA will activate the new fare system on its regional rail system.

SEPTA is the only transit system servicing a major American city still using tokens.

To date, SEPTA Key is more than two years past schedule. Even before the contract was awarded, the project incurred numerous delays and setbacks.