SEPTA to begin charging for parking at all Regional Rail lots

SEPTA plans to convert seven Regional Rail stations with free parking to paid lots.

The change will come to the Woodbourne, Bristol, Wissahickon, Ivy Ridge, Miquon, Conshohocken, and Levittown stations, the transportation agency said. The seven stations' lots combined have 1,500 parking spots.

Parking costs are expected to begin in the seven lots in 2019 to coincide with a parking fare increase systemwide and the installation of devices that can accept SEPTA's fare card, the Key, as payment for parking.

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The lots that don't charge for parking are being converted to create uniformity across the system, said Andrew Busch, a SEPTA spokesperson.

Parking at 146 SEPTA stations now costs $1 a day, or $20 for a monthly permit. That will increase to $1.25 a day and $25 for a month, a bump up the agency approved in 2017.

The Regional Rail stations have a combined 25,000 parking spaces, which generated about $4.8 million in revenue for SEPTA in the most recent fiscal year.

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The new parking payment systems will accept payment with cash, debit, and credit cards, along with the Key card's travel wallet function, Busch said. A person parking will have to stop in a space and enter the parking spot's number into the payment device before paying.

SEPTA has not established when it will begin charging for all its parking lots, other than to say it will happen some time in the next year. The agency will give drivers at least 60 days' notice of the changes to the cost of parking, Busch said.