SEPTA Senior Director of Budgets and Transformation Erik Johanson said at a public hearing on Monday that the agency plans to end the free parking offered to bring riders back after the pandemic.

The changes will apply to SEPTA-owned lots and garages if their budget proposal is accepted.

“Following four years of free parking offered to help attract customers back to the system following the COVID-19 pandemic, SEPTA will reinstate parking fees this fiscal year, moving daily fees to $2 for surface lots and $4 for garages,” Johanson said, as quoted by KYW Newsradio.

The SEPTA board will consider the fee reinstatement at its June meeting. The agency is also considering options to use updated technology for payment methods. At present, payees must push quarters through a slot in a metal box assigned to a space number.

The current $1.7 billion operating budget proposal would increase spending on police, cleaning, and drivers.

The announcement comes on the heels of a late-May announcement that SEPTA’s board approved its first comprehensive bus service overhaul in six decades.

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Photo: iSEPTAPhilly.com