Media, PA – To help ensure Pennsylvanians are prepared for the upcoming federal REAL ID enforcement deadline of May 7, 2025, PennDOT announced that it will hold special REAL ID service hours at its Granite Run Driver License Center at 1067 West Baltimore Pike in Media on Dec. 16 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure our customers are prepared for REAL ID enforcement on May 7, 2025,” said PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services, Kara Templeton. “Offering these special hours on a day when the Granite Run center is normally closed gives our customers who may want to get a REAL ID another opportunity to be prepared.”

More than 2.5 million Pennsylvanians have chosen to opt into the REAL ID program. Getting a REAL ID is optional in Pennsylvania, but beginning May 7, 2025, Pennsylvanians will need a REAL ID-compliant license/identification card, or another form of federally acceptable identification (such as a valid passport or military ID) to:

Board domestic commercial flights.

Enter a military base.

Enter certain federal facilities that require a federally acceptable form of ID.

If you’re not sure whether a REAL ID is right for you, our REAL ID online wizard may be able to help.

Federal REAL ID regulations require that PennDOT must verify the below documents:

-Proof of Identity: examples include an original or certified copy of a birth certificate filed with the State Office of Vital Records/Statistics with a raised/embossed seal, or a valid, unexpired U.S. Passport.

-Proof of Social Security Number (proof must display currently legal name and full nine digits of the Social Security Number): examples include a Social Security card, a W-2 form, a SSA-1099 form, a non-SSA-1099 form, or a pay stub.

-Two Proofs of Current, Physical PA Address: examples include a current, unexpired PA driver’s license or identification card, vehicle registration, or a utility bill with the same name and address.

-Proof of all Legal Name Changes (if current legal name is different than what is reflected on proof of identity document): examples include certified marriage certificate(s) issued by the County Court for each marriage, court order(s) approving a change in legal name, or adoption decree issued by your county’s family court.

-Note: If current name is the same as what is reflected on the proof of identity document (usually birth certificate or passport), show proof of legal name change does not need to be shown.

More information about REAL ID document requirements can be found on PennDOT’s REAL ID website.

When a customer gets their first REAL ID product, they will pay a one-time fee of $30, plus the applicable renewal fee (the current renewal fee is $39.50 for a four-year non-commercial driver’s license and $42.50 for a photo ID). The expiration date of their initial REAL ID product will include any time remaining on their existing non-REAL ID product, plus an additional four years, unless the customer is over 65 and has a two-year license. This expiration date structure means that the customer won’t lose time that they’ve already paid for. After the initial REAL ID product expires, the customer will pay no additional fee beyond regular renewal fees to renew a REAL ID product.

After customers present the proper documentation and pay the applicable fee, customers may obtain a REAL ID-compliant product by:

Receiving the product in the mail within 15 days, if application was made at a Driver License Center, such as the Granite Run Driver License Center. Receiving the product over the counter, if application was made at one of PennDOT’s 14 REAL ID Centers.

Customers who received their first Pennsylvania driver’s license, learner’s permit, or photo ID card AFTER September 1, 2003, may already have their REAL ID documentation on file with PennDOT. These customers can apply for REAL ID pre-verification and order their REAL ID-compliant product online.

For a full list of driver license centers, REAL ID Centers, and services offered, please visit the PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services website at www.dmv.pa.gov and click on Find A Location.

For more information on REAL ID, visit PennDOT.pa.gov/REALID. REAL ID is optional for Pennsylvanians, but will be required for domestic air travel and entry to certain federal facilities after the May 7, 2025, deadline. A passport will still be required for international travel.

#PennDOT #RealID #domesticflight #dmv

PHILADELPHIA (November 22, 2024) – Today, Gov. Shapiro announced stop-gap funding that will help SEPTA fill its operating budget deficit for this year, Fiscal Year 2025. This will enable SEPTA to postpone a major 21.5% fare increase that was proposed to start January 1, 2025. Public hearings for the proposal, scheduled for Dec. 13, have been cancelled.

“The governor’s continued support for SEPTA and public transportation is greatly appreciated, and it gives us a lifeline,” said SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer. “SEPTA will continue to focus on providing safe, clean and reliable public transportation while taking steps to cut costs and enhance efficiency throughout the organization.”

The $153 million being flexed to SEPTA at the direction of Gov. Shapiro covers SEPTA’s projected operating budget gap through the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30, 2025. However, SEPTA still faces an annual, structural budget deficit of at least $240 million without a permanent solution to Pennsylvania’s public transportation funding crisis.

Like many other transit agencies across the nation, SEPTA has hit a fiscal cliff as a result of the pandemic. One-time federal COVID relief funds were used to help cover the everyday expenses of running the system – maintaining service during the pandemic and supporting the post-pandemic recovery. Those funds were exhausted this past spring, creating a nearly quarter billion dollar annual budget deficit in the current fiscal year and beyond.

SEPTA’s Board on Thursday approved a plan that will increase fares by an average of 7.5% starting on Dec. 1. That fare increase is not impacted by today’s announcement. The larger, 21.5% proposal was announced recently, after the state legislature adjourned for the year without approving a plan proposed by Gov. Shapiro that would have provided new, sustainable funding for SEPTA and all public transit across the Commonwealth.

SEPTA will continue to work with its funding partners in Harrisburg on a long-term funding solution in the coming months. In the meantime, the Authority will have to prepare for the possibility of large fare increases and service cuts starting in summer 2025 if new funding is not in place.

For more information about SEPTA, please visit https://wwww.septa.org/.

SEPTA announced proposed fare adjustments, including the elimination of a number of discounts, as the Authority faces a $240 million annual budget deficit with the exhaustion of federal COVID relief funds. Complete details on the fare proposal, including fare tables, tariffs and public hearing information are available on SEPTA’s website at https://wwww.septa.org/bulletins/fall-2024-proposed-fare-adjustments/

Public hearings will be held on October 16 at 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Interested individuals will be able to participate in-person, at SEPTA Headquarters, or virtually via WebEx. Individuals may submit comments via email on the proposed fare modifications to operatingbudget@septa.org, provide oral comments via voicemail by calling 215-580-7772, or file written comments by mailing to the Director of Operating Budgets, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 1234 Market St., 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107. To be included in the official public record, comments must be received by Friday, October 18, 2024, at 5:00 PM.  Information on how your constituents can provide comment and feedback is available on the Fall 2024 Proposed Fare Adjustments page on SEPTA’s website.

Pending approval by the SEPTA Board on November 21, these proposed fare adjustments would go into effect on December 1.

SEPTA is reminding customers of the continued phased reinstatement of parking fees at surface lots and parking garages.   Full details – including information on the new parking app – are posted on SEPTA’s website at https://wwww.septa.org/news/parking-fee-reinstatement/.

New SEPTA Park App Now Available for Download –

For added convenience, SEPTA is offering customers multiple options to pay for parking, including the SEPTA Park app, which is now available for download in the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

At Stations, traditional slot boxes are being phased out and replaced with modern pay stations, which are being installed at all surface lots and garages. The new system will provide several convenient options to pay for parking: customers will enter the license plate number to pay for parking, not the space number.  These pay stations will accept credit/debit card, contactless payment (Apple, Google, Samsung Pay) and coins.

Customers should visit the Parking Fee Reinstatement page on SEPTA’s website to see when parking fees resume at their station and to prepare for travel by downloading the SEPTA Park App and learning more about the different ways to pay.

What to Know –

Schedule:

The phased launch began on September 23 and will continue through approximately November 15. Customers can view the complete schedule by visiting https://wwww.septa.org/news/parking-fee-reinstatement/. Stations coming on this week:

+ Monday (10/7): Cornwells Heights Station (Trenton Line)

+ Monday (10/7): Croydon Station (Trenton Line)

+ Monday (10/7): Bethayres Station (West Trenton Line)

+ Monday (10/7): Woodbourne Station (West Trenton Line)

+ Monday (10/7): Philmont Station (West Trenton Line)

+ Wednesday (10/9): Langhorne Station (West Trenton Line)

+ Wednesday (10/9): Somerton Station (West Trenton Line)

+ Wednesday (10/9): Yardley Station (West Trenton Line)

+ Wednesday (10/9): Warminster Station (Warminster Line)

+ Wednesday (10/9): Ardsley Station (Warminster Line)

+ Friday (10/11): Bryn Mawr Station (Paoli Line)

+ Friday (10/11): Haverford Station (Paoli Line)

+ Friday (10/11): Overbrook Station (Paoli Line)

+ Friday (10/11): Radnor Station (Paoli Line)

+ Friday (10/11): Colmar Station (Lansdale/Doylestown Line)

+ Friday (10/11): 69^th Street Transportation Center (Market Frankford [L])

Fees:

·       As part of the reinstatement, daily parking rates at SEPTA-owned surface lots will increase to $2 from $1 and to $4 from $2 at the three garages: Frankford Transportation Center, Norristown, and Lansdal

·       Parking at surface lots will remain free on weekends and major holidays.

Other Tips:

·       Monthly permit parking fees at SEPTA-operated station surface lots and parking garages remain suspended until further notice.

·       All license plates must be visible from the parking aisles.  Customers are instructed to do not back in or pull through.

Collection of parking fees had been suspended for about four years during the pandemic and to attract customers back to the system in recovery.  Ridership on Regional Rail continues to grow, particularly on weekends, and SEPTA is addressing this increased customer demand with service adjustments included in the new Regional Rail schedules that went into effect on September 8.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) invites the public to attend a live virtual public meeting on Thursday, September 19, and/or an in-person public meeting on Thursday, September 26, for the upcoming project to improve travel and safety on Route 352 and U.S. 1 in Middletown Township, Delaware County.

This project includes the reconstruction and reconfiguration of the interchanges of U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike) with Route 352 (Middletown Road) and U.S. 1 (Media Bypass) with Baltimore Pike. The project also includes improvements at the adjacent intersections of U.S. 1 (Baltimore Pike) with Route 452 (Pennell Road), and Route 352 (Middletown Road) with Route 452 (Pennell Road).

As part of PennDOT’s public outreach program, the department encourages the public to attend the live virtual public meeting on Thursday, September 19, beginning at 7:00 PM, by clicking on this Microsoft Live Teams meeting link prior to the presentation start time. The department’s design team will deliver a project presentation before opening the meeting to questions using the platform’s Q&A feature.

Please note that internet access or a computer or mobile device are required to view the virtual meeting. Anyone with special needs or requiring special aid is requested to contact PennDOT Project Manager Madeleine Fausto at 610-205-6848 or Design Project Manager Ryan Binder at 215-861-1687.

Members of the public who are unable to join the online meeting, can attend an in-person public meeting on Thursday, September 26, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Middletown Township Administration Building.  The meeting will be conducted as an Open House Plans Display where citizens will have the opportunity to circulate among the subject displays to gather information and discuss the different facets of the project with PennDOT’s design team.

For more information on the upcoming meetings, project resources and other project information, please visit www.pa352us1delco.com. 

Summer Bus and Metro Schedule Changes in Effect Sunday & Monday, June 16 – 17

New summer schedules for some SEPTA Bus and SEPTA Metro (includes trolleys [T], Market-Frankford Line [L], Broad Street Line [B] & Norristown High Speed Line [M]), take effect Sunday, June 16 and Monday, June 17.

Click here for schedules.