SEPTA Youth Council Launches Campaign for Student Fare Discount

The SEPTA Youth Advisory Council today announced the release of the SEPTA Student Discount Program public support campaign. The campaign, organized through popular petition website Change.org, aims to draw student awareness to the YAC’s longstanding initiative.

“This is an initiative the SEPTA Youth Advisory Council has long desired to implement,” said YAC Executive Chair Jeff Kessler. “After speaking with officials at both SEPTA and area universities, it became apparent everyone is willing to establish such a program. Through this public campaign, our organization seeks to galvanize the support needed to implement such a program.”

The online campaign was posted to the SEPTA YAC website on Sept. 17 and was officially launched at SEPTA’s regularly-scheduled Board Meeting at 3pm this afternoon. “Only a few hours after launch, with very limited publicity, the campaign has already received 150 backers and is growing by the minute. This just goes to show that the people of our region recognize the need and see the value,” Kessler added.

The Student Fare Discount Program was introduced in August 2013. The Public Campaign was developed following a lengthy dialogue with SEPTA Leadership and a survey of Student Government officials. SEPTA YAC Executive Vice-Chair Will Herzog added, “The YAC is committed to identifying and removing barriers that prevent youth from accessing public transportation. This is our chance to remove the most critical barrier.”