SEPTA teaming up with Uber in bid to ease parking crunch

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority wants to see if Uber can help boost ridership and ease a parking crunch.

SEPTA riders using Uber this summer to or from 11 Regional Rail stations surrounding Philadelphia will get 40 percent off the cost of their Uber ride. The discount can be no more than $10 a trip.

SEPTA’s business innovation director Erik Johanson tells The Philadelphia Inquirer (https://bit.ly/25gpUjz ) the pilot program is designed to test whether a lack of parking is suppressing rail ridership.

Uber describes the deal as one of the most significant partnerships between the company and a transportation agency in the country.

The Glenside, Jenkintown-Wyncote, Elkins Park, Melrose Park, Warminster, Doylestown, Lansdale, Woodbourne, Swarthmore, Wayne and Exton stations reported 2.8 million passenger boardings in 2015.

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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, https://www.inquirer.com