FAQs Commuter FAQs
Student Passes
Full-time Penn students may purchase a PennPass for specific service zones for semester-long discounted travel on SEPTA. The basic PennPass offers unlimited weekday travel within the City and unlimited weekend travel anywhere within the SEPTA regional transit system. If you live a distance from campus or have other reasons to use SEPTA frequently, a PennPass can save you money.
The Student PennPass is a semester-based transpass or trailpass for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the mass transit system for the Philadelphia region. Students may visit Campus Express Online to sign up.
A PennPass offers unlimited discounted travel within specific zones. If you plan to explore the Philadelphia region via public transportation or, if you plan to regularly commute to campus using SEPTA, then the PennPass would be more convenient and economical than purchasing single trips. For students who only plan to occasionally use public transportation, day passes may be a better option. Day passes are available through Septakey.org or on the SeptaKey app and are loaded onto your SeptaKey.
You may travel on any of SEPTA's buses, subways or trolleys within the city during the week, and you may travel SEPTA's entire mass transit system on weekends with the City Pass. Other zones will allow you to travel further on SEPTA's systems.
Click here to see the price of the current semester pass.
To buy a PennPass, simply fill out the online application on Campus Express. Paper passes have been transitioned to SeptaKey so pick-ups are no longer necessary. Closely follow all instructions on the Campus Express website when applying for your PennPass. You may still choose to use your Student Financial Services Account or credit card for payment.
PennPasses are semester passes and follow the opening and closing dates of each the Fall and Spring semesters. You will need to purchase a pass for each semester, if necessary. Please check Campus Express for the current dates.
You can visit the SEPTA Travel Center @ Penn located in the Penn Bookstore. Or visit the SEPTA website or call (215) 580-7800.
SEPTA will refund unused trips as funds onto your SEPTA Key Travel Wallet, regardless of your original payment method. These funds can only be used from your Travel Wallet or to purchase a replacement pass directly from SEPTA. These funds do not expire. Please note that you are only allowed to purchase one PennPass per semester, no exceptions.
Should you lose your SEPTA Key or if it is stolen, log on to septakey.org and hotlist the missing card. You must purchase a new SEPTA Key and get a new Reference ID number per the Campus Express instructions. You can use septakey.org to complete a card to card transfer which will transfer everything from your missing card to your new card.