Philadelphia subway fares
What a ride costs, the four ways to pay, which two of them give you free transfers — and what the fare data does not publish
$2.90 a ride, however far you go
The metro has a flat fare. One ride is $2.90 whether you go two stops or the full length of a line, and it is the same $2.90 with every one of the four ways to pay. There is no zone system on these three lines and no station-to-station price list to look up — which is why this page is short on prices and long on the one rule that does change what a day costs.
That rule is the transfer. Two of the four ways to pay include up to 2 further rides free within 120 minutes; the other two include none at all. On a trip that needs a change of line or a connecting route, the same journey therefore costs $2.90 or $5.80 depending only on what you tapped with.
The four ways to pay, and what each one includes
Same price four times over. The difference is in the transfer column.
| How you pay | A single ride | Transfers included | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contactless bank card or phone | $2.90 | up to 2, free, within 120 min | Tap the card, phone or watch you already carry on the reader at the gate. Nothing to buy and nothing to top up. |
| Reloadable stored-value transit card | $2.90 | up to 2, free, within 120 min | The region's own plastic card, loaded with money and tapped at the gate. The card itself costs extra the first time. |
| Cash at the booth | $2.90 | none | Pay the cashier at the station booth. The exact single fare, with no transfer credit attached. |
| Single-ride paper ticket from the kiosk | $2.90 | none | A one-trip ticket bought from the vending machine in the station. Useful if you are paying for someone else. |
Described by what they are rather than by brand: the two that carry transfers are Contactless bank card or phone and Reloadable stored-value transit card. The two that do not are Cash at the booth and Single-ride paper ticket from the kiosk. Which one actually suits you depends on how long you are here and whether you are paying for anyone else, and that is the whole of the ways to pay page.
How the two-hour transfer actually works
One fare, then up to 2 more rides free for 120 minutes — on two of the four methods.
Pay with one of the two methods that carry it and your fare buys one ride plus up to 2 more within 120 minutes, at no extra charge. The window is generous enough to cover a there-and-back errand, and it is counted in clock time, not in rides: once it closes, the next tap is a new fare.
On this network it matters more than it sounds, because all three places where you can change lines use separate platforms — 15th St/City Hall between the B and the L, 8th-Market between the Ridge Avenue spur and the L, and 69th Street Transit Center between the L and the M. Whether a given change keeps you inside the paid area or sends you back through a gate is not something the data states, so this page does not state it either. What it does tell you is that with the right payment method, a second tap inside the window costs nothing.
What the fare data does not publish
The source carries the single fare and the transfer rule, and stops there. These three are the ones people ask for, and inventing a plausible figure for any of them would cost somebody money.
| What the fare data does not give | Why there is no number here |
|---|---|
| Weekly and monthly passes | Not in the fare data at all — it carries single-ride products and nothing else. If you are here for a week, that is exactly the case where a pass might be cheaper, and exactly the figure this site cannot give you. Ask at a station booth before you commit. |
| Reduced fares for students, seniors and Medicare riders | The reductions exist; the amounts are not in the published fare data. Publishing an approximate reduced fare is worse than publishing none, because somebody turns up at the gate with the wrong money. |
| Regional rail fares | Priced by zone and published in a different dataset from the one behind this site. Regional rail is a different mode and is not covered here — including the ride to the airport. |
Frequently asked questions about fares
On two of the four ways to pay, yes: up to 2 further rides within 120 minutes at no extra charge. On the other two — paying cash at the booth and buying a single paper ticket — there is no transfer credit, and each leg is a full fare. It is the single most expensive detail on this page.
There may well be, and the published fare data does not contain it. What the source gives is the single fare and the transfer rule; passes, weekly and monthly products and reduced fares are not in it. Rather than print a plausible price, this site says so.
Reduced fares exist, and the amounts are not published in the fare data this site reads. Check at a station booth — and note that a reduced fare normally requires the right card or proof, which is also not documented in the data.
No. The fare data publishes one amount, $2.90, with no time-of-day variation on these three lines. What changes with the time of day is how long you wait: see the schedule.
Yes — tapping a contactless bank card, phone or watch is one of the four ways to pay, and it is one of the two that carry free transfers. Nothing to buy and nothing to top up. The ways to pay page compares all four.
No. Regional rail is priced by zone, in a different dataset, and is not part of this site. The $2.90 on this page is the metro fare.