by Alex Lloyd Gross
Parking is at a premium and some people who are running late cannot find a spot to legally park. So they leave their vehicle near or on trolley tracks. After all,there is no trolley coming and they will only be a minute. That minute turns into five and a trolley is now blocked by that persons vehicle.
Unlike buses, a trolley cannot steer. It cannot maneuver. That means the trolley is stuck until people move their vehicle. It can take a few minutes to maybe 20. It may take longer, and during that time, trolley cars stack up, not able to move. Effective today trolley cars are equipped with a device that can issue tickets to the vehicle owner.
Now AI technology will allow license plates to be captured on camera and the offender gets a ticket.The ticket cost $51.00 according to SEPTA and the Philadelphia Parking Authority, who are running the program.
For the time being, until April 1 2026,tickets are warnings only . Fines start on April 1 2026. Each violation notice is reviewed before being mail, the parking authority said. You can appeal the citation but the excuse of “There was no parking and I was only there for two minutes” is not going to fly.
The program starts March 2nd, 2026, SEPTA trolleys serving Lines T1 through T5, along with the G1 route,