If you’re planning to buy a SEPTA pass to the Eagles parade on Feb. 8, you’re already out of luck.
As of Wednesday morning, a day after some 50,000 of them went on sale, Independence Passes allowing travelers to ride the Regional Rail and any other ticketed SEPTA transit anywhere within the system for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl victory parade were completely sold out by 1 p.m. Wednesday, SEPTA confirmed.
Hundreds of people were seen lining up to buy the tickets within hours of the announcement on Tuesday that only a limited quantity of the tickets would be sold.
A handful were on sale on Philly Craigslist by 8 a.m. Wednesday. That number had doubled by 10 a.m., with some of the originally $10 Independence Passes (a special discount, down from $13), on sale for up to $100 each and even a monthly Trailpass being scalped.
“I have 4 extra Individual Independence Passes ready for hand delivery on Wednesday,” one scalper wrote on Craigslist. “Cash only … Warning, the rail lines are running on a limited schedule with limited stops and the Independence Pass does not guarantee a spot on a train.”
Bird-lovers won’t need to pay to use the Market-Frankford or Broad Street on Thursday. Those are free all day and night, courtesy of Independence Blue Cross.
But Independence Passes and regular Trailpasses will be the only fares accepted at Regional Rail stations, in order to not overburden the transit system, according to GM Jeffrey Knueppel. (Individual Regional Rail passes will not be accepted).
Several stations will be closed, including City Hall Station, and the entire Bala Cynwyd and Chestnut Hill West lines, and all Regional Rail service will end at 9 p.m. Thursday.
All in all, SEPTA is expecting to transport roughly half a million people on Thursday while operating at max capacity all day long. That’s only 25 percent of the total estimated crowd of some two million.
