Philly teens advocate for universal free student SEPTA passes | Local News | phillytrib.com – phillytrib.com

Philly teens advocate for universal free student SEPTA passes | Local News | phillytrib.com  phillytrib.com

Ciera Drayton, 14, just started high school but already knows the stress of daily commuting. She lives in South Philadelphia but attends Mercy Career and Technical School on the north A SEPTA bus rolls in Center City. Starting April 16, drivers who park illegally in bus zones in Center City will receive a warning. And on May 7, drivers will begin to receive tickets, officials announced Monday. —TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO Ciera Drayton, 14, just started high school but already knows the stress of daily commuting. She lives in South Philadelphia but attends Mercy Career and Technical School on the north side. She wakes up at 5 a.m. every day and uses her student SEPTA pass to take two buses, the 47 and 60, to arrive at school around 7:30 a.m.

Her commute can be crowded and chaotic, and paying for public transit is yet another challenge. Her mother had a baby just as the school year began, and finances are tighter than ever, she said. But free SEPTA rides are limited depending on the day, time and number of rides — limitations that she said are unrealistic to teenagers’ lives. “I feel like we don’t stop being kids after 8 p.m. We don’t stop being students after Friday,” Ciera said. That’s why she and other youth, along with adult community