Special train passes for the weekend of Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia aren't as big a hit as expected.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said Tuesday that about 20,000 of the commuter rail tickets remained unsold after a much-anticipated lottery.
SEPTA put the passes on sale through an online lottery. It said it received requests for 328,045 passes during Monday's one-day sale. The agency capped ridership at 175,000 for each day of Francis' Sept. 26-27 visit. That means 350,000 passes were available.
Even more the the nearly 22,000 passes could go unsold if people don't complete the sale after receiving a confirmation email.
People signed up through the lottery will have three days to complete the purchase. If they miss the deadline, someone else will be selected.
Overwhelming demand last week crashed a SEPTA website and forced a halt to ticket sales.
SEPTA limited papal visit service to select stations.
