SEPTA cuts may include a 45% service reduction, 21% rate hike. Will it be prevented?

Yahoo

18-04-2025

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state lawmakers in the Philadelphia region are discussing remedies for drastic fare hikes and service cuts in public transit.
Last week, SEPTA announced its proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget. It would, if passed, include an average fare increase of 21.5% and a 45% reduction in service — including the elimination of the Trenton line and two key bus routes in Lower Bucks County.
The large-scale cutbacks outlined in the proposed budget involve the elimination of five regional rail lines and 50 bus routes, workforce reductions, a 9 p.m. curfew for metro and regional rail services, 66 station closures, the elimination of service for special events and a 20% reduction of service to all remaining routes.
While Shapiro has called for using a larger share of the Sales & Use Tax revenue to ward off SEPTA cutbacks, a local Republican lawmaker said his colleagues in the politically divided Legislature may favor a new skill games tax instead. State Sen. Frank Farry, R-06, Langhorne, said this alternate tax proposal would fund both public transit and road maintenance projects across Pennsylvania.
On April 11, Philadelphia-area elected officials, riders and workers gathered at City Hall in Philadelphia for a rally and press conference organized by Transit Forward Philly, a coalition of public transit advocates.
The event, which was held in partnership with Transit 4 All PA and the chairs of the House and Senate Philadelphia delegation, called on Pennsylvania lawmakers to 'allocate the necessary funds to support transit systems all across the Commonwealth.'
Facing a $213-million budget deficit, SEPTA said its funding crisis is not unlike what other transit agencies are dealing with across Pennsylvania. It cited the end of federal COVID relief funding, plus the increased cost of fuel, power and supplies, as reasons for its situation.
'In all 67 counties of the Commonwealth, public transportation provides critical access for our elders, youth, disabled community members, and households without access to a personal vehicle,' Transit Forward Philly said in a release following SEPTA's announcement.
'Transit systems statewide are hitting a funding 'cliff,' which would devastate communities already suffering under similar cuts enacted over the past several years due to funding austerity.'
In response to SEPTA's proposed service cuts, Shapiro reiterated the need to pass the 2025-2026 state budget plan he introduced in February.
Shapiro's spending plan proposes increasing the state's mass transit funds by $292.5 million by upping the percent of Sales and Use Tax receipts that go to the Public Transportation Trust Fund from 7.68% to 9.43%.
'For two years in a row, I have proposed a commonsense plan to support mass transit all across the Commonwealth and last December, I flexed funding to give the legislature more time to come to the table," Shapiro said in a statement April 10.
"The state House has passed my proposal three times and plans to do so again next month — it is now squarely on the state Senate to come to the table and pass more funding for mass transit that their own constituents rely on."
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As the state budget plan undergoes deliberations ahead of the June 30 deadline, Farry is looking at a different solution to create what he said would provide a new source of stable revenue for transportation needs across Pennsylvania.
In an interview April 14, Farry said he's working on a draft to reintroduce Senate Bill 1142, a proposal he presented last year to address the lack of skill gaming regulations and impose a 52% tax on skill game revenue.
Last year's bill, however, didn't make it past a Senate committee, clashing with a similar proposal from state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, Lycoming, that would instead levy a tax rate of just 16% on skill game revenue.
Despite the ongoing divide over skill game regulations, Farry remains hopeful that the new draft will garner support from both sides of the aisle.
'We have worked very diligently in developing something that I feel would have not only the votes from both the Democrats and Republicans, and that the governor would be willing to sign, but also to come up with something functional that would actually work,' he said.
Bipartisan co-sponsors of the bill, he said, will include: state Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-2, Philadelphia; state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, R-24, Berks/Montgomery; and state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-42, Allegheny.
Farry said they've projected that the proposed skill game tax will generate an estimated $1 billion in additional revenue, half of which he said would be allocated towards transportation funding.
By addressing road maintenance, and intersection and bridge improvements, in addition to public transportation, he feels the bill will have broader appeal to lawmakers across the commonwealth.
'Pennsylvania is a very diverse state, where we're suburban, urban and rural. For those that don't have robust transit systems in their district, they're going to have different priorities. So, I don't think they're going to want funds redirected towards something that doesn't benefit their district,' Farry said.
'But with this bill, some of the revenue would benefit these districts without mass transit, because it also goes to benefit roads and bridges. That's why I think my solution is a more global solution for the commonwealth.'
And while Farry isn't opposed to the Shapiro's proposal to increase the percentage of Sales and Use Tax going toward the Public Transportation Trust Fund, he said the plan's diversion of funds could be a problem for some.
'I look at that as a Plan B because we have an opportunity to generate new revenue and not at the expense of our taxpayers. We have an opportunity to have a new funding stream that could address this problem. And personally, I think that's where our focus should be,' he said.
Farry added that he hopes to reintroduce his bill in the next few weeks.
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Continued funding to support vehicular traffic is also laid out in Shapiro's 2025-2026 state budget plan, which outlines a shift in Motor License Funds over the next five years to provide the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation an additional $750 million for road and bridge construction and maintenance projects.
The added allocations come as a result of an already approved phase out the Pennsylvania State Police's reliance on the Motor License Funds.
'My budget delivers to keep our mass transit running all across our commonwealth. And while we're at it, let's deliver more funding for roads and bridges, especially in our rural communities, so we can continue that progress, too,' Shapiro said during his budget address to the general assembly in February.
'Whether you're a mom in Mantua, McKeesport or in Manheim, you deserve a transportation network that gets you to work and home in time for dinner safely.'
Budget talks are currently underway, with 11 weeks remaining to reach an agreement on the plan before the June 30 deadline.
Reporter Michele Haddon covers local news, small business, food and drink, economic revitalization, art and culture for The Intelligencer and Bucks County Courier Times at PhillyBurbs.com. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsylvania public transit is in crisis, according to advocates