Drivers brace for slower commutes in Philadelphia area due to SEPTA service cuts

CBS News

4 hours ago

Traffic in the Philadelphia region is about to get a lot worse. Due to the SEPTA funding crisis, hundreds of thousands of additional vehicles could hit the roads, according to experts, turning already slow commutes into a daily grind.
Drivers like Ryan O'Hara, who makes private ride pickups in Philadelphia from Bucks County, say traffic is already a daily struggle.
"It just takes a really long time. The slow-down rate basically starts at Cottman (Avenue) and runs all the way to 676," he said.
O'Hara added that construction on I-95 already forces him to wake up an hour early — and with SEPTA reductions on the way, he might face even more traffic.
"I'm assuming if that gets worse, then I'll have to leave even earlier, which means I have to get up even earlier, which sucks," he said.
Soon, there could be 275,000 additional vehicles on the road across Philadelphia and surrounding counties, according to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. The regional planning agency tracks data relating to the sustainability and livability of the nine-county Greater Philadelphia area between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Matthew Gates, associate director of travel trends and forecasts at DVRPC, explained that his team uses travel models to project how reduced transit service will impact the region.
"We maintain a travel forecasting model that looks at demographic data, land use, employment types and vehicle ownership," he said. "We simulate trips for work, shopping, recreation and freight and then figure out how people will get from origin to destination — whether by car, transit, bike or walking. It allows us to predict where congestion will appear and how travel times will change."
DVRPC travel models project that the service cuts will result in 18% longer commutes on I-95 southbound from Academy Road to Vine Street Expressway and 20% longer on the Schuylkill Expressway eastbound, from U.S. 422 to Girard Avenue.
Gates also noted the broader economic impacts.
"Forty percent of Pennsylvania's freight moves through central or southeast Pennsylvania," Gates said. "Increased highway congestion could lead to higher prices for some goods, and trucking companies may try to find alternate routes or locations for warehouses."
Uber and Lyft driver Yassir Hamed said congestion is already cutting into his earnings.
"It's many drivers now — not like before," he said.
He says if he's caught in traffic, it'll mean he is only able to make six or seven rides in a shift, as opposed to ten. He says that'll amount to hundreds of dollars in lost weekly income, which he uses to support his family overseas.
Gates added that the impacts extend beyond Pennsylvania.
"Some roadways in New Jersey would actually have higher traffic volumes with the SEPTA cuts, especially I-295 and the Jersey Turnpike," he said. "With the elimination of the Wilmington and Trenton lines, a lot more traffic is going to be on I-95. Because I-95 becomes more congested, some drivers may shift to the Jersey Turnpike to avoid going through Philadelphia entirely."
Compounding the issue, DVRPC projects worsening conditions across the suburban counties. For example, in Chester County, DVRPC modeling predicts that delays on U.S. 202 could rise by 40% with the loss of the Paoli/Thorndale Regional Rail line.
As drivers like O'Hara and Hamed brace for longer trips and tighter margins, O'Hara says he wishes lawmakers would find a way to fund the transit agency.
"Get it done," he said. "It's not that hard."