Latest news with #ZeroFare
CBS News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Program providing free SEPTA rides for Philadelphia employees to continue
A program offering free SEPTA rides for city workers in Philadelphia will continue, and another providing free rides for lower-income residents will likely keep going as well, Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration said Wednesday, after she faced backlash over her proposed 2026 budget cutting funding for the programs. Zero Fare, a two-year pilot program that provides free SEPTA rides to people who live near the poverty line, appeared to be on the chopping block based on Parker's proposed $6.7 billion budget . The program benefits 25,000 low-income residents in Philadelphia. Parker also initially proposed cutting funding for another program, SEPTA Key Advantage, serving 15,000 city employees. The mayor says now that the program will continue through the next fiscal year. "As I have said, the SEPTA Key Advantage Program is an important benefit which enables many city employees to stretch their paychecks," Parker said in an emailed statement. "I am pleased to announce that the SEPTA Key Advantage program will continue in its present form in fiscal year 2026, which starts July 1." Parker's administration said the mayor and SEPTA are discussing extending the Zero Fare program through 2026. According to the administration, the city has provided SEPTA $15 million above its match requirement in its fiscal year 2025 and will continue to do so in 2026. The administration said it is negotiating with SEPTA to use that money to extend the Zero Fare program. "This extension would allow the city and SEPTA to review and implement findings from the William Penn Foundation-funded program evaluation expected in spring 2026," the Parker administration wrote in a press release. The reversal comes after the Parker administration faced criticism from city councilmembers and the community. In late March, Councilmember Nicolas O'Rourke said the program was "being zeroed out this year." Nearly 700 people signed a petition urging the mayor and city council to save the program. Two SEPTA riders told CBS News Philadelphia that the decision was "really disastrous" and "doing people of low-income housing injustice." Zero Fare participants recorded more than 6.6 million trips from its beginning through mid-March 2025 with an average of 100,000 per week, SEPTA said.
CBS News
26-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Program offering free SEPTA rides to low-income Philadelphians on chopping block
A program benefiting 25,000 low-income residents in Philadelphia could soon come to an end. Zero Fare is a two-year pilot program that gives free SEPTA bus , train, trolley and Regional Rail rides to people who live near the poverty line. But it appears the city is not planning to renew the program when it runs out of funds in June, based on Mayor Cherelle Parker's proposed budget for 2026 . "I think that's really disastrous," SEPTA rider Jenny Hourihan from Fairmount said. "These are people who need to get around." Philadelphia Councilmember Nicolas O'Rourke is fighting to keep the program, which he said costs about $30 million a year. "It is being zeroed out this year," O'Rourke said. "That is troubling to myself and those of us who are committed to pushing forward on actual programs that attack poverty." Zero Fare participants have recorded more than 6.6 million trips on SEPTA as of mid-March 2025, with an average of 100,000 trips per week, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said. "I understand [Parker] is trying to move money around to help the epidemic that's in Philadelphia, but I also feel as though it's doing people of low-income housing injustice," SEPTA rider Eric Towles from Northeast Philadelphia said. So far more than 200 people have signed a petition urging Parker and City Council to save the program. "Other cities such as L.A., Seattle, Boston, New York have similar programs to this and have done it for a longer time," Nicholas Crosbie, transit organizer for Transit Forward Philly, said. "Especially if you're a low-income earner, it's entirely unfair to pay even more out of your income." CBS News Philadelphia reached out to the mayor's office for comment but is still waiting for a response. The threat comes as SEPTA faces a $240 million budget shortfall. "SEPTA will continue to work in close coordination with the city of Philadelphia on the Zero Fare pilot program," the transit agency said in a statement. "We look forward to seeing the results of the city's formal evaluation of this initiative."
