HARRISBURG — Service cuts took hold Sunday for the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in greater Philadelphia as state lawmakers remain entrenched along partisan lines on how to end a budget stalemate and fund mass transit across the commonwealth.
The transit system is mired by financial straits. It’s stuck in a $213 million budget deficit. Gov. Josh Shapiro bucked legislative Republicans last November when he flexed $153 million in federal highway money that bought time for SEPTA passengers, but not enough.
Pennsylvania’s budget remains delayed and Shapiro’s request for more state transit funding lingers. In turn, SEPTA instituted a 20% service reduction as of Sunday, eliminating 32 bus routes and reducing trips on all metro rail lines, including the Sports Express popular for traveling in the city to Phillies and Eagles games.
Fare increases averaging 21.5% for all riders go into effect Sept. 1, raising the base fare for Bus and Metro trips to $2.90. Cuts to regional rail lines begin Sept. 2, and additional cuts of up to a combined 45% could begin in January.
Geographic exceptions aside, legislative Democrats and Republicans are split along partisan lines on both transit funding and the state budget as a whole.
The House Democratic majority’s proposals to enact a $50.6 billion budget and fund transit through a larger cut of the state sales tax — plus up to $600 million for road and bridge projects — were rejected by the Senate Republican majority.
A flat-funded $47.6 billion budget and a transit plan to use a portion of capital infrastructure funding for transit and highway infrastructure, offered by Senate Republicans, was rejected by House Democrats.
Without resolution, the SEPTA service cuts arrived with fare hikes looming. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported extensively Monday about transit passengers stranded at bus stops, jammed into crowded buses and waiting hopefully at stops for late-arriving transportation to work, doctors’ appointments and more.
Monday was also the city public school system’s first day of the new school year, with an estimated 50,000 students, or about 25% of the system’s total enrollment, relying on public transit to get to school.
The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia on Sunday issued a statement urging state lawmakers to get behind the Senate’s proposal and fund transit temporarily.
Citing that statement, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, posted on X, urging the same: “There is no need to create unnecessary challenges for @SEPTA riders, including school children. @GovernorShapiro you can (get stuff done) and provide immediate relief for mass transit by using PTTF funds.”
Shapiro posted his own statement on social media, calling mass transit “a lifeline” for people in all 67 counties, not just Philadelphia.
“Like you, I’m extremely frustrated it’s not done yet. But it’s also why I’ll stay at the negotiating table, working to bring Democrats and Republicans in our divided Legislature together, until we get the job done,” Shapiro wrote.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Delaware/Philadelphia, posted a clip from an interview with NBC Philadelphia in which she said House Democrats acquiesced to accountability and transparency measures sought by Senate Republicans.
“We included those measures (on accountability and transparency), hoping to reach compromise, unfortunately, it hasn’t happened yet. But, we are prepared to return as soon as we get a deal,” she said.
Neither chamber is currently scheduled to return until next month, though members of both remain on call should a budget and transit deal come to fruition.
“The Senate advanced a mass transit and transportation infrastructure bill earlier this month, which would have prevented any of SEPTA’s cuts. The use of excess money in the Public Transportation Trust Fund is a responsible approach to address transportation needs across PA right now, while respecting taxpayers and ensuring safety and accountability in transit operations,” Senate Republican Majority Leader Joe Pittman said in a statement Monday. “House Democrats, whose leadership hails from the SEPTA region, immediately rejected the plan. They should reconsider. Negotiations continue as we work to reach consensus on a final budget product that puts our commonwealth on a stable spending path for future years.”