Barring a last-minute deal, the mass transit agency, which serves 800,000 riders daily in the greater Philadelphia region, will institute a 20% reduction in all services on Aug. 24, and fare increases on Sept. 1.
Six weeks after the constitutionally-mandated deadline for state lawmakers to deliver a budget, a standoff between the two chambers seems as intractable as ever.
And barring a last-minute deal, SEPTA (The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) will move forward Thursday with planned cuts to service and fare hikes later this month. The reductions could impact up to 800,000 people who use the transit system daily in the greater Philadelphia region.
Earlier this month, SEPTA set an Aug. 14 deadline to receive additional funding from the state. The transit agency says it is facing a $213 million budget deficit, prompting the service cuts.
SEPTA will cut all services by 20%, eliminating 32 bus routes, shortening 16 others, and reducing service on 88 bus, Metro, and Regional Rail lines. All special services, including the Sports Express, would end. The agency will also institute a 9 p.m. curfew on remaining Metro and Regional Rail services.
As of now, the potential changes are slated to go into effect Sunday, Aug. 24.
Starting Sept. 1, fares will increase by 21.5%, with pay-per-ride fares rising to $2.90. The cost of a Monthly TransPass would jump from $96 to $116.
SEPTA also plans to impose a complete hiring freeze later this month.
Another wave of service cuts is expected to take effect Jan. 1, 2026, including the elimination of five Regional Rail lines along with 18 bus routes in an effort to achieve an overall 45% reduction in service, according to SEPTA.
For a complete list of all potential service eliminations and changes, as well as fare increases, click here.
Gov. Josh Shapiro made funding mass transit agencies in the state a priority in his new budget, but lawmakers in Harrisburg continue to haggle over Shapiro’s proposed economic plan.
The Democratic-majority state House has tried to pass legislation on multiple occasions that would have raised the share of the state’s sales tax that goes to transit funding, although the bill did not pass in the GOP-majority Senate.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved a Republican-backed plan to fund the state’s mass transit agencies for the next two years, providing about $300 million from state gaming revenue. The bill would also take money from a fund for public transit to spend on roads and bridges. House Democrats shot down that proposal Wednesday.
Public transportation entities in rural, suburban, and urban areas get money from the Public Transportation Trust Fund earmarked separately for operations and capital.
Under the Senate’s plan from Tuesday, they could transfer some of those capital funds to pay for operations. But according to SEPTA general manager Scott Sauer, the Republican-backed bill would not have staved off the cuts.
“The use of capital dollars for operating does not solve our problem,” Sauer told the House Rules Committee Wednesday afternoon. “It creates a new one.”
Namely, delaying crucial operating initiatives, he said.
Among the projects that SEPTA says they fund with the money that would have gone to their operating budget is one focused on long-term train car modernization. Some of their regional rail cars are more than 50 years old, and, according to Sauer, have led to fires and potentially unsafe conditions for riders. The multi-year replacement project is expected to cost around $1.8 billion over roughly 10 years, according to Sauer.
They’d also have to increase fares—unless they can get a waiver—in line with the Consumer Price Index next year, in 2027 and then biannually. SEPTA and Pittsburgh Regional Transit would face more stringent accountability and performance requirements as well.
The bill has criminal justice components, too, including making the SEPTA special prosecutor role permanent and cracking down on drug dealing and assaults on operators.
Keystone senior newsletter editor Patrick Berkery contributed to this report.
