SEPTA’s budget crisis continued this week as officials announced a postponement of the Bus Revolution initiative and the state Senate’s top Republican praised the agency for a planned 29% fare enhance.
“Without the prospect of a statewide solution to help fund the day-to-day operating expenses of public transportation systems, SEPTA has no choice but to… postpone implementation [the] “A new bus network — setting aside years of feedback from thousands of riders across the region on how to make the system more usable,” the agency said in a Thursday email to key SEPTA customers.
SEPTA claims that the redesign, approved in May after two years of planning and over 200 public meetings, it would simplify the bus system, reduce the number of routes from 125 to 106, enhance their reliability, and offer 30% more “frequent” routes that run at least every 15 minutes during daylight hours.
The changes were expected to start rolling out next summer, but the transportation authority is putting the plan on hold as budget shortfalls force it to sharply enhance ticket prices and consider significant service cuts that could result in rail closures and fewer trips on various modes in including buses.
After federal pandemic aid runs out, SEPTA faces a $240 million annual deficit. It plans two price increases that will raise ticket prices by about 29% by January 1, and service reductions could begin later in 2025.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed allocating more sales tax revenue to transit, including $161 million more annually for SEPTA. But the Republican-led Senate refused to take up the proposal, with some members arguing that any spending enhance should be covered by modern revenues.
At a Wednesday news conference in Harrisburg, Senate Republican leaders said their refusal to enhance funding was beneficial because it forced SEPTA to find other ways to balance its budget, they claim a transcript of their comments posted on X by Spotlight PA reporter Stephen Caruso.
“If we just went all in and jumped into the pot with 100% of what they asked for at the very beginning, would that lead to any of the reforms that many people, even internally at SEPTA, would tell you needed to be done?” said state Senate President Scott Martin, a Republican representing Lancaster County.
It’s unclear exactly what reforms Martin was talking about, but they apparently include higher tariffs or “rates.”
“Whether it’s the rates, whether it’s the look of the routes, whether the routes are underutilized… I give them credit for actually moving in that direction and I think it shows a willingness on their part to work with us,” Martin said.
“What SEPTA is doing in terms of bringing more dollars through transit and making sure they work efficiently is something that we absolutely need to continue in the coming months as well,” said Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman.
When Caruso asked about SEPTA officials’ comments that they would have to put “reforms” on hold due to lack of funding, Pittman ended the hearing.
SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer said this week that fare increases and possible service reductions are expected to lead to a 23% decline in ridership and a potential “death spiral” of dwindling revenue and further reductions in service.
Pittman also focused on the need to bring “law and order” to SEPTA and said that with the election of a modern Republican attorney general, Dave Sunday, “we are absolutely confident that SEPTA has that enforcement capability. Because I don’t care what the rates are, if people don’t feel safe using the system, they won’t use it.”
SEPTA and Philadelphia saw a spike in crime during the pandemic, which has since largely subsided. The transit agency reports that in the first nine months of 2024, grave crimes in the system were down 34% compared to the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, ridership is recovering from a pandemic-driven decline and is now at 82% of pre-pandemic levels, Chief Planning and Strategy Officer Jody Holton said this week.
In transcribed remarks, Senate President pro tempore Kim Ward said any enhance in funding would also have to cover the needs of many counties in Pennsylvania that have little or no transportation.
“There are things we need across the commonwealth, not just public transit and SEPTA. We have roads and bridges that most of us have in the neighborhoods we serve. So there may be a compromise. I hope so,” she said.
Some Republicans have discussed paying for increased transportation funding with a modern tax on video game machines. Lawmakers Shapiro and Democrats have said they would support such a plan, but Senate Republicans are divided over the tax amount and have not introduced legislation to create one.
