Rally calls on Pennsylvania government to fully fund SEPTA after service cuts, fare increases announced
One day after potential SEPTA service cuts and fare increases were announced as part of the transit agency's "doomsday" budget, riders and local officials called on the Pennsylvania government to provide enough funding to keep trains, trolleys and buses running without disruption in the city of Philadelphia and around the region.
SEPTA has a $213 million funding gap in its budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins July 1. That amount is what's needed to maintain the current level of service with only slight fare increases.
With that money not currently guaranteed by the Pennsylvania budget, SEPTA's budget proposal unveiled Thursday called for a 45% service reduction and the eventual closure of five Regional Rail lines and one subway line, conversion of two trolley lines to bus routes, the elimination of 50 bus routes, and 20% service cuts on remaining routes.
There would also be a 9 p.m. curfew for metro transportation, limiting SEPTA's ability to transport visitors to concerts, sporting events and other entertainment.
Just a day after the budget was announced, riders and state and local officials gathered at City Hall to protest the potential service cuts and demand a permanent yearly funding increase for SEPTA.
"We owe it to the Pennsylvanians that live in our cities who take mass transit, to make it available and reliable for them and their families," PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said at the rally.
Advocates are concerned about what the proposal could mean for people in Philadelphia who use public transportation to get to and from work or school. Many said the impact of the cuts, if implemented, would be devastating.
"For us, SEPTA is more than transportation. It's how we access our educations. It's how we get to our extracurriculars, our jobs, and it's how we got here," said Jacob Nissley, a student at the Academy at Palumbo school in Bella Vista. "For us, SEPTA is a key to our independence in this city."
Gov. Josh Shapiro has tried to fund transit through a tax on skill games, but he and state Senate Republicans could not reach a deal. Shapiro said the measure passed the House three times.
On Thursday, he said he's hoping he can work with the legislature on a solution. The proposed cuts would be "devastating — but they're completely avoidable," he said in a social media post.
The Senate Republican leader Joe Pittman, meanwhile, said Harrisburg should not be fully on the hook for SEPTA's entire need.
"But the state cannot be left fully footing such a large transit increase," Pittman said in part Thursday in an emailed statement. "Given their own struggle with a structural deficit, I believe SEPTA should have an appreciation for our commonwealth's fiscal deficit and come to the table with more modest requests."
