The Morning Newsletter
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Hiya, Philly. The last week of August is already a busy one.
The second full day and first weekday of SEPTA’s reduced schedule was also the first day of school for 117,000 Philadelphia School District students.
Dozens of SEPTA bus routes were cut or shortened, and other routes came less frequently, forced by massive funding deficits and stalled progress on the 2025-26 Pennsylvania budget. Yet while the service cuts were inconvenient for many riders, it didn’t result in the crush-level crowds the transit agency had predicted.
Today’s top stories look at the immediate impact of SEPTA’s austerity measures.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The octogenarian worried about making medical appointments. The teen who woke up an hour early to get to school on a new route. The former Philly resident who learned about reduced service while traveling to a funeral. The workers made late by delayed buses, who then spent big on Ubers — and the single parent who can’t afford Uber, and so had to wait.
Immediate impact: These and scores of other SEPTA riders on Monday bemoaned crowded buses and trains that skipped stops or simply never came. All told, though, the second day of the transit agency’s reduced service was disruptive, not cataclysmic. Things might get worse before they get better.
What local leaders are saying: Philly City Council urged state legislators to get back to the negotiating table for a deal to fund SEPTA, noting that cuts to public transportation in the region could bring economic harm to all of Pennsylvania. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said the city was doing what it could to mitigate the effects of the cuts, but that ultimately, it doesn’t have the power to do much.
Meanwhile, in Harrisburg: Democrats have been opposed to using the Public Transportation Trust Fund to send money to SEPTA, but Gov. Josh Shapiro said he is open to it as part of a broader agreement that includes recurring funding. And as the cuts were hitting many Philadelphians hard on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman — a key figure in state budget negotiations — was hosting a clay-shooting political fundraiser.
A legal challenge: A Philadelphia lawyer said he has been hired by a group of riders to sue SEPTA to halt service cuts.
Final words: Transportation reporter Tom Fitzgerald has been following SEPTA’s plans for months. “I was surprised to find out that it wasn’t the transit apocalypse Monday,” he told me at the end of a hectic day. “But it’s the last week in August. Expect a stress test next week, if it goes that far.”
P.S. Help us report on SEPTA’s service reductions by sharing your stories and observations of the cuts.
The first day of the 2025-26 school year began with good news: The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers had arrived at a tentative three-year contract with the district, eliminating the imminent threat of a strike.
The union didn’t share details of the agreement. Officials previously said they wanted raises, parental leave, and an end to the controversial “3-5-7-9″ policy that imposed penalties on educators for taking their earned sick time.
Students, for their part, told The Inquirer they were excited to begin the new year. Despite the optimism of a fresh start, though, SEPTA’s service reductions still meant complications for the more than 50,000 in the district who take public transportation to school.
Education reporter Kristen A. Graham has more.
What you should know today
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized President Donald Trump on TV. Trump responded by threatening to investigate him.
Sen. Sharif Street is stepping down as Pennsylvania Democratic chair to focus on his run for U.S. Congress. He plans to endorse former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale for the job.
A federal judge Monday dismissed a Philly-area teen’s lawsuit accusing the county’s largest food manufacturers of creating addictive, disease-causing ultra-processed foods.
An Amish patient came to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with unexplained brain swelling. It turned out to be ultrarare genetic disorder that’s far more common in her community.
McGlinchey’s, Center City’s last public smoking bar, closed last Friday after all, following conflicting reports about its future.
Bucks County’s inaugural countywide Police Athletic League program launched this month at the Joe Hand Boxing Gym in Feasterville.
The world’s first Netflix House is opening its doors at the former Lord & Taylor department store at King of Prussia Mall on Nov. 12.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts and seven other Eagles were ranked in the NFL’s Top 100 player rankings for 2025. Plus, the Birds made moves to trim their roster down to 53 players ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. And Jim Murray, general manager of the Eagles’ first Super Bowl team, died Monday at age 87.
Quote of the day
Philadelphia is the “mural capital of the world” thanks in part to Mural Arts’ energetic founder, Jane Golden, who has led the nonprofit for 42 years. The search for her successor begins this fall, ahead of her June 2026 departure.
🧠 Trivia time
There’s another way to taste the flavor of South Philly institution John’s Water Ice. What is the new product?
A) An IPA collab
B) Herr’s speciality chips
C) “Hot” water ice
D) Freeze-dried candy
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and whom) we’re...
🏘️ Learning: Why Pennsylvania is such an expensive place to build new homes.
🦅 Asking: Should Eagles fans be worried about the Madden cover curse?
☎️ Considering: This call to treat swatting like a serious public safety threat.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Chief security officer 🐦
DIM BOG
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Terry Heinrichs, who solved Monday’s anagram: President’s House. An architect who worked on the historical site that’s now under federal review said he is ready to “fight” the Trump administration’s potential exhibit removal next month.
Photo of the day
This is me biking to the office to avoid overcrowded SEPTA buses. See ya tomorrow, however you get there.
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