⏳ Transit cuts countdown | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to a hot and sunny Monday, Philly.

If enough state funding doesn’t come through for SEPTA soon, the transit agency says it must begin to implement cuts as soon as this month. Read on for everything we know about how SEPTA service could change on Aug. 24.

And architecture critic Inga Saffron argues that the walling off of Market East’s public spaces, such as the sculpture at 12th and Filbert Streets, will stymie its comeback.

Find these stories and more of the day’s news below.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Pennsylvania still doesn’t have a 2025-26 budget, which means SEPTA still doesn’t know if it’s getting the $168 million proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro — funding it says it needs to maintain current levels of service amid a steep operating deficit.

In the meantime, the transit agency says it must plan to implement a 20% service reduction starting Aug. 24, plus fare increases on Sept. 1. Some of what’s to come, if that plan is enacted:

💰 Fares will increase by 21.5%. That means the cost of a SEPTA Key swipe will rise from $2.50 to $2.90, while a Zone 1 Monthly TransPass will rise from $96 to $116.

🚎 Bus, train, and trolley lines will see less frequency, longer wait times, and possibly overcrowding. Thirty-two bus lines will be eliminated, and routes on 16 others will be shortened.

🚆 Most midday Regional Rail rides will be reduced to intervals of every two hours. Most peak-travel trips will be preserved.

⏳ Then what? After August’s cuts, the next step if more funding isn’t procured would be a deeper round of service reductions beginning Jan. 1, bringing the total to 45% less service than today’s levels.

Transportation reporter Tom Fitzgerald has more details about what SEPTA service could look like in three weeks.

In other getting-around news: East Market Street detours and lane closures start Monday as part of a lengthy construction project involving new curbs, sidewalks, ramps to the street, a sidewalk-level bike lane, and bus stop “bump outs.”

Since the Marriott Hotel fenced off World Park, the sculpture and public space at 12th and Filbert Streets, tourists and Reading Terminal Market customers are unable to access the space or use its benches to rest.

With the fence, Marriott is aiming to address drug use on 12th Street. But the act functionally distances Philadelphians from public art. And, architecture critic Inga Saffron argues, like the locked front entrances of the hotel and other shops around the corner on Market Street, it harms efforts to reinvent the Market East area.

“It’s completely counterproductive,” a public spaces expert told Saffron, of the World Park cage. “So many places have tried the defensive approach, and it hasn’t worked anywhere.”

See Saffron’s suggestions for a fix.

Which Eagles player has been named to Trump’s national sports council?

A) Saquon Barkley

B) Jalen Hurts

C) Lane Johnson

D) Cooper DeJean

Think you know? Check your answer.

🌿 Noting: Five takeaways from our investigation into Pennsylvania’s booming — and unregulated — weed industry.

👀 Comparing: Philly-area nonprofit health system CEOs’ salaries.

☀️ Ranking: The five best seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

🧥 Loving: Guy Gaudreau’s sartorial tribute to his sons, a year after their deaths.

🚇 Considering: How using skill game revenue to fund SEPTA could harm Black communities.

Hint: Iconic play from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “The _ _”

HATCHING MOMENT

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to June Foster, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Walé Oyéjidé. The West Philly filmmaker’s perfect day includes a visit to his barber at Spinning Chairs because “Black men in Philly trust their barbers more than their lawyers and their priests."

Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Maryellen Glackin, who describes childhood bargain shopping:

My fondest shopping memories of being a kid in Philadelphia in the ’50s and ’60s go back to honest to goodness factory stores. BFGoodrich made the rubber soles for Keds sneakers, which they then sold on site at their factory. “Daddy’s Girl” dresses were sold onsite at their Hatboro plant. Rothschild coats were also sold from a Philly factory store. I still remember most of my childhood coats from 60 or so years ago — one for Easter, and one for winter. There were dresses from Nannette in Kensington, which survived long enough for me to buy my own children’s beautiful dresses and suits. And Burlington Coat Factory was an actual coat factory in Burlington, New Jersey. If there was a bargain to be found, my mom found it!

Enjoy your week. I’ll be back with the news tomorrow morning.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.