SEPTA service restoration is a short-term win | Editorial
The decision to shift capital funding to save operations does not prevent the collapse transit leaders have been warning about for years; it simply delays it.
SEPTA’s service restoration represents a much-welcome win for all those who depend on transit to go about their daily lives, but it is a loss for anyone who wants public transportation to thrive in Pennsylvania.
On Friday, SEPTA requested $400 million in additional operating funds from PennDot’s Public Transportation Trust Fund to avoid service reductions for the next two years. The decision to shift capital funding to save operations does not prevent the collapse transit leaders have been warning about for years; it simply delays it.
Unless Harrisburg leaders agree to a plan to backfill these dollars and adequately support public transit, bigger and deeper cuts will likely await.
SEPTA currently projects a roughly $5 billion maintenance deficit, putting initiatives like new trolleys, replacement for aging Regional Rail trains, and projects to boost accessibility at stations at risk. Raiding the trust fund — which is meant to finance capital projects like these — will only make matters worse.
Already, the lack of certainty is affecting planning for businesses, residents, and local institutions. Would Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia want to build a controversial new 1,000-space parking garage in Grays Ferry if the region’s public transit had a reliable future?
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Unfortunately, the Pennsylvania Senate gave SEPTA and Gov. Josh Shapiro no alternative. Despite three years of conversations about a sustainable funding solution for SEPTA, Republican leaders firmly rejected that idea. Instead, they’ve cast the transit agency as wasteful and resistant to reform.
While no one has ever claimed SEPTA is perfect, the agency — when measured by a range of metrics — is hardly inefficient or careless with its resources.
Far from being the beneficiary of taxpayer largesse, SEPTA has long received less money proportionately than its peers. The agency already has the lowest cost-per-ride of any major American transit service, spending just under $6 for each trip it provides, as compared with around $9 in New York and Boston. Since that figure only accounts for operations spending, not investments in maintenance or expansion, it actually undersells just how frugal SEPTA has been.
Under General Manager Scott Sauer, the agency has embraced reform, including many pushed by Harrisburg Republicans. SEPTA has made tackling fare evasion, smoking, and other offenses a priority. It’s cut executive staffing and raised fares three times in less than a year. It is the state Senate that has been intransigent and unwilling to change, not SEPTA’s leadership.
Republican lawmakers also have a ready solution: If members of the legislature believe SEPTA is being badly managed, they can ask Auditor General Tim DeFoor, a fellow Republican, to lead an extensive audit of the agency. DeFoor released a performance review of Pittsburgh Rapid Transit in 2023. It cited ridership losses because of the pandemic, rather than instances of mismanagement, as the source of budget woes. In fact, DeFoor’s team found that PRT’s plans were consistent with best practices and industry standards. Any audit of SEPTA is likely to find the same.
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It is clear that no matter what SEPTA did or did not do, Senate Republicans were determined to deny transit agencies statewide the resources they need to thrive.
Public transportation is more than just a convenience; it is a vital resource for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. If Senate Republicans are going to make themselves a roadblock, it is time for Shapiro and local leaders to forge another path forward. Otherwise, the next transit crisis will be the last one.