SEPTA chief gets a three-year contract at $395,000 a year
General manager Scott Sauer has worked for SEPTA for 35 years.
SEPTA general manager Scott A. Sauer on Thursday was given a three-year contract with an annual salary of $395,000 as chief executive of the regional transit agency where he has worked for more than 35 years.
Board members approved the deal for Sauer, 54, who became interim general manager in late 2024 and then helped guide SEPTA through one of its toughest years, packed with crises over the budget, service cuts, and emergency repairs to Regional Rail cars after several caught fire.
Sauer was named permanent general manager June 2, 2025, and the contract approved Thursday was made effective on that day. When it expires in 2028, the contract automatically renews for two one-year extensions unless either party declines.
“I’d like to take a moment to thank this board for their continued confidence in me,” Sauer said. “I appreciate it.” He said members’ support and advice would be “the envy of any chief executive.”
Sauer would be eligible for cost-of-living pay increases under the contract, dependent on whether there are annual raises for all of SEPTA’s supervisory, administrative, and management employees.
Sauer had been making $300,879.
Sauer began as a trolley operator in 1990, following in the footsteps of his late father, Robert, who worked for the former Philadelphia Transportation Co. and SEPTA, its successor, for over three decades.
At SEPTA, the younger Sauer later became a transportation manager and safety officer. In 2013, he was promoted to assistant general manager of system safety.
Four years later, he was the assistant general manager for operations, including vehicle maintenance and station upkeep.
In 2022, Sauer was named SEPTA’s chief operating officer, with infrastructure maintenance, the Transit Police, engineering, and capital projects added to his portfolio.