SEPTA cuts will be disastrous for students, our Masterman peers told us

SEPTA, our region’s transit service, is facing a staggering $213 million funding crisis, posing a serious threat to the roughly 800,000 people who rely on it monthly. That includes more than 50,000 students. Cutting 50 bus routes, five Regional Rail lines, and one metro line will be disastrous for education across Philadelphia — especially for those of us who travel across the city.

We reached out to our classmates at Masterman to learn more about the impact.

Leah Rossi-Schwartz, a student who takes the 32 bus, waits more than 30 minutes for rides that are supposed to arrive every 10 minutes. “I already get home late,” she said. “If [the] cuts make buses run even less often, I might not be able to get to my lessons, do homework, and get enough sleep.”

This is a nightmare scenario for many other classmates of ours involved in extracurriculars and sports. Isabella Smith-Santos, a student who plays sports and rides on the Trenton line, details her reality: “Reduced lines would mean getting home at a later time, meaning I would have to stay up longer, which would make me more exhausted,” she said. “After sporting events, I need to rest my body. But as a student, I also need to complete schoolwork.”

Sleep deprivation is an issue that many of us already grapple with, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one in three high school students has experienced mental health problems in the last three years related to that.

The cuts are also potentially dangerous. Students will now need to find alternative ways to get to school, such as walking or biking, not to mention the hazards associated with the changing weather in Philadelphia. A ninth grader who prefers to remain anonymous said, “I don’t think it’s fair that I would have to change my entire schedule, lose sleep, and possibly miss my orchestra practices because the [state] Senate doesn’t believe I have a right to efficient transportation to my school.”

We’re talking about young students waiting alone at dimly lit stations, walking through freezing rain, or losing access to education entirely. Jacqueline Wilson, a sixth grader, put it simply: “If the 2 got cut, I would have no way to get to school besides walking.”

Students like Isda Nwe, who takes the Chestnut Hill West Regional Rail line, risk losing public transit access to school entirely.

“I might never be able to come to Masterman again,” she wrote. “If I take another train, I’ll have to wake up earlier, maybe run to school, and I’ll be grumpy all day. I’ll probably not even get good grades.” Her only free weekday is Monday — between sports and instrument lessons, SEPTA is the thread holding her entire schedule together.

It’s not just about individual inconvenience. Cutting SEPTA services threatens Philadelphia’s entire infrastructure. Traffic will surge. Car ownership — already unaffordable for many — will become a necessity. Fewer people will attend events, go to work, or contribute to the local economy. Entire neighborhoods risk being cut off from opportunity.

This is a deliberate choice. Choosing not to fund SEPTA is choosing to gamble with our education, safety, mental health, and futures. These cuts are not abstract budget figures. They are real, immediate, and devastating. They are missed opportunities, missed meals, and missed connections.

For the sake of students living across the Philadelphia area, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget must be passed with all transit funding intact. It is not just a fight for transportation. It is a fight for fair and equal access to education.

Philadelphia’s students — and our future — are riding on it.

Olivia Kang and Leila Golzari Hunt are ninth graders at Julia R. Masterman school, and members of NextGen Philly, a student activist group.