SEPTA’s proposed cuts are ‘catastrophic,’ say Philly leaders

As SEPTA proposed slashing nearly half its service, people across the region expressed shock Thursday at realizing the depth of a fiscal crisis that could cripple the transit network.

“I was pretty distraught” to learn of the plan, devout SEPTA rider Phil Blumenkrantz, 71, said while waiting for a bus outside Suburban Station.

In a $2.6 billion proposed budget for operations and capital projects, up to 55 bus routes would be eliminated, five Regional Rail lines shut down, and 66 stations closed. That’s the worst-case scenario. Those cuts would occur in two phases, this fall and on Jan. 1, without new state money, the transit agency says.

Blumenkrantz, who lives in South Philadelphia and gets around mostly on his bike and buses, hopes for a rescue.

“I probably can live with it, waiting longer for buses, having fewer bus lines potentially,” Blumenkrantz said. “But it’s not something I look forward to seeing.”

Advocates for public transit, elected officials, and business leaders moved to a war footing, vowing to fight for the new state funding SEPTA seeks to close a $213 million annual structural deficit.

On Friday, public officials and advocates plan an 11 a.m. rally at City Hall. State Transportation Secretary Michael B. Carroll is expected to attend.

And yet, for all the protest and angst on Thursday, no sign has yet appeared of an end to the Harrisburg funding impasse SEPTA says has forced it to the brink.

A 21.5% fare increase across the board would take effect in the fall. SEPTA’s base fare would rise to $2.90, putting it in a tie with New York for most expensive ride.

State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) acknowledged SEPTA’s progress in cutting costs and raising more revenue with higher fares — but said Pennsylvania state government must plug its own projected $4.5 billion budget gap.

“Given their own financial struggle, I believe SEPTA should have an appreciation for our commonwealth’s fiscal deficit and come to the table with more modest requests,” Pittman said in a statement. “This burden should not be placed entirely on Pennsylvania taxpayers, most of whom do not live within the service region and do not realize any benefit from SEPTA.”

But SEPTA’s announcement shows the agency “can no longer wait,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said during an appearance at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia. “The time to act is now.”

In his last two budgets, Shapiro proposed historic levels of state funding not just for SEPTA but also for transit systems across Pennsylvania, many of them facing fiscal crises. House Democrats have passed proposed increases in transit aid three times only to have them stall in the Republican-controlled Senate.

SEPTA increased fares 7.5% in November and drew from cash reserves to avoid service cuts.

Yet it was able to close its deficit then only after Shapiro redirected $153 million in federal funding for highway projects to the agency, a procedure known as “flexing.”

The governor said it was to give SEPTA breathing room and lawmakers time to develop a bipartisan funding plan. That did not happen.

”We will all work together, as we have in the past, to find bipartisan agreement," Shapiro said Thursday. “We’ve got to make sure we do so on mass transit.”

SEPTA officials are willing to talk with Pittman and others to find a workable solution but describe the cuts as reflecting an honest assessment of what has to happen without state aid that would allow today’s levels of service to continue.

“I’m not the kind of person who delivers messages, hidden or otherwise,” interim general manager Scott Sauer said when asked at a news conference if the doomsday plan was a political bluff.

City Council joined in the chorus.

“My Council district is the only one where a majority of residents do not drive to work,” said Councilmember Jamie Gauthier of West Philly. “We rely on SEPTA to make money, get to school, and access healthcare essentials. I shudder to think about the catastrophic damage that will be done.“

Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke, a member of the progressive Working Families Party, said during a speech in Council on Thursday that a shriveled SEPTA would jeopardize the city’s ability to handle the major events planned for 2026.

“SEPTA would not be able to support the World Cup,” O’Rourke said. “They would not be able to support other celebrations to mark the 250th [U.S.] anniversary next year.”

Nelson Bradley said the proposed 21.5% fare hike would be painful for many of SEPTA’s working-class riders.

“It’ll probably put a grip on some people’s pocket,” Bradley, 55, said as he waited for a bus near Suburban Station. “It’s gonna hurt a lot of people.”

Now Bradley is dreading what he predicts will be an even pricier monthly ridership pass, and he’s suspicious of what he imagines will be other, less-visible cuts that SEPTA will need to make.

For Rose Jennings, a senior citizen from Philadelphia, SEPTA is more than just a bus service.

“It’s a lifeline, especially for the elderly and the handicapped,” she said, waiting for her bus near the Primark store on Market Street.

In political terms, making the case for SEPTA to lawmakers from other parts of the state has boiled down to enlightened self-interest: Not supporting it risks tanking the largest share of the state’s economy, a dense region that needs transit to get around.

Philadelphia and its four suburban counties generate 38% of the state’s general revenues, according to a recent study by Econsult for SEPTA.

The region produces 41% of the state’s economic output. Thirty-two percent of Pennsylvania’s population lives in the Southeast.

The cuts “will certainly get everyone’s attention,” said Ken Lawrence of Montgomery County, chair of SEPTA’s board. “We pay for roads and bridges here in places that I’ll never go and never ride on them. … We’re all in this together.”

Shapiro’s most recent proposed budget would include an additional $292 million a year for five years for transit systems. An estimated $165 million of that would go to SEPTA.

State Rep. Morgan Cephas, a Philadelphia Democrat who was instrumental in getting some extra funding for SEPTA in the past, appreciates Pittman’s political calculus.

“I understand you might not be riding our system, or you might not be riding Pittsburgh’s system, and you’re asking, ‘Why should I invest, given that I don’t have constituents that vote for me that are riding the systems?’ ” Cephas said.

It’s a game of give-and-take. “We have to invest in each other in order for Pennsylvania to thrive,” Cephas said.

Staff writers Katie Bernard, Fallon Roth, and Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.