As Philly reels from SEPTA’s severe budget proposal, hundreds rally at City Hall

It was a cross between a high school football game and a Bernie Sanders rally.

Chants. Cheers. Fiery calls to save the working-class people who need SEPTA.

Transit riders, advocates, state lawmakers, union leaders, high school students, City Council members, and suburban political leaders huddled in the North Broad Street arcade of City Hall on Friday to demand Harrisburg provide more funding for SEPTA and its counterparts.

“We are clear-eyed about what brings us together today; the future of our communities, of our city, of our entire region, are dependent on SEPTA,” said state Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia), host of the event and, for much of it, the head cheerleader.

This week, the regional transit agency released a break-glass emergency budget for fiscal 2026 that would cut nearly half its service and raise fares 21.5% at the same time.

West Philadelphia resident Dawne Enggasser was pushing her baby’s stroller by City Hall when “save SEPTA now” signs stopped her in her tracks.

» READ MORE: Is my bus route getting cut? A quick guide to what SEPTA’s proposed changes could mean for you

A single mother with a 1-year-old, she relies on SEPTA’s buses and subway to go to work, take her son to the doctor, and go grocery shopping. She had not heard of the potential elimination of routes and service reductions until Friday morning.

“I’m scared because how am I supposed to get to his appointments,” Enggasser, 44, said. “It’s bad enough having to wait outside in the rain and the cold with the baby when services are delayed.”

On a typical day, Enggasser waits 20 minutes to an hour to catch the bus that takes them to Center City. She knows that pales in comparison to what it might be like soon.

She addressed the governor, the mayor, and all the powers that be: “Please help us, man. We need SEPTA. It’s not like it’s a luxury. It’s an absolute necessity for living a daily life.”

During the rally attended by more than 100 people, frustration boiled over at the familiar, plodding ritual of state budget deliberations in Harrisburg, where little has been happening.

State Rep. Joe Hohenstein, a Democrat who represents the lower Northeast and loves to sing the old Frankford El song, poked fun — with an edge in his voice — at state Senate Republicans who have blocked funding for transit agencies.

“Senate Republicans are looking at this and thinking, ‘Oh, we’re just going to play the same old Harrisburg game and treat Philadelphia like a redheaded stepchild,‘” Hohenstein said.

“My apologies to all redheads and stepchildren,” he continued. “But when Senate Republicans are going to treat Philly as if we are not part of Pennsylvania, [and] treat the collar counties as if they are not the economic engine of the entire state — it will come back around."

Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Michael B. Carroll was more restrained, yet pointed.

PennDot has hardly been neglecting roads and bridges, he said.

“In the two years of the Shapiro administration, we delivered over $380 million in new funding for roads and bridges and in 2023 Pennsylvania repaired more poor-condition bridges than any state in the country,” Carroll said, in a rare appearance with such political overtones.

“Just like we repair and maintain bridges for commuters in rural and suburban communities, we owe it to the Pennsylvanians that live in our cities and take mass transit to make it available and reliable,” he said.

Stephanie Wein’s tears mixed with rain as she tried to describe what service reductions and elimination of the Chestnut Hill West Regional Rail line would mean to her.

Wein suffered a brain injury in 2021 that inhibits her from driving.

“I haven’t recovered my coordination and my reaction time enough to safely drive, but because I can take SEPTA I can get to work. l can get my kid to daycare. I can go out in the evening with my friends and stay late at a happy hour. I can live a really full life,” Wein said.

The idea that could be taken away fills her with “visceral fear,” she said.

Last year, state Senate Republicans blocked Shapiro’s proposal to pump $283 million annually in new state aid to public transit by increasing its share of sales tax revenue. That would have brought about $161 million to SEPTA.

They wanted to combine more money for transit with new money for roads and bridges in a grand bargain and to figure a way to pay for them without relying on the sales tax. That did not happen.

State House Democrats passed three bills increasing funding for transit but they stalled. Talks on a bigger transportation deal did not go anywhere.

State Rep. Jen O’Mara (D., Delco) told the crowd that 20% of all transit trips to Center City originate in the suburbs.

“Do you want to even imagine what life will be like on I-76 or the Blue Route with 130,000 more cars on the road?” O’Mara said.

» READ MORE: ‘Please help us. We need SEPTA.’ Riders speak out against potential transit cuts

A number of speakers stressed that the Philadelphia region is responsible for about 40% of the state’s economic output and a similar share of state tax revenue.

“This state does not work — the math does not math — if there is not a strong and vibrant SEPTA system in place for Southeastern Pennsylvania,“ said state Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.), the ranking Democrat on Appropriations.

“Get activated. Get agitated and get your behind up to Harrisburg,“ he said.