PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced he would transfer $153 million in federal highway funds to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, a move he said would avert “critically damaging service cuts and fare increases ahead of our next state budget.”
In a Friday, Nov. 22, announcement, Shapiro noted recent highway-repair efforts before saying, “while we’ve made great progress on our roadways, we must also address the needs of mass transit riders, particularly those in Southeastern Pennsylvania who rely on SEPTA every day to get to work, school, medical appointments and more.” The infusion of funds, he said, would prevent any cuts or significant fare increases until at least July 1, 2025. That gives state legislators — who must complete the next state budget by June 30 — an opportunity to act to avoid the fare increase or service cuts.
SEPTA had planned fare increases of 29% on Jan. 1, a move the agency’s chief operating officer, Scott Sauer, had said “is painful and it’s going to be painful for our customers.” SEPTA had also warned of service cuts that could amount to an overall 20% reduction, although specific cuts and their timing had not yet been mapped out.
The news site Spotlight PA reports SEPTA will still move ahead with a plan to eliminate fare discounts for those who use the system’s Key card as of Dec. 1, which will amount to a 50-cent increase for transit riders and increased commuter rail fares.
Shapiro, a Democrat, said in his statement that while the state’s House of Representatives had passed legislation in 2024 to increase funding for SEPTA and other transit agencies, the state Senate had not. Democrats control the House, narrowly; Republicans control the Senate with 28 of 50 seats.
Those state Senate Republicans, in a statement from Majority Leader Joe Pittman, said Shapiro had “chosen to politicize and pillage critical infrastructure projects for other districts which are well outside of SEPTA reach.
“The action by the governor today will do nothing but harm millions of hard-working Pennsylvanians by depriving their areas of critical infrastructure,” Pittman wrote. “… The bottom line is that there must be a significant overall re-examination of the SEPTA delivery model and mass transit.”
Soo what happens when this money runs out?
Either the legislature provides more funding or the originally announced fare increase/service cuts go into effect.