Pennsylvania’s Democratic lawmakers wanted a longer-term solution for SEPTA’s funding woes, but their Republican counterparts were resistant to such a move. But with time running out, SEPTA did not have many pathways to move forward. Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa commended Shapiro and Carroll for taking action.
“So today, the Governor and PennDOT took the last, worst step that was available and accepted SEPTA’s request to access capital funds intended to provide for safe and efficient transportation service and to divert them for operational needs to restore the transit service that Philadelphia runs on,” Costa said in a statement Monday. “This is not ideal, but is necessary, and we applaud the Shapiro Administration for taking this bold action.”
Following SEPTA’s outreach to PennDOT, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman expressed his party’s “unwavering” support for the plan Friday.
“Had our Democrat colleagues joined us in putting people over politics by supporting and advancing House Bill 257, as passed by the Senate on August 12, this money could have been utilized three weeks sooner – and there would have been no negative impacts to school children, seniors, and everyone who relies on transit services as part of their daily commutes,” Pittman said in a statement.
SEPTA is still moving forward with a 21.5% fare hike to raise revenue.
“We project that that’s going to raise approximately $31 million in new revenue, and that’s money that is critically needed to help us balance this budget,” Busch said. “We know that’s a significant amount at one time for our customers, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that we’re using it to provide reliable service so that they’re getting their value out of that increase.”
WHYY’s Tom MacDonald contributed to this report.