SEPTA is delaying buying new buses, an accessibility project and construction so the transit agency can move funds in an effort to continue running at full service for riders, officials said.
According to the transit agency, delaying these projects allows them to transfer $394 million in funds to their operating budget to keep services moving.
PennDOT had approved SEPTA request to delay these items back in September and the transit agency said none of the projects that are being delayed will compromise safety.
Buying 247 new hybrid diesel-electric buses
Construction at Bristol Station to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
The last phase of expanding the Frazer Railroad Facility
Buying hydrogen and electric-powered buses
Updating existing hybrid buses to run solely on electric power
These projects that are being delayed are among the 44 others that were previously paused.
This announcement comes one week after Philadelphia’s City Council held a public hearing addressing SEPTA’s aging Silverliner IV train cars.
The government had given SEPTA until Oct. 31, 2025, to get all 225 train cars inspected, but SEPTA General Manager, Scott Sauer admitted to the council that SEPTA may miss that deadline.
“We are fully committed to making every effort, working around the clock to meet that deadline,” he said at the meeting. “We realize that there is potential, should some condition emerge, that we may not.”
As of Oct. 23, the agency has inspected 82 cars, which means there is still 143 left.
At this current pace, engineers are inspecting eight cars each day, but to meet the mandated deadline, 17 more cars would need to be inspected each day.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote that these issues that SEPTA is facing are partly because of a lack of oversight from the state of Pennsylvania.
“The gross mismanagement and neglect of Pennsylvania’s rail and bus systems is alarming,” Se. Duffy wrote. “As the head of the state, I’m calling on Josh Shapiro to oversee the safety of riders and transit workers. It’s time to get SEPTA’s fiscal house in order.”
Then, hours later on Thursday, a spokesperson for Gov. Shapiro’s office shared a statement that read:
“Governor Shapiro has been fighting for additional recurring revenue to support SEPTA for the last two years – and as part of last year’s budget, he secured $46 million in new funding for SEPTA. His budget proposal this year once again included $167 million for SEPTA but Senate Republicans in Harrisburg have refused to support nearly 800,000 Pennsylvanians who rely on the system every day and continue to hold up our state budget. Instead of issuing a press release, if Secretary Duffy actually wants to be helpful, he should call his fellow Republicans and get them to fund the Governor’s mass transit funding package for SEPTA. We would be happy to provide their phone numbers.”
In recent months, SEPTA has faced a pair of lawsuits amid their longstanding fiscal cliff that claim the transit agency is making up their budget crisis in order to get more money from the government.
One lawsuit argues that SEPTA’s claims that it cannot operate at the same level of service without new funding leading to drastic service cuts and fare hikes are “bunk.”
At the same time as all of this is going on, the union contract with SEPTA bus drivers and operators is also about to expire on Nov. 7.
SEPTA told NBC10 that those conversations are going well but they still have a long way to go.