Northwest Philadelphia residents and Save the Train Coalition members united Monday morning, taking the Chestnut Hill West line to SEPTA headquarters for a rally.
At the rally, Save the Train organizers, elected officials and several other speakers advocated for the state legislature to fund SEPTA and other public-transit organizations across the state.
Bob Previdi, policy director for Save the Train, spoke at the rally, saying “Governor Shapiro and state leaders must avert this crisis and close SEPTA’s budget gap. But they must do far more than that. Our leaders need to embrace a bold, forward-thinking investment strategy for public transit as part of a comprehensive statewide transportation plan.”
In the last year, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation funding SEPTA and other transit agencies three times, only for the bills to stall out in the Republican-controlled State Senate.
While he could not attend the rally, State Rep. Chris Rabb joined with Mt. Airy advocates at Richard Allen Lane station, speaking with them before they took the train to Center City.
Rabb told the Local, “I don't really have to do anything differently, because I've already voted three times in the past 12 months for increased SEPTA funding. The question is, will the four Republican senators whose districts rely on SEPTA use their collective influence to urge the Senate Republican leadership to vote on a bill that will increase SEPTA funding?”
He added, “If they sit on their hands and don't use whatever political capital they have, individually or collectively, to encourage their leadership to run the bill that House Democrats have sent to the Senate to increase funding, then they are complicit in not funding SEPTA.”
Republicans hold a four-seat majority in the State Senate, with members Joe Picozzi, Tracy Pennycuick, and Frank Farry among those in whose districts SEPTA operates.
The cuts
In April, SEPTA officials announced a budget proposal that would see fare increases and drastic cuts, ending service to several Regional Rail lines, including Chestnut Hill West, if the state legislature cannot pass a budget resolution.
Monday’s rally proceeded two days of public hearings on SEPTA’s proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which includes service cuts of 45% and fare increases of 21.5% to address a $213 million structural deficit.
SEPTA initially announced the proposed cuts on April 10 during a press conference, and intends to implement the cuts and fare increases incrementally between now and Jan. 1.
If the plan is approved, a 20% service cut would start on Aug. 24, with 32 bus routes eliminated, 16 shortened, and service cuts to Metro and Regional Rail lines. A 21.5% fare increase would go into effect Sept. 1, with the base fare increased to $2.90, along with a hiring freeze for SEPTA. On Jan. 1, SEPTA would eliminate five Regional Rail lines, including Chestnut Hill West, Paoli/Thorndale, Cynwyd, Wilmington/Newark, and Trenton. A 9 p.m. curfew would go into effect for all remaining Metro and Regional Rail services.
The August cuts would see the elimination of the 32 bus routes, with 24 more in January. Lines such as the 18, 23, 51(L), 53, 71(H), and 81(XH) in the Northwest would see reduced service starting in August.
While the cuts are inevitable without funding from the State Legislature, Previdi said the point of the hearing is “reporting what the impact would be from the constituents who would be impacted.”
While speaking at the rally, Previdi placed the budget shortcomings solely on the State legislature.
He said, “Despite criticisms from certain Senate Lawmakers, SEPTA consistently performs well compared to peer transit agencies nationwide in terms of how efficiently it uses public funds, according to the state’s own audits.”
He added, “SEPTA already has a host of thoughtful proposals … It has a plan for a bus revolution, reimagined regional rail, where the system would run every 15 minutes, and a comprehensive trolley modernization plan … But they can’t happen without capital investment dollars.”
The rally
Ahead of the rally, attendees from Northwest Philadelphia gathered at High Point Cafe at the Richard Allen Lane station, before taking the train down to SEPTA HQ.
Jo Winter, executive director of West Mount Airy Neighbors and Save the Train member, was among the Richard Allen Lane riders. She told the Local, “It’s important to add our voice to the regional conversation, and then also to show that we are not just about saving [the Chestnut Hill West line]. It's really about saving all of SEPTA and advocating for full funding.”
She added, “Our struggle to save the train is really just one part of a larger story to save all of SEPTA. With the [cuts] that are coming in January, those are losses the budget director told us we can't recover from. So, we're really trying to exert pressure wherever we can on elected officials, including our governor, to get full funding.”
Along with Previdi, City Councilmembers Nicolas O'Rourke and Kenyatta Johnson, State Senators Nikil Saval and Sharif Street, State Representative Morgan Cephas, and many others spoke at the rally, all urging state lawmakers to fund SEPTA.
In his speech, Saval said, “The Greater Philadelphia region is just 5% of Pennsylvania's land area, but we produce 41% of its economic activity. If SEPTA is slashed, we face the loss of nearly 80,000 jobs and some $6 billion in potential wages, while the Commonwealth stands to lose more than $11 billion in tax revenue.”
He added, “The upcoming state budget is due June 30, and we need the General Assembly, my colleagues in the Pennsylvania Senate, to come together to fully fund transit throughout our region and throughout our Commonwealth.”
Tommy Tucker can be reached at Tommy@ChestnutHillLocal.com.
