SEPTA’s board voted June 26 to approve a 2026 fiscal year budget that cuts service by 45 percent and includes a 21.5% increase in passenger fares. 

In April, SEPTA announced its budget proposal to address a $213 million recurring budget deficit. The cuts and fare increases will go into effect incrementally between now and Jan. 1, providing the state legislature does not pass transportation funding. 

SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. said in a press release, “This is a vote none of us wanted to take. … We have worked hard as an Authority to prevent this day from coming because we understand the impact it will have on our customers and the communities we serve. To be clear, this does not have to happen — if state lawmakers can reach an agreement to deliver sufficient, new funding for public transit.” 

Beginning Aug. 24, SEPTA will eliminate 32 bus routes, shorten 16 bus routes, and implement service cuts to Metro and Regional Rail lines. Bus lines such as the 18, 23, 51(L), 53, 71(H), and 81(XH) in Northwest Philadelphia would see reduced service starting in August.

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. SEPTA will cut a further 24 bus routes in January. 

On June 17, the Public Transportation Trust Fund Transfer Act, authored by state Rep. Ed Neilson (D), was passed by the Pennsylvania House. The bill would provide nearly $300 million in mass transit funding for all 67 counties.

The funding proposal aligns with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal, increasing the amount of sales tax money allocated to public transit funding from 4.4% to 6.15%, while not increasing sales tax. It would also drive a total of $1.5 billion to public transit over the next five years.

The bill currently sits in the state Senate transportation committee, and missed the state’s budget deadline of Monday, June 30. 

In reaction to the cuts, Bob Previdi, policy director for the Save the Train coalition, told the Local, “Unfortunately, SEPTA's board had to pass a budget that is balanced assuming no additional aid is coming from the state. Currently, it looks like the state will miss the June 30th deadline and pass something by mid-July, but the Senate has yet to take up the House bill that includes funding for public transportation, and roads, and bridges.”

He added, “We need a comprehensive bill that looks at the long-term investment strategy that adequately funds our roads, bridges, and public transit in a sustainable way. Right now, what I'm seeing is we're just kicking the can down the road; it's just not enough.” 

In the last year, the Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation funding SEPTA and other transit agencies four times, only for the bills to stall out in the Republican-controlled state Senate. 

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. 

Previdi emphasized repeatedly that SEPTA has the capability and leadership to succeed; they just need funding. He said previously, “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.”

He concluded his statement to the Local, saying, “When the New York system turned around in the ‘90s, they spent a lot more, and the return was huge. Subway ridership went from 3.3 million a day to 5.5 million a day. New York's population went from 7 million to 9 million. It worked. If we're serious about our economy, we've got to think bigger.”