With the first round of SEPTA cuts taking effect Sunday, Aug. 24, Philadelphians are already feeling the impact, including healthcare workers and patients who rely on public transportation for work and treatment.

In an Aug. 26 press release, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) urged lawmakers in Harrisburg to “come together quickly to ensure a sustainable funding solution for SEPTA. The stakes are high, not only for commuters, but for healthcare workers, patients, and the communities that depend on Southeastern Pennsylvania’s hospitals.”

According to PASNAP, thousands of hospital employees rely on SEPTA every day.

The statement continued, “A reduction in service forces more cars onto already congested roads, making it harder for ambulances to reach hospitals quickly when every second counts. … We are all potential patients, and when our public transit system falters, it jeopardizes access to care for those in need. In moments of crisis, patients must be able to get to the hospital, and those who serve the sick must be able to arrive on time and ready to provide care.”

Ahead of the cuts, Temple Health sent a message to patients and staff, warning them to prepare.

The message detailed which SEPTA routes would be affected for each Temple Health hospital campus. For Chestnut Hill Hospital, Temple Health listed reduced service on Route 23 and the Chestnut Hill East and West lines.

Service cuts to Route 23 have since changed as the city redirected funds for some routes. (Read story on page one for more information).

In the message to employees, Temple Health wrote, “We know that many Temple Health employees depend on SEPTA for their daily commutes, and are committed to helping you navigate these changes.”

To patients, they wrote, “We know that many of our patients depend on SEPTA for transportation to our campuses. Please plan ahead and research alternate routes so you don’t miss important appointments and procedures.”

State Rep. and registered nurse Tarik Khan (D), who represents Chestnut Hill and other parts of Northwest Philadelphia, told the Local, “When Senate Republicans chose to gut SEPTA, they also gutted healthcare in our region. Patients miss their appointments, and nurses can’t get to their jobs.”

He added, “This is the third largest metro area in the country, and yet Republican Senators sat on their hands and let transit collapse. The result is longer waits at hospitals, missed treatments, and real harm to the health of our neighborhood. That’s not fiscal responsibility, [it’s] medical malpractice.”

The extent of the cuts

With the final funding deadline missed on Aug. 14, a 20% service cut went into effect on Aug. 24, with 32 bus routes eliminated, 16 shortened, and service cuts to Metro and Regional Rail lines. Without a funding resolution, a 21.5% fare increase was supposed to go into effect Monday, Sept. 1, but a temporary injunction on Friday blocked future cuts, pending a court case.

If the injunction is lifted Jan. 1, SEPTA would eliminate 24 more bus routes and 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.

Riders in the northwest would be directly affected by the elimination of the Chestnut Hill West Line and reduced service to Chestnut Hill East and the 18, 23, 51(L), 53, 71(H), and 81(XH) bus routes.

Nurses’ experiences

Kadena Smith-Fleming, a registered nurse at Chestnut Hill Hospital, lives near Broad Street and wakes every morning at 5 a.m. to take mass transit to her job. She takes the Route 23 bus and, in combination with the train, either the 23 or L route home.

“They’re gonna be reducing those (routes), and then the train times are going to be from nine to nine. So if I don’t make it by that last train, the eight o’clock train, it will be very hard for me to get home,” Smith-Fleming told the Local. “I’m going to be considering Ubers and Lyfts to and from work just to make sure that I’m able to get home on time and even get to work on time. And that’s a pretty expensive undertaking.”

Smith-Fleming often sees her coworkers on the bus during her commutes. She added that Temple Health Main Campus advises patients to try Chestnut Hill Hospital for shorter wait times. With the service cuts, Smith-Fleming worries those patients may have trouble getting to Chestnut Hill and back.

“We have patients who, when we discharge them, don’t have their own transportation, and they may not have family that can pick them up. So they’ll take the bus home, and we’ll give them passes,” Smith-Fleming said. “We have had patients that will rightly refuse to leave if they don’t have a way to get home … (The cuts) have the potential to cause a bit of a disaster.”

Danah Arrington, an emergency room nurse at Chestnut Hill Hospital, owns a car, but finds SEPTA’s commute much quicker. She previously lived near Frankford Terminal and would take the Route 8 and L bus to work. Now she lives in East Oak Lane and takes the L bus, but worries how reduced service may affect her travel time. She said that aside from the bus routes, some of her coworkers rely on Regional Rail lines as well.

Arrington’s previous bus route, the 8, was eliminated on Aug. 24.

“Thank God that I moved because if I still lived in Frankford, I would not be able to get to work,” Arrington told the Local.

She has already noticed the effect on patients. On Monday, she spoke with some who had difficulties getting to the hospital. One person who had a minor injury called an ambulance because they were unable to find transport to the hospital, she said.

Tommy Tucker can be reached at Tommy@chestnuthilllocal.com.