DELAWARE COUNTY, PA – November 2024 – As the PA General Assembly wraps up its final day for the 2023-2024 session this week, critical issues like funding public transit remain unaddressed, leaving SEPTA and its riders facing dire consequences.
Recently, SEPTA announced 20% fare hikes across all transit modes, with plans for service reduction and route eliminations by July–outcome they’ve warned the legislature about for two years. Less service and higher cost will mean fewer riders, forcing further cuts and fare hikes, creating a “transit death spiral.” This will devastate our metropolitan economy, cutting off access to jobs, schools, and essential services like healthcare.
Our fragile economic recovery from the pandemic depends on a strong transit system, and our economic redevelopment efforts will be stunted. Despite the many warnings from our business leaders, Chambers of Commerce, and economists, PA Senate Republicans would not make a deal with Governor Shapiro and legislative Democrats to bolster statewide transit service. Since the SEPTA region generates 40% of our state economic activity, a hit to our local economy directly affects the state’s overall financial health. SEPTA counties produce 40% of PA’s income tax, 36% of its sales tax, 41% of its corporate tax, and 40% of its realty transfer tax revenue – all from just on 5% of PA’s land.
This means less revenue for the rest of the state to support crucial services and projects, making this our collective problem to solve. As a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, I know that providing essential transportation infrastructure—roads, bridges, trains, and airports—is a core government responsibility. This outcome is simply unacceptable.
So, what comes next? With the same number of Democratic and Republican legislators elected in 2022, we are once again in a split legislature. House and Senate Democrats have been and are still willing to reach a deal, and now it is time for the Republican Senate majority to come to the table instead of avoiding the state’s challenges — a strategy that won them nothing in the state legislature last week despite Republicans wins nationwide.
As the state senator for several Delaware County municipalities, including Upper Darby and SEPTA’s 69th Street Station, I’ve been deeply aware of the challenges that SEPTA and its riders confront on the system and how integral SEPTA service is for the hundreds of thousands of workers, students, seniors, and other residents that rely on it to get around.
Since spring 2023, SEPTA has warned of a looming fiscal cliff due to lost COVID relief funds and post-pandemic commuter changes. While legislative leaders in Harrisburg committed to reaching a financial relief deal, this week was the last chance to pass legislation. Because of legislative inaction, we’ve reached and now passed the fiscal cliff.
Our split legislature must compromise to fund for transit, roads, and bridges for all Pennsylvanians and find a way to pay for it, whether through taxing skill games, allocating more sales tax revenue, or something else. Failure is not an option. Without state intervention, the transit death spiral will continue, and Democrats must also be ready to offer concessions to our Republican colleagues to reach a sustainable solution.