Peyton Harris, Editor

PHILADELPHIA – During a Nov. 12 press conference, SEPTA announced, “no prospect of a statewide solution,” to the nearly $240 million budgetary shortfall it faces by the end of the fiscal year in June 2025. In response to the looming crisis, the agency now plans to institute a 21.9% increase in fares and slash services across all modes of transportation beginning Jan. 1. This fare change is on top of a proposed 7.5% increase that is intended to take effect Dec. 1.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority – SEPTA – has faced financial trouble before, but this fare hike is the largest in the agency’s history. In 2019, the last year of available metrics prior to the pandemic, SEPTA projected a budget of $518 million, but with total expenditures on labor, fuel and maintenance supplies, the total spent equated to roughly $1.41 billion dollars.

SEPTA also announced that the fare hike would be combined with a 20% frequency reduction across all rail, bus and trolley services beginning July 1. SEPTA had announced what they called their “Bus Revolution,” the agency’s first comprehensive study to propose a revamp of the bus network throughout the region. Due to these anticipated cuts to services, the proposal has been nixed, with SEPTA removing the forum with comprehensive “Bus Revolution” details from its website. 

For La Salle students, this will likely lead to challenges getting to and from campus. In a poll conducted by The Collegian across Fizz and Instagram, 58% of respondents replied that they rely on SEPTA for their transportation. University officials previously announced contingency plans as SEPTA faced a strike by employees of the Transit Workers Union Local 234 as recently as Nov. 7. 

“Today, we stand with our feet on the edge of the fiscal cliff,” COO Scott Sauer said, adding, “This is the result of inaction.” The inaction in reference is in regards to a state budgetary impasse that cut out increased funding for the agency. SEPTA had been looking to Harrisburg for financial support to cover the budgetary shortfall. With COVID-era relief funding for transit drying up, debt continues to mount. 

In May, Governor Josh Shapiro, joined with SEPTA CEO Leslie Richards, announced his intention to allocate $282 million from the state budget for public transportation across the Commonwealth, $161 million of which was slated to go to SEPTA. These amendments did not pass in the legislature, which instead opted to fund the agency with a one-time cash infusion of $46 million. This influx of funding has kept the agency financially solvent through this fall.

As required by law when announcing fare changes, SEPTA has posted a notice of public hearings to hear from community members and those affected by these events. Two hearings will be held on Dec. 13 – first at 10 a.m., and second at 4 p.m. – at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City. Pre-registration is required, and can be found on their Meetings page.