No funding deal in sight as transit cuts take effect in Philadelphia region

Many commuters and students in the Philadelphia region woke earlier than usual Monday and scrambled to avoid being late as they navigated newly imposed service cuts by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.

It remains unknown how long the pain might continue in Pennsylvania’s southeastern corner, as lawmakers remain apart on a plan to provide additional funding to SEPTA, Pittsburgh Regional Transit and other transit agencies across the state.

The finger-pointing by Republicans and Democrats continued Monday.

“The cuts to SEPTA service are a direct result of the Senate Republicans’ refusal to put forth a permanent, sustainable funding plan for our public transit. Five times the House has sent us a plan, but the Senate Republicans rammed through a low-ball insult to every Pennsylvanian,” Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said Monday.

“The Senate advanced a mass transit and transportation infrastructure bill earlier this month, which would have prevented any of SEPTA’s cuts,” said Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana. “House Democrats, whose leadership hails from the SEPTA region, immediately rejected the plan. They should reconsider.”

The House proposal would have increased the share of sales tax revenue going to transit agencies, providing more than $292 million in new annual funding for transit agencies in perpetuity. The bill also would have included money for highway projects and improvements to smaller, rural roads.

The House passed the bill, but the Senate did not bring it up for a vote.

A proposal in the GOP-controlled Senate would have dedicated more than $292 million to transit agencies and another $292 million to roads and bridges this fiscal year and increased those amounts to $300 million next fiscal year. About $750 million of the funding would have come from the Pennsylvania Public Transit Trust Fund.

That proposal was shot down by two committees in the Democrat-led House.

Democrats and SEPTA and PennDOT officials argued against taking money from the trust fund, which provides money for capital projects such as replacing buses and trains, upgrading rail lines and signals, and improving facilities. They also were seeking a long-term funding plan instead of the two-year stopgap proposed by GOP senators.

“Negotiations continue as we work to reach consensus on a final budget product that puts our commonwealth on a stable spending path for future years,” Pittman said Monday.

SEPTA has said its cuts this week, which took effect Sunday, amount to a 20% across-the-board service reduction to deal with a deficit of more than $200 million. That includes eliminating bus routes with lower ridership and reducing the frequency of bus, trolley and rail services across the region. SEPTA has warned that it will cut half of its services by Jan. 1 if new funding doesn’t materialize while also raising fares and freezing hiring.

Some 52,000 public school students in Philadelphia use public transit to get to school. The school district has said it will not punish students who are late because of SEPTA route changes, when they have a note from a parent or guardian.

News outlets also reported more congested streets and highways during Monday’s morning rush, as many commuters used options other than transit to get where they needed to go. And many transit buses and trains that did run Monday were fuller than usual because fewer of them were available.

The Associated Press contributed.