The news from SEPTA’s headquarters was to be expected. For the last three years, SEPTA has threatened the riders with a doomsday budget. It’s the same this year. SEPTA says that unless it gets the money from the state, it will cut services by 45 % and raise fares by 21%, eliminate 50 bus lines, drastically reduce service on others, and end regional rail lines after 9 pm while pricing 10’s thousands of riders off the system. And then it will get worse.
The reactions to SEPTA’s announcement were also the same. The Philadelphia delegation to Harrisburg blames the Republicans, the Inquirer covers SEPTA’s pronouncements, and its opinion pages bang the drum: SEPTA should get more money from the state.
The collective shoulder shrugs; what else can the SEPTA board do other than threaten to dismantle the system?
Last year, there it was the same threat, but at “the last moment,” Governor Shapiro “flexed money” to save SEPTA, that is after SEPTA raised fares and forced its union into a bad contract. This year, because of President Trump’s budget cuts to pay for tax cuts, it is unlikely the Governor can do the same.
This time, SEPTA says they really, really mean it. They have no choice. They are going to attack their riders unless someone stops them. Much like in the movies where a “bad person”says, unless you pay a ransom, we will hurt your loved one.
But must SEPTA and the Governor take their failure to persuade the legislature to appropriately fund SEPTA out on the riders?
No, of course not. SEPTA has options, including using the half-billion dollars it has in its stabilization fund to keep the system operating.
Like a good magician, SEPTA wants us to look away from its failures and concentrate on what someone else has done somewhere.
Had SEPTA not wasted over $300 million on its “key card”, it wouldn’t need as much.
If SEPTA had not insisted on spending millions on the “bus revolution,” which it can’t afford, it would have millions more now. If SEPTA were to get all the companies it pays hundreds of millions of dollars to for services and goods to lobby the state, it would add to its voice. If SEPTA were willing to use its fare stabilization fund to stabilize fares, at least this year, it wouldn’t need service cuts or fare hikes.
Last year, it had $535 million in its stabilization fund. As a result of Governor Shapiro’s “flex” additional funding from Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, not hiring enough bus drivers, and other changes, SEPTA had more than enough money last year to operate. SEPTA says it needs $165 million from the state this year to keep operations at current levels. It can easily cover that shortfall with the $500 million it has in a PNC bank account.
That is not to say that SEPTA does not need additional funding. Nor that riders don’t deserve a fully funded well, operated system. It is in everyone’s and the environment’s interest to fully fund SEPTA.
It should be clear that every public transit system, be it cars, trucks, airlines, or public transit, is subsidized. No car or truck pays the entire cost of the national interstate, state, and local roads. Airlines have access to free air space, trains the unrestricted right of way, and even boats have access to intercoastal waterways.
And SEPTA is one of the best tools in the fight against air pollution and environmental illnesses. It helps developers make neighborhoods desirable, keeps property taxes up, and brings workers and consumers to work and stores, restaurants, bars, and cultural events that make Philadelphia livable. If there were no SEPTA, every highway in our region would suffer. At least another 400,000 will flood the roads. (No doubt the people who own the parking garages will be happy). SEPTA contracts with PA companies for goods and services, keeping our local economy going.
What will actually be decided at the public hearings? SEPTA’s dog and pony show will say they don’t want to beat the riders, but they may have to. The real question is: Will SEPTA do the dirty work of the Republicans and begin to dismantle the system by passing a doomsday budget that will harm 100,000 of thousands of riders? Or will SEPTA represent the riders’ interests and refuse to dismantle the system?
To be clear, if SEPTA and its board cut the service, why would the Republicans fully fund the service at the current levels? Any action allowing the State Senate to shirk its responsibility to fund SEPTA is unacceptable. Keep the system operating at the current levels and fares. Demand that the riders get the service we need. And if the Republicans and Governor Shaprio fail to keep the system operating, an election is coming.
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