Commuters ride on the SEPTA route 125 bus, as seen from the Wissahickon Transportation Center, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Philadelphia mass transit agency gets OK to use project money to avoid bus, trolley and rail cuts
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) 鈥 Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration on Monday approved the use of hundreds of millions of dollars in capital project funding for Philadelphia鈥檚 public transit agency to help it restore bus, trolley and rail services that it had eliminated to shore up its deficit-riddled finances.
Commuters ride on the SEPTA route 125 bus, as seen from the Wissahickon Transportation Center, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025, in Philadelphia. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) 鈥 Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration on Monday approved the use of hundreds of millions of dollars in capital project funding for Philadelphia鈥檚 public transit agency to help it restore bus, trolley and rail services that it had eliminated to shore up its deficit-riddled finances.
The had made the request to comply with a judge’s order to undo the two-week-old cuts.
In his letter to SEPTA, Shapiro’s transportation secretary, Mike Carroll, called the authority’s request 鈥渂oth predictable and rueful鈥 after Shapiro and Democratic lawmakers had been unable for the to persuade enough Republican lawmakers to approve in new transit aid to help fill deficits at transit agencies around the state.
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The struggles in the nation鈥檚 sixth-most populous city at major transit agencies around the U.S. as they navigate rising costs and lagging ridership after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted commutes.
SEPTA 鈥 one of the nation鈥檚 largest mass transit agencies 鈥 had described the cuts as more drastic than any undertaken by a major transit agency in the U.S. but necessary to deal with a deficit of more than $200 million.
However, testimony in the court challenge described the cuts as being unnecessary and discriminatory toward poor and minority communities.
SEPTA said that shifting $394 million in state-provided capital funds could restore services and avoid other planned cuts for the next two years.
That鈥檚 about a year鈥檚 worth of funding it gets from the state for capital projects. The authority will still impose fare increases of 21.5% that it estimated will bring in $31 million a year.
Across the state, Pittsburgh Regional Transit is considering a 35% service reduction to help close what it calls a roughly $100 million deficit this year. That could include eliminating 45 bus routes, reducing 54 others and eliminating one of three light rail lines.
All told, SEPTA had warned that it will cut half its services by Jan. 1.
