The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town! Unless you’re a bus on a recently cut SEPTA route. 🥴🚍
If you live in the southeastern corner of the Keystone State, you’ve at best heard about the SEPTA budget crisis…and at worst, you’ve been impacted by it. 🚨 Let’s bring you up to speed.
Here’s Five Fast Facts on the SEPTA crisis:
- ✂️ Cutting Crew - The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) has been dealing with a dip in riders and rising costs. Funding hasn’t kept up with inflation and ridership hasn’t bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. Similar cuts could also be coming to other big cities like Chicago, Dallas, and San Fran.
- 📉 Highs and Lows - To deal with its $200M funding deficit, SEPTA’s recent cuts came in the form of a 20% service reduction. Bus routes with lower ridership got the chop. Some rail and trolley lines are running less often. SEPTA also has a plan to raise fares by 21.5% on September 1st. That means a weekday ride would cost $2.90 instead of $2.50.
- 🎒 Getting Schooled - A lot of PA youngsters get to school on a yellow bus, but many city kiddos rely on SEPTA. We’re talking roughly 52,000 Philadelphia public school students. Recent cuts came just in time to kick off the school year, causing crowded buses on other routes, skipped stops, and long commute times.
- 🧳 Tourist Trap - If things don’t change, SEPTA sounded alarm bells that up to half of its services will get the ax by January 1st. Philly has a big 2026 on deck with events like the FIFA World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game, and the PGA Championship. Without SEPTA running at full capacity, tourists could have a tough time getting around.
- 🤼 Butting Heads - PA’s budget is about two months overdue. Finding new revenue to cover SEPTA costs has been a hot topic. Republicans and Democrats are in a brawl over whether or not funding for SEPTA should be taken from funding for roads and bridges.
🔥Bottom line: With so many Pennsylvanians, young and old, depending on public transportation to get around, fingers crossed there’s a solution ASAP. If you’re more of a car commuter, you might notice more folks on the roads these days. Instead of going to work, why not take a detour on one of these amazing PA road trips? We’ll call you in sick.
Do you rely on SEPTA to get to work?
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