Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) on April 10 released an operating budget proposal that it said “would require 45% in service cuts—coupled with major fare increases, workforce reductions, and a 9 p.m. curfew for all rail services” to address a deficit forecasted at $213 million for the new fiscal year that starts July 1. “Without action in Harrisburg [Pennsylvania’s capital] to provide new funding for transit,” the Board voted to approve it on June 26.
Like transit agencies across the country, SEPTA said it is facing a budget gap due to a combination of the end of federal COVID-relief funding and increases in the day-to-day costs of providing service to riders. The federal COVID funds helped SEPTA maintain service for essential workers through the pandemic. While ridership has recovered over the past few years, SEPTA said it has had to take on additional costs to address “emerging challenges—particularly crime, disorder, and the vulnerable population,” and “to grapple with the impact of inflation on everyday necessities such as fuel, power, and supplies.
In response, SEPTA reported that it has been cutting costs and generating new revenue. “Aggressive” austerity measures, including a freeze on management pay and cuts to third-party consultants, have resulted in savings of $30 million, it said. Other measures, including a 7.5% fare increase and the resumption of paid parking at Regional Rail lots, are generating new revenue. Together, the transit authority said, these efforts have helped reduce its budget deficit from $240 million, reported last fall, to a forecasted $213 million.
The budget (click here for the budget-in-brief, and here for the full budget book) comes amid negotiations in Harrisburg on a statewide transit funding plan unveiled Feb. 4 by Gov. Josh Shapiro that would prevent SEPTA’s proposed cost-saving measures from taking effect.
Those would include the elimination of dozens of bus routes and significant reductions in trips on all rail services, beginning with the launch of fall schedules on Aug. 24, according to SEPTA. A fare increase averaging 21.5% for all riders would go into effect on Sept. 1, followed on Jan. 1, 2026, by the elimination of five Regional Rail lines—Cynwyd, Chestnut Hill West, Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton, and Wilmington/Newark—and the 9 p.m. rail curfew, according to the transit authority. A total of 50 bus routes would be shut down between Aug. 24 and Jan. 1, 2026.
“We know how critical service is to our customers and the region, and we have done everything possible to avoid the drastic measures that are proposed in this budget,” SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer said earlier this year. “We have made significant progress in cutting costs, growing ridership, improving reliability, and delivering on safety and security enhancements. All of that is at risk if we are forced to start dismantling the system.”
“These cuts to SEPTA’s service—which would hurt our economy and make it harder for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians to get to work, school, and wherever else they need to go—are completely avoidable,” Gov. Shapiro said earlier this year. “For two years in a row, I have proposed a commonsense plan to support mass transit all across the Commonwealth and last December, I flexed funding to give the legislature more time to come to the table. The state House has passed my proposal three times and plans to do so again next month—it is now squarely on the state Senate to come to the table and pass more funding for mass transit that their own constituents rely on.”
Gov. Shapiro provided SEPTA with a “lifeline” last November when he flexed $153 million of federal highway funds to fill the current year’s budget gap. That was a one-time measure, however. “SEPTA is required by law to pass a balanced operating budget prior to the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, and the authority’s only options to close such a massive structural deficit are to raise fares and cut costs by eliminating services and reducing the size of its workforce,” it noted.
SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. said on June 26: “This is a vote none of us wanted to take. We have worked hard as an Authority to prevent this day from coming because we understand the impact it will have on our customers and the communities we serve. To be clear, this does not have to happen—if state lawmakers can reach an agreement to deliver sufficient, new funding for public transit.”
SEPTA on April 10 also released a capital budget proposal for the coming year. “Funding constraints and inflation are impacting SEPTA’s ability to move forward on some improvement efforts,” it said. “Under the proposal, SEPTA would close the funding gap by deferring dozens of projects and other capital-funded initiatives, which will delaying achievement of previous commitments for key priorities like station accessibility.”
The Fiscal Year 2026 Capital Budget was approved on June 26. SEPTA reported it will “defer $2 billion worth of projects, including critical station accessibility improvements—delaying better access for millions who rely on Metro and Regional Rail services.”
