SEPTA has initiated multiple changes to its policies, fare prices and the government funding it will receive this year after ridership decreases stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Pennsylvania state legislature to deny funding boosts.
As a result, SEPTA is looking to other government officials and transit users to make up for the gap in their finances.
About 40% percent of Temple students, faculty and staff use public transportation to get to campus, according to Temple’s 2022-23 Sustainability Annual Report. About 50% of students surveyed stated they would use public transit if a pass was included in their tuition, while around 35% said they would if fares were cheaper.
Local governments, including Philadelphia City Council, have made attempts to prevent a fallout by finding other opportunities to get the money SEPTA needs to keep all services, with no further increases.
“This is something that our office specifically is going to stay in tune with, and as we work with regional and local partners to try and fund SEPTA, it’s going to be something that we don’t want to fall out of the frame,” a spokesperson for Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke told The Temple News. “There’s obviously a wider regional conversation that the governor has pointed towards, that the mayor has pointed towards, everyone has referenced that we’re going to have to find long term solutions.”
One of SEPTA’s two proposed fare increases went into effect on Dec. 1. The second round of increases would include an almost 25% increase to all fares and service cuts in January 2025. Further discussion of fare increases, including the 25% raise, was postponed until July 1, 2025 after Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro flexed $153 million from the Federal Highway fund to the Transportation Authority.
“I just don’t think that [fare increases] is a great option,” said Nathaniel Thrush, a senior geography, environment and urban studies major. “I’m originally from Maryland, where we have the Metro. They have some really high fares in general, and that’s something that really kind of puts strain on a lot of people, like students, working people. It kind of puts budget deficits on the onus of like the riders, as opposed to the state.”
Temple participates in the SEPTA Semester Pass program, which provides a 10% discount for all SEPTA transit depending on the zone they purchase. Each semester, students can purchase the key for their transit needs. For the Fall 2024 semester, the pass cost between $346.56 and $736.44.
As of Dec. 3, the prices of the pass have not been adjusted to reflect the Dec. 1 SEPTA fare increases.
In a Nov. 12 news conference, SEPTA’s Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer said the company is beginning to experience a “transit death spiral.”
“What [the death spiral] is, is you continue to decline to the point where a large portion of your services are not usable for a lot of people,” said Andrew Busch, director of media relations of SEPTA. “It becomes more expensive, significantly less reliable and less available.”
If SEPTA is not funded in more permanent solutions, the agency is looking at serious cuts that could affect how SEPTA runs and implement heavy increases in fares, according to the agency.
This is not the first time SEPTA has needed additional help from the commonwealth and local governments. Many officials, including Philadelphia’s City Council, referenced the success of averting the 2005 SEPTA rate hikes after then-Gov. Ed Rendell announced a $412 million bailout fund for public transit.
While Harrisburg looks for more permanent solutions, other cities pitched in their help. In 2024, Philadelphia City Council approved a $20 million increase of their yearly budget to SEPTA. Counties around the Philadelphia area are looking to increase their contribution to the agency. Montgomery County officials stated they would give SEPTA an additional $1.10 million for the 2025 fiscal year.
Currently, SEPTA gets about 50% of its funding from the state budget. In comparison to surrounding cities, New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority receives around 10% of their funding from New York state.
“I think it’s frustrating to hear every few years that SEPTA is under existential threat when it’s just such a clear backbone of this region,” Thrush said. “If [SEPTA] didn’t exist, I don’t know how Philly would operate. So it’s a really scary prospect that falls in the hands of these politicians who then try to throw the burden to working people in the region.”
Jadon George contributed reporting.
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