UPDATED on Aug. 13 at 5 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — On the eve of SEPTA’s deadline for massive service cuts, the state Legislature is back to square one, as a Pennsylvania House committee killed the plan passed in the state Senate Tuesday night that would have shifted transit capital funds to cover operating shortfalls.
The Democrat-led state House first passed the bill on Monday, over the objection of nearly every Republican. The House plan would dip into existing sales tax revenue. It moved to the Republican-controlled state Senate on Tuesday, where it was shot down. Republicans contended it would hurt seniors and other vulnerable groups.
Senators introduced their own transit plan Tuesday after shooting down the state House funding bill. State Sen. Joe Picozzi (R-Northeast Philadelphia) said the bill would fund SEPTA for two years with money from the Public Transit Trust Fund. In addition to funding, it also required greater state oversight of SEPTA finances and safety and security, required mandatory fare hikes tied to the consumer price index, and would have sent money from the fund to rural roads and highways.
“We have enough existing resources to fund trains and infrastructure for two years without cutting back our plans or cutting funding for other programs,” he said.
The bill went to the state House Rules Committee on Wednesday. Before the vote, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll told the committee, “The use of capital dollars for operating does not solve our problem. In fact, it creates a new one.”
SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said the Senate plan would fall far short of covering operating costs and increase what is already a $10 billion repair backlog.
“Our rail cars are aging out. We have track and signal and power systems that we are also aging,” he said. “Our staff does yeoman's work to keep that fleet safe and running reliably. They simply cannot continue to run without some replacement.”
SEPTA previously said over the weekend that using that fund would jeopardize rider safety and would not stop the service cuts set to go into effect later this month.
State House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford and Fulton counties) asked Carroll why, if transit agencies like SEPTA have such a backlog, the PTTF has a balance of $2.3 billion.
“Just to look at the balance sheet and say there's a billion dollars sitting there, sure,” Carroll replied, “but that billion dollars has expected uses tomorrow, a month from now and a year from now.”
SEPTA, facing a $213 million deficit, had said it must receive state funding by Aug. 14 in order to stave off 20% service cuts on Aug. 24, one day before the start of school in Philadelphia. With a schedule change, it usually takes SEPTA three weeks to prepare data feeds and work schedules for drivers, but it compressed that process down to 10 days to buy as much time as possible.
The first round of service cuts, starting Aug. 24, includes 32 bus routes cut, 3,000 bus stops eliminated, 16 routes shortened, no sports express service, and less frequent service on the buses and trains that will continue to run. Midday Regional Rail trains will only run every two hours.
Fares will rise by 21.5% on Sept. 1 and, soon after, the agency will impose a hiring freeze. It will carry out another service cut on Jan. 1, 2026, which will mean that it will have eliminated half its current services. Come January, five Regional Rail lines would be cut completely, along with 18 more bus routes. And, rail service would stop at 9 p.m.