PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA’s budget proposal would increase spending on police and cleaning, but reduce some service and reinstate parking fees.
SEPTA’s proposed $1.7 billion operating budget for Fiscal 2025 includes the extra $161 million in transit funding in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget plan. Without it, SEPTA has said 20% service cuts and 30% fare increases would result as federal COVID relief expires.
At a public hearing Monday, SEPTA Senior Director of Budgets and Transformation Erik Johanson said the transit agency expects to spend more next year to try to fill its driver shortage.
“Our labor budget is going up 6% year over year,” he said. “So we’ve made a number of provisions to make the bus operator position and lots of our other positions more attractive,” Johanson said.
Johanson explained that, while there would be a small increase in Regional Rail service next year, there would also be slightly less bus, subway and trolley services because of the ongoing operator shortage.
Johanson says this will help better align schedules with operator availability, adding that bus and SEPTA Metro service would be reduced from 96% to 92% of pre-COVID levels because of vacant positions.
Johanson said in the next year not only will SEPTA end the free parking offered to bring riders back after the pandemic, but the rates will increase.
“Following four years of free parking offered to help attract customers back to the system following the COVID-19 pandemic, SEPTA will reinstate parking fees this fiscal year,” he said, “moving daily fees to $2 for surface lots and $4 for garages.”
The public has two more opportunities to weigh in on SEPTA’s budget: Tuesday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The SEPTA board will consider the budget at its June meeting.