PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA’s plan to overhaul its bus network was put on hold last month, as deep service cuts were threatened for next year. Since then, Gov. Josh Shapiro has stepped in with stopgap funding. So, do the bus route changes have the green light?
SEPTA’s long-planned initiative, dubbed “Bus Revolution,” would keep the same number of buses while reducing the number of routes from 125 to 106 and changing many of them to establish more frequent service.
It was slated to go into effect next summer, but the stopgap money will take SEPTA only through the end of next June.
Spokesman Andrew Busch says, whether SEPTA can put that plan into action will depend on whether the governor and the Legislature can agree on dedicated and reliable state funding for mass transit.
“We need to have funding certainty before we know whether or not we can go ahead with the changes that are proposed in the Bus Revolution program,” Busch said.
The service cuts, which were shelved when Shapiro flexed federal highway money to close SEPTA’s budget gap, are still on the table for next fiscal year, beginning July 1 — if the impasse in Harrisburg continues.
Those cuts would put the brakes on the Bus Revolution, he said. “It simply wouldn’t be possible to provide the frequency and reliability that this new network will rely on.”
In the meantime, he says, SEPTA will continue to prepare for things like new route signage and possible changes to bus operator assignments — until next year’s funding picture becomes more clear.