PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As state budget negotiations carry on in Harrisburg, SEPTA is continuing to make its case that it needs more funds to prevent drastic cuts.
SEPTA GM Scott Sauer continued his lobbying at the Pennsylvania Capitol on Wednesday, where he’s been laying out evidence to state Senate Republican leaders that SEPTA needs the additional $165 million it would get from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal.
“It’s not more than what we need,” he said. “If less is what’s decided, what that means for SEPTA is that we have decisions to make.”
He said lawmakers have been asking how efficient SEPTA has been with the tax dollars it has received. Sauer maintained that while SEPTA can be better, it is an efficient organization.
The transit agency is threatening 45% service cuts — including axing five Regional Rail lines — without more revenue to fill a $213 million budget gap. Sauer noted that his discussions with Senate leaders have changed in recent weeks, with lawmakers asking for more specific information.
“It has evolved to the point where I believe they’re asking more granular questions, which leads me to believe that they’re looking to do something. I just don’t know what that something is,” he said.
Although Sauer said he understands that the state is dealing with its own $4.5 billion deficit on top of SEPTA’s needs, he remains optimistic that some funding solution will emerge.
“I understand what [they’re] up against, but that doesn’t make our need any less,” he added after a news conference at the Chestnut Hill East Station on Wednesday.
The SEPTA Board is set to vote on its doomsday budget in two weeks.