PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Is there a way the state can find money to pull SEPTA back from its fiscal cliff? Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday hinted that he’s working on stop-gap funding to keep the buses, trains and trolleys running.
“I will not let SEPTA fail.”
It’s not the long-term transit funding he proposed in his budget, but Shapiro says he’s trying to find money to help SEPTA after the Republican-led state Senate three times rejected his proposals and ended the current session without acting the governor's proposals to provide more transit funding.
SEPTA is planning steep fare increases and deep service cuts while it tries to fend-off strikes threatened by its city transit and suburban drivers. The transit agency has a $153 million budget hole in this fiscal year.
So state Rep. Ben Waxman wrote a letter to Shapiro last week, asking him to shift federal highway funding to transit.
Speaking at an event at the Bellwether District, the governor said there may be a short-term solution in the works.
“What he’s proposing is a stopgap measure. We need a long term solution, but I also recognize that we can’t let SEPTA fail. And I’ll have more to say about this in the coming weeks.”
It’s been done before. Waxman in his letter said Pennsylvania has flexed 2% of its federal highway funds to transit over the last decade.
“I’ll have more to say on some actions my administration may take – we’re working hard to consider what steps we can take to shore up SEPTA. And I’ll have some more to say on that over the coming weeks.”