Pennsylvania's Transit Funding Crisis: 33 Systems Face Service Cuts and Fare Hikes
Transit agencies can't plan service like a serious public utility if their funding acts like a year-to-year cliffhanger.
Recently, Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority cut service by 5% for its 11,000 daily riders in the Lehigh Valley. Next month? Fare increases. Without a funding fix deeper cuts are coming.
Although Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) gets most of my attention, I worry about Disabled riders all over the state. Thirty-three smaller transit systems across Pennsylvania are facing the same fiscal cliff.
I mean Allentown. State College. Places big and small where workers depend on buses to get to warehouse jobs, hospitals, and schools. Below is a reel by a home care worker in Scranton who relies on public transportation to get to work.
Too Many Impossible Choices
Governor Shapiro's recent budget proposal includes giving transit a wider cut of sales tax revenue, but that fix is a daunting 18 months away. That means over 33 transit systems have to make impossible choices
Cut services? Raise prices? Reduce frequency? These options hurt Disabled riders like me—the people who can least afford it.
If left alone, this mess involves everyone. When workers can't make it to their shift, businesses fail. When students can't reach campus, enrollment drops. When healthcare workers can't commute, hospitals scramble.
The temporary fixes that saved Philadelphia in prior cycles came from using capital project money—money that now must be repaid.
Can we afford to fund transit? Heck, can we afford NOT to?!
What's happening in your region? Are transit cuts impacting you?
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