PA: Montgomery County leaders urge solutions amid looming SEPTA funding crisis

A looming financial crisis concerning the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority brought elected officials, advocates and area residents together to call for concrete action to mitigate the impending transit disaster.

“We’re here because we’re at a crossroads. SEPTA is facing historic underfunding from the state legislature, and if we don’t act now, we’re going to see the largest service cut in the region’s history,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairman Neil Makhija.

Rate hikes and significant slashing of services are planned, according to SEPTA’s website, including shuttering five regional rail lines, 50 bus routes, 66 stations, and a 21.5 percent fare increase.

“This is not simply a problem for Main Line and regional rail people. This is a problem for all of us,” said Olivia Loudon, a Bryn Mawr College senior studying history.

Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro diverts federal highway funds to avert SEPTA fare hike

While Gov. Josh Shapiro in a November 2024 statement had attributed SEPTA’s “significant funding shortfall” to “the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds,” Shapiro announced intentions to commit $153 million in federal highway capital dollars to the Philadelphia area transportation agency.

But elected officials and advocates are urging state legislators to do more.

“It’s extremely important we have public transit because people need that, and it’s something we need to work closely with our state legislators. We need to come together. We need to find solutions,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello.

“Public transit is like education, it’s an equalizer. A platform that allows all of us the opportunity to be better and realize our potential. So SEPTA’s funding crisis isn’t a transit issue, this is a justice issue; this is an education issue; this is an economic issue,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairwoman Jamila Winder.

Lifeline for college students

Speakers at the Tuesday morning event underscored the crucial role public transportation plays with more than 300,000 students enrolled in higher education institutions throughout Philadelphia’s metropolitan area, Makhija said. Bryn Mawr College President Wendy Cadge added that 1,000 students use their passes each month through the SEPTA University Pass Program. The college has 1,750 students enrolled.

“SEPTA has been absolutely life changing for me,” Loudon said, “It’s part of the reason I chose Bryn Mawr.”

Loudon said she’s seen train platforms filled with students from nearby universities such as Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Swarthmore, and Villanova using trains to get in and out of the city.

“How many of those students would lose access to Philadelphia if it cost us a $60 Uber to get there and back?” Loudon said.

“Cutting service doesn’t just make it harder, it closes doors. It says, ‘if you can’t afford a car, you don’t get a shot.’ We cannot accept that,” Winder said.

Montgomery County Community College President Victoria Bastecki-Perez too acknowledged having accessible bus stops at or near both the Blue Bell and Pottstown campuses as a vital resource.

“For many Montgomery County Community College students, SEPTA is more than just a transit system, it’s a lifeline,” Bastecki-Perez said.

Bastecki-Perez cited survey results from the 2023-24 Culture of Caring Assessment where rouhgly 38 percent of responding students “indicated they required assistance with transportation” and underscored the long term consequences that insolvency could have on students.

“The proposed fare increase would add another burden creating financial hardship for students who are already struggling to manage tuition and the rising costs of daily living expenses including food and housing,” she said.

Nerve center for region

Classifying the transit system as the “nervous system that runs through Philadelphia,” Loudon and others identified devastating potential consequences to economic vitality, from small businesses to the more than 750,000 people employed in the “eds and meds” ecosystem.

“We need to see SEPTA fully funded,” Makhija said, stressing that it’s “absolutely critical for the health and wellbeing of our region.”

In addition to the day-to-day role public transportation plays in the Philadelphia area, key events in 2026, such as the U.S. Semiquincentennial, FIFA World Cup games and the PGA Championship depend on it.

“There’s going to be so many events of global import,” said Transit for All PA Statewide Campaign Strategist Connor Descheemaker. “Imagine millions of people coming into the Philadelphia region, and that’s across the full five-county region.”

More than bare minimum

“There are going to be hotel rooms booked … in Delaware for the FIFA World Cup and imagine if all of those people are going to be riding ride shares all the time?” Descheemaker continued. “We need to be thinking expansively about how we invest in the future of public transportation and not just give the bare minimum.”

Makhija agreed.

“We have to think beyond the basics of just keeping things where we are today,” he said. “If we funded SEPTA at the rate that other cities around the country get, we would have service every 15 minutes. We would be able to get everywhere we need to get across our region.”

Proposed SEPTA cuts will impact drivers and transit riders in Bucks and Montgomery counties

As elected officials stressed the need to work with partners in the State Legislature, Loudon told “’Main Liners’ to get involved” and raise their voices “so loud that they can hear us all the way in Harrisburg.” She encouraged people to call, send emails and write letters to elected officials in advocacy for public transportation.

“We benefit so much from Philadelphia, its people and its public transit system. The very least we can do is help defend it,” Loudon said. “So Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, Paoli, Wayne, Swarthmore, Narberth, Wynnewood, Manayunk, I am calling out to you specifically. Get calling, get writing, get active, and get moving while we still have the transit system to help us do it.”

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