PA: Lower Merion hosts discussion on mass transit funding

With a projected $213 million deficit in SEPTA's upcoming budget, State Rep. Mary Jo Daley hosted an expert roundtable this week on the future of transit funding.

Participants included, elected officials, representatives from SEPTA and advocates for public transportation.

"This isn't just a budget problem; it's a moment that calls for vision," Daley said. "Right now, SEPTA is looking at a $213 million shortfall. The headlines focus on that number, and it's a big one. But behind it is real consequences — the possible elimination of regional rail lines, the cutting of 50 bus routes, and the weakening of the system that thousands rely on every day to get to school, work, to get to the doctor, and back them home again."

Due to its projected deficit, SEPTA officials announced in April that they need to cut service by 45 percent and increase fares by more than 20 percent.

SEPTA's timeline includes cutting services by 20 percent beginning Aug. 24. Then, in September, they plan on increasing fares by 21.5 percent. Finally, on Jan. 1, an additional service cut of 25 percent will take place.

According to information from SEPTA regarding the proposed future of the Paoli/ Thorndale Line, beginning in August, the transit agency would reduce weekday services to 30-minute peak and 60-minute off-peak service on the Paoli/ Thorndale Line. Weekend service will be reduced to every two hours.

Then, all services would be eliminated on the Paoli/ Thorndale Line in January.

On the Cynwyd line, weekday service will be reduced by up to 50 percent beginning in August, with all service being eliminated in January.

Four bus lines that run through Lower Merion are also projected to be cut. Those lines include buses 44, 52, 103, and 106.

Todd Sinai, president of the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners, said the SEPTA cuts that would affect Lower Merion include the elimination of the Paoli/Thorndale line, which has six train stops for that line in Lower Merion. The Cynwyd line, which has two stops in Lower Merion, is also projected to be cut.

"Indeed, there's a brand new train station being built at the Ardmore station just a few hundred feet from where we are sitting today," Sinai said. "So the proposed SEPTA cuts are a dagger to the heart of mass transit in Lower Merion. That led to the 14 commissioners to vote unanimously for a resolution urging a bi-partisan commitment to a reliable, sufficient public funding solution for mass transportation in Pennsylvania."

Scott Saur, general manager for SEPTA, said that despite the record-low ridership during the pandemic, SEPTA had made improvements, such as hiring more transit police officers, and they've increased customer satisfaction scores in cleanliness and safety.

According to Saur, with less funding than many other transit companies, SEPTA is among the most efficient in the country.

Among the changes that have taken place over the past few months included a reduction in the structural deficit from $240 million to the $213 million figure now being cited by SEPTA. The deficit was reduced by freezing management pay, reducing management benefits, decreasing reliance on consultants and contractors, and freezing hiring for non-essential employees.

"We've been warning that this moment has been coming for several years," Saur said. "The fiscal cliff, as we refer to it, was real, and now we are standing at the precipice of that fiscal cliff."

Bernard Dagenais, president of the Main Line Chamber of Commerce, said 41 percent of the state's economic activity occurs in the southeastern part of the state.

"The ability to get around — it's about jobs, it's about a strong economy, and it really is a state-wide issue; it is not just an issue for Southeastern Pennsylvania," Dagenais said.

Ariella Maron, executive director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, said their study on the projected SEPTA cuts would result in an additional 275,000 cars on Philadelphia-area roadways.

"Fifty-five percent of the expected extra vehicle miles traveled will actually be on local roads," Maron said.

Pete Staz, a developer of transit-oriented projects, including the Cricket Flats in Ardmore, said more than half of their residents in Ardmore take SEPTA's trains weekly.

"We surveyed our tenants for this discussion, and over 50 percent of our tenants in Ardmore use the train at least once a week," Staz said. "I think that's all I need to say. It's going to greatly impact those tenants."

According to SEPTA's timeline, the first round of cuts is expected in August, with the second phase scheduled for January.

© 2025 Main Line Times & Suburban, Ardmore, Pa.
Visit www.mainlinemedianews.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.