The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)’s Board has greenlit the agency’s fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget, totaling $2.7 billion. The FY27 budget breaks down into $1.84 billion for the operating budget and $920.7 million for the capital budget. The budget plan is an increase of 1.9% over FY26 and includes investments in new buses, more full-length fare gates and other improvements for riders.

The agency says there will be no changes in service levels, nor with the fare increase. The operating budget reflects the second and final year of the $394 million capital funds transfer approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to support operations. The agency notes that without a long-term funding solution at the state-level in the coming year, its future remains unclear.

“SEPTA continues to demonstrate meaningful progress in safety, reliability, cleanliness, ridership recovery and fiscal discipline,” said SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth Lawrence Jr. “The budget we approved today reflects SEPTA’s ability to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and worthy of stable, dedicated funding.”

SEPTA thanked ongoing austerity measures for its ability to realize close to $30 million in annual savings, in addition to increased income from advertising, parking and investments. These efforts have reduced the agency’s structural budget deficit from $213 million to $192 million.

The budget also includes the required local match on state funding from the city of Philadelphia and Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. Additionally, the city’s FY27 budget passed earlier this month maintains funding for the city’s Zero Fare program for low-income Philadelphians and continued participation in SEPTA Key Advantage.

“We are grateful to Mayor [Cherelle] Parker and Philadelphia City Council for strengthening these unique partnerships,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer. “The progress we have made over the past year demonstrates how SEPTA is delivering for its riders and the communities we serve, and this budget creates the foundation for SEPTA’s future.”

The 12-year capital program dedicates funds to advance critical infrastructure and vehicle replacement investments, including Trolley Modernization, the purchase of new L cars and station accessibility projects. SEPTA is also able to restart its bus fleet replacement in FY27 because of the lower structural deficit.

However, the agency notes that this capital program relies heavily on debt to fund critical railcar replacements, with a plan to borrow $4.3 billion over 12 years for the replacement. The debt-heavy program does not have the capacity to fully fund the replacement of the B cars, which are approaching 50 years old.

Meanwhile, SEPTA notes that the state of good repair backlog has doubled in the past decade to $10.2 billion, undermining system reliability and driving up future repair costs. SEPTA’s capital budget remains between one-third to one-half of the capital funding provided to peer transit agencies.

SEPTA’s Board also approved the agency’s five-year strategic plan—a plan for how SEPTA moves from “back-to-basics” to “best-in-class”—defining the goals, actions and performance indicators that will guide its work and investments over the next five years.

The plan builds on progress the operator has made recently. Ridership has grown for four consecutive years. Serious crime has fallen to its lowest level in a decade. Missed bus trips have dropped by nearly half. The authority is also conducting one of the largest fleet modernization in a generation.

In addition, the board approved a new contract between SEPTA and the Fraternal Order of Transit Police (FOTP) Lodge #109 for Transit Police officers. FOTP members voted to ratify the three-year agreement. The previous contract expired on March 31, 2026.