Philadelphia mass transit users face fare hikes over 20%, possible service cuts
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s public transportation system has proposed a 21.5% across-the-board fare increase that would take effect on New Year’s Day, as well as severe service cuts that would take effect next summer.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority announced his plans on Tuesday and scheduled a public hearing on them for Dec. 13.
If approved by SEPTA’s board, passengers would pay the increase on top of a proposed separate interim average fare increase of 7.5% that the panel will consider later this month. If passed, it would come into effect on December 1. If both increases take effect, the cost of a one-way trip on the city bus and subway would increase from $2 to $2.90. SEPTA key fares for rail travelers, which now range from $3.75 to $6.50 depending on the zone travelers use, would range from $5 to $8.75 on Jan. 1.
SEPTA, which is facing a possible strike by thousands of its employees, has repeatedly said its financial health is uncertain. The last time rates were increased in 2017, the proposed increase is expected to raise another $23 million this fiscal year and $45 million annually starting in 2026.
SEPTA, the nation’s sixth-largest mass transit system, faces a $240 million annual structural budget deficit as federal pandemic aid is phased out. It has also lost about $161 million in state aid since the Republican-controlled Senate refused to vote on Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal for $283 million in new state aid for public transit. Instead, lawmakers approved a one-time payment to the state’s transit systems trust fund, of which SEPTA received $46 million.
SEPTA’s board of directors could vote as soon as Dec. 19 to approve the latest proposal for a fair increase. SEPTA is also looking at possible service cuts that could take effect July 1 and could include eliminating and shortening routes and reducing the frequency of bus, trolley, subway and regional rail service.
The cuts would save an estimated $92 million in the first year — an amount that could grow in future fiscal years as SEPTA considers infrastructure cuts.
“This is painful and it will be painful for our customers,” SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer said Tuesday. “This is the beginning of what we’ve been saying: the transit death spiral.”
The proposal comes as SEPTA is in contract talks with Transport Workers Union Local 234, whose members voted to authorize a strike when their one-year contract expired last Friday. The union — which has about 5,000 members, including bus, subway and trolley operators, mechanics, cashiers, maintenance workers and custodians — ultimately agreed to postpone all job action as some progress was made in negotiations.