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In September, November, and December, Philadelphia City Council passed an array of resolutions in support of public transportations. Is this the beginning of a new, proactive turn on transit for local government?
Though resolutions are non-binding, they can serve as statements of purpose, and give organizers like us something to hold the council to in actual policy and funding in the months and years to come.
SEPTEMBER RESOLUTIONS
Resolution 240711 "Calling on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to secure $161 million in funding for SEPTA," introduced by Councilmember Jeffrey "Jay" Young
- This officially increased pressure on Pennsylvania's state government to act for transit operations, and recognized the cascading effects of transit on the mobility, economy, and overall resilience of Philadelphia
Resolution 240712 "Calling on universities in the City of Philadelphia to adopt the SEPTA Key Advantage UPass Program for all of their students," introduced by Councilmember Jeffrey "Jay" Young
- This resolution offers an astute observation of transit needs in Philly, in wake of successful reports on year one of Swarthmore's UPASS, and Bryn Mawr's recent adoption of the program. However, no Philadelphia-based colleges or universities participate.
- In the last two years, we've worked alongside TAUP at Temple and AFT 2026 at Community College of Philadelphia in getting Key Advantage in union contracts and UPASS for students. Simultaneously, we and other Transit Forward coalition members are supporting student-led efforts to get UPASS at Temple and Penn.
- By neglecting Key Advantage, these major institutions are remaining disinvested in the infrastructure of the city and region.
- Overall, Key Advantage continues to grow, offering the opportunity to grow ridership and stabilize SEPTA's revenue while providing benefit to students in access to healthcare and employment, and engagement with all the resources available across southeastern Pennsylvania.
Resolution 240757 "Calling on The School District of Philadelphia to expand SEPTA Student Fare Passes to all students for usage at all times, and regardless of their residential distance from schools," introduced by Councilmember Rue Landau.
- Councilmember Landau followed her expressed support of expansion at our Vision Zero Conference in April and a student petition
- Since then, Transit Forward hosted meetings with staff of councilmembers Phillips, Thomas, Landau, Brooks, Johnson, and O'Rourke, and has meetings on the calendar with Squilla and Gilmore Richardson with more to come!
- This dovetails with our longstanding calls for expanded youth transit access alongside our allies. Currently though, Philly is failing out students by only focusing on punitive measures around disorder, when the struggle is for positive youth engagement
- We created this document to showcase standards across the country. Most recently, New York transferred its student fares into OMNY, and made them valid every day, year-round.
- Philadelphia can increase youth access to employment, athletics, and after-school programs, when the people running these programs routinely cite reliable transportation as a top factor affecting youth participation.
- We're building a coalition of parents, youth programming organizations, and educators who support all-day, every-day, year-round youth transit access. Contact us to plug in; we're hosting a kickoff meeting in January to strategize, and ultimately win funding in FY2026.
THE BIG ONE IN NOVEMBER
Resolution 241075 "Calling on Governor Josh Shapiro and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to stave off fare hikes and service cuts to SEPTA by flexing federal infrastructure funds from state highway projects to local transportation authorities," introduced by Councilmember Nicolas O'Rourke on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson
- In just under two weeks, Transit Forward Philadelphia and our partners in Transit For All PA! across the state catalyzed over 6,000 actions, calling on Governor Josh Shapiro to flex federal highway dollars to stop SEPTA's collapse for a few more months. We brought 25 transit riders to city council to testify in support of this resolution. One day after passage, the governor took action.
SETTING THE STAGE IN DECEMBER
Resolution 241120 "Thanking Governor Josh Shapiro for flexing $153 million in federal highway funds to SEPTA," introduced by Councilmember Jeffrey "Jay" Young on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
- We're thanking Governor Shapiro, too
Resolution 241122 "Thanking SEPTA for expanding its high fare gate pilot program to combat fare evasion by installing 100 full length fare gates at nine SEPTA stations across the City of Philadelphia," introduced by Councilmember Jeffrey "Jay" Young.
- Transit Forward Philadelphia has long supported non-carceral solutions to disorder on public transportation, including fare evasion. These environmental adjustments can help stabilize fare revenues, while we fight for the government funding to ensure equitable fare policy.
Resolution 241125 "Urging Pennsylvania State Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats to write and pass bipartisan legislation that will provide necessary funding for SEPTA," introduced by Councilmember Nicolas O'Rourke on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson.
- Right back where we were in September, but with a little more breathing room. Council redeclares its support for just, sustainable funding for SEPTA in the FY2026 Pennsylvania budget.
We're happy to see Council take an interest in transit, but they must remain invested over the long haul. As we have continually cited, much of the success and failure of SEPTA is in their hands.
Let this be the start of a more-engaged council, recognizing the power and potential of public transportation in Philadelphia to drive equity, mobility, and sustainability - it must be taken seriously if Mayor Parker wants our city to be "cleaner and greener."
