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On Sunday, Governor Josh Shapiro announced a topline priority to provide $282.8million more in annual funding for public transportation across Pennsylvania. This state lifeline will limit SEPTA and other systems from catastrophic service cuts and fare increases, but it represents only the beginning of our fight.
Click here to support Gov. Shapiro and tell your state legislators: fund PA transit!
At the beginning of January, news of SEPTA's "fiscal cliff" and neighborhood-based organizing from Save the Train in the Northwest raised the temperature rapidly on the long-simmering need for stable transit funding in the Philly region and across the commonwealth.
We've been advocating behind-the-scenes and with public actions since June, asking Governor Shapiro and the PA legislature to increase the state sales tax allocation (but not the tax itself!) to secure SEPTA's operations. Now that the governor has announced this priority, we need the PA House and Senate to act and pass this request in the FY2025 budget.
As operator shortages continue and unions are only able to negotiate one-year contracts, SEPTA needs a stable runway of funding to get transit riders the reliable service, and safe and clean system we deserve.
At the federal level, Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia has proposed the Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act, which would provide federal operating support for public transportation. And to pass better local funding, we need options like HB 902 which would allow local governments to pass dedicated funding for transportation.
SEPTA's budget is busted because of comprehensive and long-lasting underfunding. We need all levels of government to step up when the Philly region contributes $17 per person per year in local funding while systems like WMATA in DC contribute $70.
