Join Transit Forward Philadelphia as we table at the Vernon Park Community Bazaar & Flea Market. We will be sharing information about the Transit Access Fund and working to build a movement for better transit in Philly.

All are welcome to join. Please contact [email protected] with any questions or if there are ways we can make this event more accessible for you to participate.

Public transit is a public right. We call on city and transit leaders to establish and fully fund a Transit Access Fund (TAF) so no one in Philadelphia is blocked from work, school, childcare, worship, or a doctor’s visit because of a fare or unreliable service. Fares and service cuts hit working families first and hardest. A modest, dedicated public investment can reduce barriers for low‑income riders and strengthen the system for everyone.

Public transit is a public right. We call on city and transit leaders to establish and fully fund a Transit Access Fund (TAF) so no one in Philadelphia is blocked from work, school, childcare, worship, or a doctor’s visit because of a fare or unreliable service. Fares and service cuts hit working families first and hardest. A modest, dedicated public investment can reduce barriers for low‑income riders and strengthen the system for everyone.

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Why this Matters Now

• SEPTA Fares went up 21.5% last year, Philly wages did not.
  • Transportation access is the biggest obstacle to employment for nearly 4 in 10 Philadelphians
    
    
• SEPTA cuts and additional fare increases will be back in summer 2027 without the state taking action. The City of Philadelphia needs to act to invest in affordable accessible transit for all.

What is the Transit Access Fund

The Transit Access Fund (TAF) makes public transit more affordable for Philadelphians. The Ordinance would create a Special Fund dedicated to funding programs that promote public transit access for Philadelphia residents.

1. Make Philadelphia’s national model Zero Fare program permanent
2. Provide matching grants to help small businesses afford SEPTA Key Advantage

What we support:

• Creating a dedicated local revenue stream to make transit free for low‑income riders, with clear, equitable eligibility and simple enrollment. This should complement (not replace) broader investments to keep buses, subways, and trolleys reliable.
  
  
• Using the fund to help stabilize SEPTA’s finances and protect riders from service reductions and overcrowding that we’ve seen threatened during recent budget crises.
  
  
• Prioritizing relief for those who rely on transit most—workers, seniors, people with disabilities, students, and families—so no one has to choose between a fare and a necessity.
  
  
• Leveraging a small public investment to significantly increase ridership - greatly improving system frequency, safety, and reliability for all Philadelphians.
  
  

Philly Supports the Transit Access Fund!

“Public transit is a public right. No Philadelphian should be prevented from getting to work, school, childcare, worship, a medical appointment, or other essential activities because they cannot afford a fare or because transit service is unreliable.” — SEAMAAC

“We serve Kensington, Philadelphia, a community whose average median income is less than $30,000. We  believe residents shouldn’t have to choose between housing and transportation, medical care and transportation, etc. Making transportation free for low-income Philadelphians and making it more affordable and accessible for workers is critical!” — New Kensington Community Development Corporation

“Kensington residents rely on the El and local bus routes to reach jobs, healthcare, school, and childcare, and fares are a real barrier for many working families in a neighborhood facing deep economic disinvestment.”
— Kensington Corridor Trust

“Disability Pride Pennsylvania is a Disabled-led organization, and our community depends on public transit to reach work, health care, and each other. The Transit Access Fund protects Zero Fare for low-income riders and requires the City to report every year on paratransit access and accessible transit infrastructure. Affordable, accessible transit is a civil right.” — Disability Pride PA

“Over 1/3 of Philadelphia’s disability communities are living in poverty, which is over 95,000 people. … Art-Reach supports the Transit Access Fund because we know our disability community benefits from affordable and accessible public transportation.”
— Art-Reach

“The Transit Access Fund will make the transformative Zero Fare Program permanent and make UPass more attractive to universities through a city contribution!” — SEPTA Youth Advisory Council

“Northeast Philly runs on SEPTA.” — 215 People’s Alliance

Join us at City Hall to advocate for the Transit Access Fund. We'll meet at 9:00am at the NE corner of City Hall and enter together to attend the council caucus meeting. Be sure to bring your ID.

All are welcome to join. Please contact [email protected] with any questions or if there are ways we can make this event more accessible for you to participate.

Join us at City Hall to speak at public comment for the Transit Access Fund. We'll meet at 9:30am at the NE corner of City Hall and enter together. Be sure to bring your ID.

All are welcome to join. Please contact [email protected] with any questions or if there are ways we can make this event more accessible for you to participate.

The clock is ticking. We have fewer than 500 days to secure the future of public transit in Philly before the next funding crisis hits.

Last summer, SEPTA was forced to implement sweeping service cuts. With the elimination of 32 bus lines including many school routes on the first day of school and sports express service during the Eagles home opener.

Packed buses and trains made daily life harder for hundreds of thousands of Philadelphians who depend on transit to get to work, school, the doctor, and home again. Those cuts devastated riders. Riders shared that it felt “horrible” when the bus lines they had taken for decades were suddenly cut.

Governor Shapiro's proposed budget called out the need for transit funding as ‘unfinished business.’  But the Governor's plan won't kick in until 2027, and even then, it doesn't fully address what our transit system actually needs. The emergency actions he took late last year bought us time. They did not buy us a long term solution.

SEPTA cuts will be back in summer 2027 unless the Pennsylvania's legislature finally acts with the urgency this crisis demands.

So what do we do in the meantime?

First, the honest truth: SEPTA needs to earn back trust it has lost. Riders who stuck with the system through years of pandemic disruption and service cuts deserve reliable, safe transportation across the region. That means trolleys, trains, and buses that stay safe and in service. The long planned New Bus Network must speed up travel times for the nearly half million SEPTA bus rides taken every day.

It means being ready for the world's eyes to turn to Philadelphia. The FIFA World Cup and other major events in 2026  will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to our city. How we move them will say a great deal about who we are. SEPTA must meet the moment.

We need our state leaders to act. That means sustained pressure on legislators from both parties and the Governor to support dedicated, sustainable transit revenue. Transit funding bills passed the state house five times last session with bipartisan support. Within the next 15 months, we have to get it done.

While we fight for that larger fix, the city of Philadelphia can lead a movement to grow ridership and make transit more affordable. 

It starts with continuing two vital city initiatives. The nationally recognized Zero Fare program currently gives more than 60,000 low income Philadelphians access to public transit. The municipal Key Advantage program gives over 13,000 city employees a ride to work. Mayor Parker has proposed continuing to fund these programs through 2027. We appreciate Mayor Parker’s leadership and urge members of the Philadelphia City Council to  follow through on her budget request to ensure that we don’t take away the freedom of mobility from the people who keep Philly moving.

After securing funding for these initiatives, we should make them permanent. The Transit Access Fund, championed by Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke , would permanently fund Zero Fare, ensuring that low-income riders are never priced off the system. And it would expand and match Key Advantage,  SEPTA's successful employer, college, and residential transit pass program to give more people access to public transit.

As the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection, these programs do right by our neighbors. They take cars off congested streets, clean our air, and make life more affordable. They also build the case that Philly is committed to investing in transit to encourage state leaders to do the same.

The state legislature may be gridlocked. Federal transit support faces uncertainty. But Philadelphia has shown before that we can lead the way.

Funding Zero Fare and municipal Key Advantage as well as passing the Transit Access Fund are ways we can improve transit in Philly now while the larger state fight continues.

Five hundred days sounds like a long time. It isn't. We have to start now. We can build the transit Philadelphia deserves. But we have to fight for it, together, starting today.

Transit Forward Philadelphia is a coalition of 37 organizations supporting a safe, accessible, and sustainable transit network in the Philadelphia region. Learn more at transitforwardphilly.org.

PHILADELPHIA, PA

Philadelphia transit riders and advocates celebrate the release of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s FY 2027 budget. The Mayor’s plan provides needed funding for critical transit investments including the nationally recognized Zero Fare program, municipal Key Advantage, and increased resources for SEPTA. The budget announcement comes after a week of action that culminated in a rally at City Hall with state elected officials, union leaders, and community advocates from across Philadelphia calling for Zero Fare and Key Advantage to be funded in the city budget.

Transit Forward Philadelphia appreciates the leadership of Minority Whip Nicolas O’Rourke (WFP, At-Large) and contributions from leaders throughout the Philadelphia City Council for supporting these programs. Councilmember O’Rourke shared, “Our mayor made a great choice in continuing to prioritize transit access through funding Zero Fare and Key Advantage. These programs help generate the positive feedback loops that SEPTA needs, and keeps—as with so many of our constituents—affordability front of mind. I thank the Philadelphians who made it clear that transit access is, and will be, a priority in their communities.”

Gloria ‘Smooches’ Cartagena Hart, a community organizer with Kensington Corridor Trust shared, I work with families throughout the Kensington community and would love to thank Mayor Parker for supporting all Philadelphians that are living paycheck to paycheck. With Zero Fare funded, now families will not have the extra concern of how they’ll get to where they need to go.”

Julio Rodriguez, Policy Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP) said, “BCGP is glad that mobility investments were prioritized in the budget. All Philadelphians must have freedom of mobility. The Mayor's Key Advantage and Zero Fare investment ensure that over 60,000 income-eligible community members and 13,000 employees have that opportunity. BCGP is glad to see there is level funding for Vision Zero and we look forward to working with our members and allies to advocate for increased funding through this year's budget cycle.”

Transit Forward Philadelphia Coalition Manager, Stephen Bronskill shared, “Nearly a year after a 21.5% SEPTA fare increase, transit riders should not have to balance paying for food, medical care, and bus fare. Thanks to this announcement, tens of thousands of Philadelphians living near the poverty line are breathing easier now that their Zero Fare cards will be funded through July 2027. We applaud Mayor Parker for her leadership and for listening to the voices of transit riders. Zero Fare has been called ‘America’s best low income transit program’ due to its low barriers to entry for participants. We look forward to working with members of the Philadelphia City Council to ensure that this innovative program remains fully funded through the budget process.”

Bronskill went on to share the path forward for transit advocates in Philly, “City leaders should make the Zero Fare program permanent by establishing a Transit Access Fund. This would expand access to transit for low income Philadelphians and give Zero Fare participants certainty that their rides to work and opportunities are preserved. It also makes SEPTA more affordable for everyone by making Key Advantage programs for workplaces, schools, and housing more accessible. Additionally, state elected leaders should recognize that Philly is doing its part to invest in transit and pass a state budget that includes sustainable funding for transit agencies across PA.”

Transit Forward Philadelphia is a coalition of 37 organizations supporting a safe, accessible, and sustainable transit network in the Philadelphia region. Learn more at transitforwardphilly.org.
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