Halfway through 2026, Transit Forward Philadelphia's Transit Fellows are proving what community-rooted organizing looks like in practice. Representing Northeast Philadelphia, Kensington, North Philly, Southwest Philly, and beyond, our fellows were brought on this year to build relationships in neighborhoods that are among the most vulnerable to potential transit cuts — and to amplify rider voices in the fight for a transit system that's safe, reliable, accessible, and fully funded. A recent round of reflections from the fellows shows just how much ground they've covered, and how much they've grown along the way.
Saving Zero Fare and Advocating for Statewide Transit Funding
As Northeast Philly transit fellow Senia Lopez put it, “public transit touches everything.” For Senia, that meant being part of a successful spring campaign to save Zero Fare. This gave her a concrete win to build from, along with a growing network of transit riders.
For Xose Agbadan, working in North Philly, pride came from an unexpected place: City Hall. She helped turn out community members for budget hearings advocating for transit funding, and even connected with Mayor Parker along the way. She started out the year being new to transit advocacy— now she's showing up to Councilmember meetings and coming away more confident than she expected, at times feeling like she knows more about the issues than the officials she's talking to. 
Accessibility work has been a throughline as well. Transit fellows have helped launch a transit stop audit campaign as part of Transit Forward Philadelphia's broader campaign to make stops easier to use for riders with disabilities. Transit Forward Philly summer intern, Yejide Fagoroye shared that the experience has taught her a lot about how transit actually functions day to day. That knowledge has spilled over into her personal life: she's constantly talking transit with her family now. She was especially moved when her mother, who always felt transit was dangerous or dirty, took a chance on the trolley and walked through the concourse anyway.
Julie and Allegra, organizing in Kensington and Southwest Philly respectively, both talked about a shift in how it feels to be out in their communities. Julie remembers feeling awkward and out of place at her first night at a Kensington engagement event — like she'd crashed a party and didn't know what to do with herself. Now after building community partnerships, she's the one greeting people with a smile, comfortable striking up conversations on the spot. Allegra echoed that same growth, saying they've gotten far more at ease talking with people on the street, and that finding common ground over something they genuinely care about — the bus — has been one of the most rewarding parts of the fellowship.
Turning Frustration into Hope and Organizing
When asked where they'd grown the most, several fellows landed on a similar theme: learning to organize for something rather than against it. Senia noted that people are quick to respond to a negative message, but building support around a positive vision takes more work — and more trust. Julie has felt that shift directly in conversations with skeptical riders: even people who think SEPTA is a mess can get behind the idea of funding and fixing it, and she's come to believe in that affirmative message as a way to make people's lives better in real, concrete terms. Xose described watching her own frustration convert into hope, fueled by the fact that people keep showing up to meetings and actions simply because they care.
Xose also credited the fellowship with expanding her sense of her own city — she now knows organizations like NKCDC and has built familiarity with parts of Kensington she rarely visited before. Allegra pointed to budget organizing as an unexpectedly good crash course in how city government actually works, calling the experience refreshing and more community-oriented than expected. Several fellows singled out advocacy days at City Hall and Harrisburg as a genuine point of pride — pulling it off felt like a real marker of how far the group has come.
Looking Ahead
The fellows aren't slowing down. Several are looking forward to the summer push building on the win for transit riders saving Zero Fare by passing a Transit Access Fund to make it permanent. Others are building support to make student fares go farther, and campaign for critical transit funding in the next state budget to avoid cuts to SEPTA.
Taken together, the reflections paint a picture of a group that's grown from feeling unsure in new rooms to feeling at home in them — whether that room is a community engagement night in Kensington, a City Council budget hearing, or a conversation with a skeptical neighbor about why the bus matters. As Transit Forward Philadelphia continues pushing campaigns like Zero Fare, the Transit Access Fund, and accessibility audits across the city, its fellows are proving that organizing works best when it starts from something people can believe in.
