The future of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth’s public transit system hangs in the balance amid recent hearings over funding gaps. On Tuesday, April 15, the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing in Pittsburgh on the future of mass transit. The next day, the Philadelphia City Council held its own budget hearing with representatives from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). Facing a potential budget deficit of over $210 million, SEPTA is proposing major service cuts alongside a 40% fare hike to make ends meet. The proposed cuts would include the total elimination of the Trenton and West Trenton rail lines, which are used by over 7,000 people each day.

With public transit systems across Pennsylvania facing potential service cuts and increases in fares, the current budget cycle has become a critical moment for the state’s leadership and those reliant on public transport systems.

In March, the Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) announced plans to raise fares and slash its transit service by nearly 40%, including eliminating 41 bus routes, while making significant reductions in its light-rail service capacity, bus routes and paratransit service. The agency currently faces a deficit of over $100 million, and unless it receives more funding from the state, also proposed raising transit fares from $2.75 to $3.

SEPTA made a similarly grim announcement last week, stating it would have to undergo severe service cutbacks amid a $213 million budget deficit. In response, lawmakers around the Philadelphia area rallied outside City Hall on Friday, April 11, where they called for the state legislature to increase funding.

SEPTA’s current plans include scaling back its Trenton Line service beginning in July 2025, with outright elimination by January 2026, so long as increased funding from the state is nor approved. Additionally, increases in fares would make Pennsylvania have some of the highest transit fares in the country, a point which leaders of each agency stressed when addressing the current crisis.

SEPTA Interim General Manager Scott Sauer told the Philadelphia City Council on April 16 that potential cuts would reverberate heavily throughout the Philadelphia region. 

“On average, 150,000 to 175,000 daily riders would stop using SEPTA, and SEPTA would not be able to support the city’s 2026 transportation needs when the FIFA World Cup, the Semiquincentennial, and the other major national and international events that put Philadelphia in the international spotlight,” Sauer said. “On the eve of welcoming the world, SEPTA would go from driving Philadelphia’s economy to holding it back.”

Transit, especially mass transit, is not just a transportation service but rather a means to facilitate the growth of the economy. Studies have demonstrated that every $1 invested in public transportation yields approximately $4 to $5 in economic returns. Eighty-seven percent of public transportation trips directly benefit the local and national economy by getting people to work and connecting them with local businesses.

Considering that PA House Democrats and Senate Republicans each hold a very slim majority in their respective chambers (D 102-101 in the House, R 27-22 in the Senate), a bipartisan deal is necessary to get public transportation funding off the ground. Funding discussions usually center around revenue making sources, such as a proposal to regulate and tax slot-machine-like skill games, which could provide the funds required for transportation projects, including mass transit.

In his fiscal plan, Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a 1.75% increase in funding for transit systems statewide, bringing nearly $300 million in additional revenue, including $161 million for SEPTA and $39 for PRT.

Both Shapiro and House Democrats have expressed their support for utilizing a skill games tax to fund transit, but opposition from casino operators and differences over the tax rate on these devices has so far proven too much to be agreed upon.

Senate Republicans similarly agree that an increase in funding is necessary, though not to the same degree that Shapiro looks for. Senate Republican leader Joe Pittman has said that he recognizes the need for transit funding but emphasizes that the commonwealth’s fiscal future is the most important concern: “We have a structural budget deficit which must be addressed. It is critical for our mass transit systems to demonstrate they are running as efficiently as possible.”