US EditionPhiladelphia’s mass transit cuts foreshadow possible similar moves by other agencies across US
SEPTA faces a $213 million deficit leading to a 21.5% fare increase and 20% service cuts affecting 800,000 daily riders, including over 50,000 students relying on transit to school.
- Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, SEPTA implemented 20% service cuts including eliminating 32 bus routes and shortening 16 others, impacting buses, Metro, and Regional Rail in Philadelphia, PA.
- A funding impasse in Harrisburg left SEPTA with a $213 million operating shortfall after the Pennsylvania legislature missed the Aug. 14, 2025 deadline due to a partisan deadlock between the Democratic Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Republican-majority Pennsylvania State Senate.
- On the first day of school, about 50,000 middle and high school students and 52,000 public school students in Philadelphia faced unfamiliar SEPTA routes, while commuters reported longer trips and costly alternatives.
- A 21.5% fare hike will take effect next month, raising per-ride fares from $2.50 to $2.90 starting Sept. 1, 2025, while SEPTA warns of five Regional Rail lines slated for elimination and a Jan. 1, 2026 rail curfew if funding is not secured.
- City leaders said councilmembers urge Pennsylvania State House and Senate leadership for a budget including more SEPTA funding, and General Manager Scott Sauer said, `If a deal were to happen in the next 48 hours, we will do everything in our power to try to put as much service back on the street as we can`.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Transit cuts begin in Philadelphia as state budget battle continues - Pittsburgh Union Progress
Now the transit funding crisis in Pennsylvania is real. With the state budget nearly two months late and no end in sight, Monday was the first time weekday commuters in the Philadelphia area faced 20% service cuts from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority because of a $200 million funding shortfall. On weekdays, the agency carries 800,000 people on commuter trains, subways and buses, including thousands of public school student…
SEPTA service cuts set in as state lawmakers remain divided on budget, transit
Service cuts took hold Sunday for the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in greater Philadelphia as state lawmakers remain entrenched along partisan lines on how to end a budget stalemate and fund mass transit across Pennsylvania.
As SEPTA service cuts take effect, city officials urge people to make changes to their commutes
SEPTA's service reduction is making commuting in Philly and the surrounding area difficult, and it could get worse with more reductions on the horizon. Commuters are being urged to consider carpooling, allow extra travel time and avoid trips during rush hour.
Fallout as SEPTA service cuts go into effect
Officials with SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, went ahead with cuts to buses and trains in Philadelphia and the surrounding region. 69 News Reporter Michelle Wolf has the very latest on the cuts. Plus, "History's Headlines" remembers a Revolutionary…
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