Gov. Josh Shapiro speaking at a press conference at the Frankford Transportation Center in Philadelphia on Friday, Nov. 22 about funding for SEPTA. (Capital-Star photo by John Cole)
PHILADELPHIA — Answering the pleas of public transit advocates in southeastern Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro has directed Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Mike Carroll to immediately transfer $153 million in federal highway capital funds to SEPTA.
“That money will prevent service cuts, and that money will prevent the dramatic increases in fares that SEPTA has been contemplating at least until next July,” Shapiro said Friday at the Frankford Transportation Center in Philadelphia. “It’s going to ensure that the people of southeastern Pennsylvania who rely on SEPTA every day, that they’re going to be able to get where they need to go, they’re not going to face higher costs.”
SEPTA officials have sounded the alarm for months about its funding challenges and on Nov. 12 proposed increasing fares by over 20% by Jan. 1. While that increase has been averted, a smaller increase of 7.5% goes into effect Dec. 1.
“SEPTA has been in the water for two years now, and we were going under, and today, Governor Shapiro has thrown us a lifeline,” Ken Lawrence, SEPTA Board Chair said at the press conference on Friday. “While this announcement today pauses the death spiral and allows us to tread water, we still desperately need a permanent, sustainable funding solution for SEPTA and mass transit in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
“While mass transit agencies across the Commonwealth are struggling, it is true, and it is unmistakable, that there is one agency that will not make it to the next summer with the status quo, and that is SEPTA,” Shapiro said before the announcement.
Shapiro said the federal funds would create a “bridge, some time and space” for the state House and Senate to work toward an agreement on funding mass transit throughout the state.
Carroll said the measure taken by Shapiro on Friday was not the first time a governor had flexed funding towards public transportation.
“Governor Rendell did that years ago, and it led to the passage of a transportation bill,” Carroll said. “And I remain hopeful that that flexing, the flexing that occurs today, will result in a serious conversation that might result, and hopefully will result in a transportation bill that will land on his desk next June.”
Where the funds are coming from
Following the press conference, Carroll told reporters that funds will be siphoned from the following interstate projects: I-79 in Mercer County, I-80 in Columbia County, I-95 in Philadelphia County, I-83 York County, two I-80 projects in Jefferson County, and I-70 in Washington County.
“Let me be clear, while these funds will come from seven different highway projects across the state, none of those highway projects are under construction yet. In fact, none of them have even been put out to bid,” Shapiro said. “They’re a long way off.”
“And hear me on this, there is no reason to keep that money on our balance sheet in the state when we can invest it in SEPTA right now,” Shapiro said.
In addition to the flexing of highway funds towards SEPTA, Shapiro said he received commitments from each of the five counties that fund SEPTA to increase their local share by millions of dollars.
Local Democratic elected officials were on hand for the announcement, some sharing anecdotes of how SEPTA has impacted their lives, and applauded the move from Shapiro.
“You can’t say you want a pro-growth and pro-business Pennsylvania and you are willing to let SEPTA depth spiral, because it is at the heart of the economic engine in Pennsylvania, southeastern Pennsylvania,” Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said, while saying Shapiro was “walking the walk” by his announcement.
Legislative response
The Pennsylvania House passed a bill on a bipartisan basis that would have increased transportation funding in the state on three occasions, although it did not advance in the state Senate, which has a Republican majority.
Earlier in the week, Shapiro said the “ball is squarely in the Senate’s court” with regard to passing a transit bill and added that he had agreed to consider marrying it to funding for roads and bridges, and regulating and taxing skill games.
But on Friday, Republicans criticized Shapiro’s actions and said their position had not changed.
“Today’s announcement by Gov. Josh Shapiro to address the mass transit crisis facing SEPTA is a crisis of his own making,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) said in a statement.
“Gov. Shapiro and House Democrats prioritized education over mass transit by approving the largest budget increase ever for a traditional education system that continues to trap Philadelphia’s kids in failing schools,” Ward added. “The bottom line is this: Pennsylvanians — especially those in the southeast — are losing out, not because of divided government, but because Pennsylvania Democrats have chosen to focus their priorities and spending on one area alone.”
Democrats, however, assured transportation funding will remain top of mind in the next session.
“We must continue and be vigilant in this fight. When we get back to Harrisburg in January, this will remain at the top of our agenda,” said House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia), about passing a transportation funding bill.
State Rep. Ed Neilson (D-Philadelphia) is the head of the House Transportation Committee. He told the Capital-Star on Friday that they are looking to pass “a comprehensive package” on transportation funding that would fund ports, roads, bridges, and mass transit.
State Rep. Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia), who will serve as the House Appropriations Committee chair in the next session, called the federal flex funds for SEPTA “just a stop gap.”
“This is not the end of the road, and we know that,” Harris said, adding he thinks they will come together in bipartisan fashion to pass a mass transit funding bill.
State Sen. Vince Hughes (D-Philadelphia) will be the minority chair for the Senate Appropriations Committee in the next session. He also called transit funding “extremely important and a high priority.”
“What you see here is the galvanizing all of southeastern Pennsylvania, the business community, the workers, the elected officials, are all coming together around this system and sending a message that this must get addressed,” Hughes told the Capital-Star in an interview Friday. “And we are prepared to address it, not just with our own self interest in southeastern Pennsylvania, but we’re prepared to address it from a statewide interest. Let’s get this thing done for the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
But Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) and Senate Transportation Committee Chair Wayne Langerholc (R-Clearfield) issued a joint statement saying they have not wavered from their previous position.
“Our Senate Republican Caucus has made it clear from the outset that we will examine transit funding that makes sense and can be justified to commonwealth taxpayers who are being asked to pay the bill,” Pittman and Langerholc said.
“We reached a bipartisan agreement in July to temporarily fund SEPTA and other transit agencies to the tune of $80.5 million. Conditions of this funding included a re-examination of the delivery model given recent reductions in ridership, which are a direct result of Covid, people not working full-time in cities, and major safety concerns within the system,” they added. “Rather than making prudent, sensible changes, they have chosen to politicize and pillage critical infrastructure projects for other districts which are well outside of SEPTA reach, ironically, the majority being in Republican districts.”
State Rep. Martina White is the only Republican currently serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly whose district is in Philadelphia. As recently as Oct. 22, she voted in support of a bill that would increase funding for mass transit.
However, she told the Capital-Star that she does not support Shapiro’s flexing of federal funds towards SEPTA.
“Redirecting federal highway funds from an already underfunded highway system to fund SEPTA is robbing Peter to pay Paul,” White told the Capital-Star. “While public transit funding is undeniably critical, pulling funds from our already strained highway infrastructure is not a sustainable solution.”
“This decision underscores a failure to create a long-term, dedicated funding plan for SEPTA, leaving both transit riders and Pennsylvania drivers vulnerable,” she added. “Instead of temporary fixes and last-minute maneuvers, we need real leadership and proactive solutions to address these challenges comprehensively.”
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