Properly funding SEPTA is essential to Philadelphia’s economic future | Editorial

For the first time in a long time, advocates for walking, biking, and public transit are seeing some momentum.

Philadelphians flooded Rittenhouse Square for the Center City District’s Open Streets initiative, which closed part of Walnut Street to automotive traffic in order to give more space to pedestrians and businesses on Sundays in September. And long-stalled efforts to make a Roosevelt Boulevard subway line a reality have seen some positive signals from the city and PennDot.

Meanwhile, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, who had previously blocked a plan to calm traffic on Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia, introduced a bill to ban stopping in bike lanes across the city, with wide support from his colleagues. In his comments to reporters, Johnson eschewed the divisive rhetoric that has often obscured conversations about bike lanes, rightly pointing out that Black and brown Philadelphians bear the brunt of road deaths.

Yet, amid this positive pushback against car culture and congestion, a lingering storm threatens to rain on this multimodal parade, one that menaces Philadelphia’s economic vitality — a looming fiscal cliff for SEPTA as it exhausts the last of its federal COVID-19 relief money.

The transit agency’s impending budget crisis would not only impact the system’s more than 700,000 daily riders, but the falling dominoes from a failure to address the problem would spill across the entire region.

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Ever since the pandemic and resulting shift to remote and hybrid work took a bite out of the agency’s ridership and revenue, SEPTA’s efforts to find a path forward have been murky and difficult. While a lack of state and local support has for years impeded the system’s long-term planning and hindered its growth, SEPTA may now be forced to cut service significantly to survive.

Cuts and fare increases would lead to fewer people on SEPTA buses, trolleys, and trains — further eroding fare revenue and trapping the system in a doom spiral. This would be a disaster for Greater Philadelphia.

Public transit is the backbone of the region’s economy, and local business leaders say that without reliable and affordable transit, Pennsylvania’s ability to attract and retain talent, entrepreneurs, and investment is severely compromised.

Even those who never or rarely use the system rely on others who do for a smoother experience on the city’s roads. In densely populated rowhouse neighborhoods, a surge in car traffic prompted by fewer SEPTA services could lead to more competition for limited parking spots, while the region’s roads would likely see gridlock spike as those who previously relied on public transportation are forced behind the wheel.

The General Assembly had a chance to help SEPTA stay afloat in the recent round of state budget negotiations. Gov. Josh Shapiro had proposed an increase to the allocation of sales tax revenue dedicated to supporting transit systems throughout Pennsylvania. This would have helped SEPTA shore up its $240 million shortfall. Lawmakers, however, opted to provide SEPTA with a one-time infusion of $47 million.

The funds offer a brief respite from the inevitable unless Shapiro, Democratic House Speaker Joanna McClinton, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman can craft a more permanent solution.

In some ways, Pittman is an unlikely transit hero. His Western Pennsylvania district sprawls across rural and suburban communities where transit use is minimal. His caucus also includes only two lawmakers who represent areas within SEPTA’s geographic footprint — Bucks County’s Frank Farry and Tracy Pennycuick, who represents parts of Montgomery and Berks Counties.

Still, while some Republicans have proposed using a tax on so-called skill games to reduce property taxes, Pittman has suggested using that revenue for transit funding. Additionally, his choice for SEPTA’s board, Elkins Park Republican activist Tom Ellis, has surprised some advocates by asking pointed questions at otherwise placid board meetings and racking up more trips on the system than all but one of his colleagues.

» READ MORE: SEPTA needs more money. It also needs to be smarter with what it has | Editorial

Pittman, like Shapiro, has been firm in demanding that SEPTA increase efforts to ensure public safety. SEPTA responded by hiring more police officers, and crime is now down 37% system-wide. Pittman’s conservative allies also wanted to see SEPTA’s riders contribute to bridging the budget deficit. The agency has responded by cracking down on evasion and raising fares for Key card holders and Regional Rail. Pittman called these moves a “positive development.”

As SEPTA has stepped up, Pittman should fulfill his end of the deal and bring bipartisan support to public transit funding.

While The Inquirer Editorial Board does not support the legalization of skill games, which mostly operate like slot machines, they have been deemed legal by the Commonwealth Court. A heavy tax burden may be the only way to ensure at least some public benefit is produced by these extractive devices.

Just as important as Pittman, however, are Harrisburg Democrats. Per Inquirer reporting, funding for transit ended up on the cutting floor during the spring budget talks for the second year in a row. Without a last-minute intervention from State Rep. Morgan Cephas, the chair of the Philadelphia delegation, SEPTA might already be imposing brutal service cuts across the system.

Much as he did when he rallied Pennsylvania around rebuilding a section of I-95 (which, as it so happens, is used by around 540,000 fewer people each day than SEPTA), Shapiro must bring the legislature along and make funding the transit system a priority.