SEPTA made the right decision to stop its suburban plans. Here’s how it can best serve riders going forward. | Editorial

Nobody likes to hear “I told you so,” but as far as idioms go, it’s better than “throwing good money after bad” — especially for taxpayers and supporters of effective public transportation.

Back in 2021, this board asked SEPTA to reconsider prioritizing the King of Prussia rail extension and instead focus its efforts on sustaining the heart of the system in Philadelphia. Nearly two years and $53 million later, officials with the transit agency finally agreed when they announced Friday that they were suspending the project.

While the decision is disappointing for the members of the King of Prussia rail coalition, many of whom have been advocating for a rail connection for decades, it was the right call for the beleaguered system. It simply didn’t make sense to spend billions of dollars on such a marginal improvement to the network, especially when there are so many significant core needs.

» READ MORE: s SEPTA recovers from COVID-19, prioritizing Philly projects is vital to city’s future | Editorial

Now that the King of Prussia project is no longer a major destination for scarce resources — so scarce, in fact, that the proposal failed to secure a crucial federal grant over funding concerns — there is an opportunity to get local transit service back on track.

Here’s how SEPTA can make that happen.

First, it should avoid making huge leadership changes. Employment contracts mean that getting rid of executives can be costly, and current general manager Leslie Richards should be given the opportunity to prove herself. She has spent nearly her entire tenure shepherding the agency through a pandemic that scared many Americans away from public transit, leaving huge gaps in ridership revenue and a less safe environment for those who remained.

To improve service, SEPTA must ensure that basic functions return to normalcy. That means clean, safe, smoke-free stations for all riders and an end to relentless equipment and operator shortages. The agency says that its transit police are making more arrests and banning more offenders, but problems with crime remain. A back-to-basics campaign, along with a concerted, consistent, and visible push to secure stations, can win back riders.

Part of that security push should include installing high fare gates. These gates would allow SEPTA to reduce fare evasion without involving police or rowing back on a 2019 policy change that reduced penalties for nonpayment. Failure to enforce fare rules — like the choice not to enforce a mask mandate during the early stages of the pandemic — stemmed from wanting to reduce unnecessary contact between riders and police. Both choices contributed to the sense of lawlessness on the system and led to more people avoiding transit.

While not all fare evaders break other rules, most of those who engage in antisocial behavior on transit have begun their trip by refusing to pay a fare. With Mayor Jim Kenney proposing free fares for impoverished Philadelphians, there’s no excuse — fares need to be paid.

» READ MORE: SEPTA stops work on proposed King of Prussia Rail Line after federal government denies funding

Improvement of staffing levels is also crucial for service. A significant uptick in hiring has not been enough to stem the departures of workers to other transit agencies in the region, particularly NJ Transit, which is offering a $6,000 signing bonus to new employees. SEPTA has to have something to offer if it wants to compete.

Richards, once a Montgomery County commissioner, should ask her former fellow commissioner (and current Pennsylvania governor) Josh Shapiro to include transit workers in his proposed tax credit for police, teachers, and nurses. Considering the state has over 100,000 teachers and SEPTA, the largest transit agency, has roughly 3,500 operators, it is certainly something the state can afford.

The system needs to better publicize other major capital plans. Two projects — “Trolley Modernization” and “Reimagining Regional Rail” — have the potential to add tens of thousands of riders and bring the network into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. These proposals represent an exciting opportunity to reacquaint residents with the rail services they already have. Yet few people, outside of dedicated transit enthusiasts, know about them.

SEPTA must also focus on expansions that make sense, such as the Roosevelt Boulevard subway. While the King of Prussia rail line would have drawn about 10,000 daily riders, a Roosevelt Boulevard subway would serve up to 124,500 daily passengers and divert more than 80,000 daily car trips.

Any ambitious new project, though, faces the same dearth of currently available funding that ultimately doomed the King of Prussia proposal.

SEPTA needs to do the work to regain the public’s trust and restore ridership, but a better future for public transit depends on state and local support and the creation of a consistent regional funding source. If the region is to benefit from an unprecedented investment in public transportation from the federal government, it’s essential that SEPTA invest in projects that provide maximum benefits for the public good.