Pa. budget deal leaves transit agencies short. SEPTA may have to cut services if there is no more money in the fall.

Public transportation will get a onetime $80.5 million infusion of state money for operating expenses, but consideration of more permanent funding was postponed until the fall under a budget deal that Pennsylvania’s divided legislature rushed to pass Thursday.

SEPTA would get about $53 million, which officials said could carry the sixth-largest transit agency in the United States for a few months.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, called the appropriation a “temporary solution” at a news conference late Thursday night.

“We are all committed to returning in the fall and finding a permanent solution,” Shapiro added.

However, State Rep. Morgan Cephas (D., Philadelphia), who chairs the city’s delegation to Harrisburg, said she learned two days ago that mass transit funding was removed from the negotiating table — and that SEPTA was poised to receive nothing.

“One of the things we’ve been adamant about, particularly myself as the Philadelphia delegation chair, is that we’re not leaving Harrisburg unless we get some type of down-payment to start the conversation to ensure that mass transit is made whole and that there is sustainable funding,” Cephas added.

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Cephas noted that Philly and Southeastern Pennsylvania will be on the national stage in the next few years, as the city prepares for multiple national and international events in 2026 — making a successful transit system crucial as people visit the region.

State Rep. Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee tasked with putting together the state budget, corroborated that mass transit funding had been left out of the budget deal until a few days ago, when leaders “were able to come to an agreement to get some funding out the door for now.”

“It’s like the church,” Harris added. “Doors are always open.”

The onetime appropriation will help SEPTA temporarily cover operating expenses, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said in a statement.

SEPTA projects a $240 million operating deficit in the fiscal year that began July 1 as the last of its share of $61 billion in federal pandemic aid to keep transit systems moving runs dry.

Shapiro initially asked that the state pump $283 million into the Public Transportation Trust Fund by increasing the annual allocation of state sales-tax revenue it receives, which would have brought $160 million more to SEPTA. However, Senate Republican leaders insisted that new mass transit funding would need to include spending for highway and bridge infrastructure, too, and leaders had shown a willingness to reach consensus on the issue.

The transit authority has said it would have to cut services by as much as 20% and possibly raise fares if the governor’s plan did not pass. But it was unclear at what point such steps would become necessary.

“We will continue working with the governor, state lawmakers and other stakeholders in the fall to secure a long-term funding solution,” Busch said in a statement.

It’s unclear why mass transit funding was removed from the negotiating table late in the closed-door budget talks, with two Democrats hailing from Montgomery County at the negotiating table (Shapiro and House Majority Leader Matt Bradford). Cephas said she approached Democratic leaders and asked them to get it re-added to the final budget deal that was fast-tracked Thursday through the General Assembly and signed by Shapiro. That’s when the holdover funds of $80 million were added to the budget.

The Transit for All Pa! Coalition said in a statement that many agencies face “catastrophic service cuts and fare increases” despite the onetime appropriation.

“It’s time for the legislature to take this foundational part of our state’s economy and mobility seriously,” the statewide group of transit riders, workers and businesses added.

The budget deal significantly raises the stakes for SEPTA and other transit agencies across the state that also are attempting to recover from the plunge in ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Philadelphia region, SEPTA says it will dip into a reserve called the service stabilization fund, which state law requires it to keep, in order to cushion shortfalls in state aid for as long as it can.

“SEPTA will also explore all available options for balancing its operating budget,” Busch said.

It’s unclear how much work lawmakers will be doing in the fall, as the entire state House and half of the state Senate are up for reelection. Legislators left Harrisburg on Thursday for summer recess.