State Sen. Frank Farry and two of his GOP colleagues have called out SEPTA as the transit agency faces a $213 million budget shortfall and a fresh round of service cuts that will impact commuters across the Philadelphia region.
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a $1.2 billion transportation plan to fund SEPTA and other transit agencies over two years. The plan uses money from the state’s Public Transportation Trust Fund. Pennsylvania House Democrats and the governor have not supported the plan, and Democrats in the General Assembly have voiced opposition, calling the the GOP plan as not fixing the funding problem longterm. House Democrats voted for a plan that reallocates money from sales tax spending.
The funding crisis for the state’s transit agencies comes as Pennsylvania operates without a finalized state budget, which was to be approved by June 30.
State senators Frank Farry, Tracy Pennycuick and Joe Picozzi issued a statement Thursday expressing “profound disappointment” in what they called SEPTA’s “continued lack of communication and accountability.”
Farry’s district covers parts of lower and central Bucks County, while Pennycuick represents parts of Berks and Montgomery counties. Picozzi’s district is in Northeast Philadelphia.
The senators said SEPTA has been unresponsive to their outreach since the GOP-led Senate passed its funding plan on Aug. 12.
“SEPTA’s refusal to engage with us is unacceptable,” said Farry. “This is a SEPTA created crisis both financially and operationally based on choices and mismanagement by SEPTA. We remain willing to work with SEPTA to find solutions. Unfortunately, SEPTA has shown no willingness to work with us and only seems to be interested in providing information to the House Democrats.”
The senators cited recent testimony from SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer at a House Democratic Policy Committee hearing where he said Philadelphia sports fans would be unable to rely on the system to attend home sporting events.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
The senators called this a “choice” made by SEPTA that is “not in the best interest of the public.”
The senators said SEPTA “continues to pay for advertising at sporting events,” which they said shows “poor decision making by choosing to invest into advertising rather than provide service to the commuters.”
SEPTA, in a statement, said it has engaged in “productive dialogue” with members of the House, Senate and the Governor’s Office throughout the process.
“SEPTA’s role in the negotiations over transit funding is to highlight the need for this critical investment, as well as the cost of inaction,” the statement said. “With SEPTA scheduled to begin massive service cuts on Sunday due to its structural budget deficit, we urge all parties to continue working toward a funding resolution.”
SEPTA Director of Media Relations Andrew Busch said the transit authority sent letters in response to the senators on Thursday.
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The looming service cuts, which are set to begin in days, will impact one of the country’s largest transportation systems, which serves millions of riders annually across the five-county Philadelphia region and parts of Delaware and New Jersey.
Deeper cuts to SEPTA, including eliminating the Trenton Regional Rail Line, are planned for January 2026 if a resolution is not found.
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