As SEPTA officials held a press conference at their headquarters to discuss upcoming service cuts Wednesday, hundreds of local activists and concerned citizens rallied at City Hall to make a final push for state funding.
Faced with a $213 million recurring deficit, SEPTA plans to cut 45% of its services in the coming year. The first round of those cuts, which includes route eliminations and reductions, is set to start on August 24. On Wednesday, SEPTA leadership said it needed an answer regarding funding by Aug. 14 in order to set schedules and update information sources.
With 18 days until service cuts are implemented, the sense of urgency among attendees and speakers to secure funding and continue services was palpable at the rally.
“The time for action is now. No more delays, no more kicking the can down the road,” said Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia. “We need a budget that invests in communities across the Commonwealth, including full funding for transit infrastructure that moves all Pennsylvanians, and we need it now.”
Saval acted as the host of the event, introducing all speakers and giving a speech of his own at the onset of the rally.
“I’m astonished to be here today, astonished because I can’t believe we’re over five weeks late on a state budget that harms our schools, our social services, our behavioral health and our public transportation,” said Connor Descheemaker, statewide campaign manager for Transit for All PA. “I’m astonished that our Pennsylvania Senate leadership would hold in contempt millions of Pennsylvanians who deserve reliable, funded public services.”
Descheemaker was one of the 11 speakers at the rally. Other speakers included Sen. Steven Santarsiero, D-Bucks; Sen. Christine Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia; and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers President Arthur Steinberg.
Speakers delivered their speeches on the north apron of City Hall to a huddle of over 300 rallygoers, according to rally organizer and Transit Forward Philadelphia coalition manager Stephen Bronskill. Many waved signs voicing their support for SEPTA.
Sign messages included:
- “SEPTA keeps PA on track”
- “Save our future save SEPTA”
- “Senate GOP do your job so I can go to mine”
Pairing with the written messages, calls for Pennsylvania Senate Republicans to reach agreement on the budget were constant during the rally’s speeches.
During Philadelphia AFL-CIO chapter president Danny Fowder’s speech, he shared the contact information for Sen. Joe Picozzi, R-Philadelphia, and Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, urging his audience to call them and demand they “do their job.”
The Pennsylvania budget standoff is now into its second month as negotiations have stalled well beyond the June 30 deadline.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal includes $292 million in new funding for public transit statewide that could help prevent looming service cuts here.
But as Pennsylvania continues to go budgetless, attendees shared they’ve planned for a future where SEPTA can’t support them.
“As the deadline gets closer, it’s really nerve-racking. I’m starting to think of some alternative things,” said Cier Marinelli, who said they couldn’t drive due to a disability. “If I have to take all these Ubers, where am I going to get the money for that?”
With SEPTA alternatives like Uber projected to bring an estimated 275,000 additional cars to Pennsylvania roads each day, rallygoers shared concerns for the environment, too, as more cars would mean more emissions.
“It’s going to make it awful in terms of congestion, and it’s not healthy,” said Tom Volkert, who added he had been riding SEPTA for 20 years. “I’m here for myself, but for my kids too. They’re the future.”
Part of the future Volkert mentioned may include August Noyt and Kaeden Nardi. The two shared that they had traveled from New York to support SEPTA and shared concerns that the cuts could be the first in a wave of similar legislative inactions.
“I’m also worried what this could mean for other places,” Nardi said. “If they do cut funding for SEPTA, I think this could mean other cuts for other places.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
