Credit: Tom Sofield/NewHopeFreePress.com
SEPTA officials proposed a steep 30 percent fare increase and significant service reductions slated for next year due to ongoing financial difficulties.
In a Tuesday press conference, SEPTA officials detailed the financial challenges that led to the planned increase in fares across all modes of transit beginning Jan. 1, 2025.
The base fare on SEPTA buses and metro lines is set to rise to $2.90, while Regional Rail rates will vary by zone, ranging from $5 to $8.75 per ride.
Scott Sauer, SEPTA’s COO, described the measures as part of a potential “death spiral” for the transit system that serves Philadelphia and its collar counties and parts of Delaware and New Jersey.
“This is painful, and it’s going to be painful for our customers,” Sauer stated.
In Bucks County, SEPTA provides Regional Rail, bus, and paratransit services.
The fare hike, which is the first since 2017, comes as the federal COVID-19 relief funds, which had helped maintain regular services, are drying up.
Increasing costs for workers, security, fuel, power, and other day-to-day items added to the spending pressures, SEPTA officials said.
Despite the increase, SEPTA’s projected annual operating budget deficit is still at least $100 million.
The fare increase is expected to generate approximately $50 million in additional revenue annually. However, officials warn that anticipated service cuts and a likely decline in ridership could lower these estimates.
Sauer said that without more state or federal aid, SEPTA has no choice but to implement these drastic measures.
“For the last two years, we have urged action in Harrisburg so that we could avoid these draconian measures,” said Sauer. “We were hopeful a solution would come this fall, but it has not materialized. We now have no choice but to move forward with a proposal for major fare increases and service cuts. This is going to be painful for all of our riders and will have major economic and social impacts on our city, region and the commonwealth as a whole.”
Sauer told reporters the agency held off on cuts for as long as possible.
The service cuts, which are expected to be detailed in early 2025, will result in a 20 percent reduction across all services, with routes eliminated and remaining routes operating less frequently.
The belt tightening also means SEPTA will postpone its planned overhaul of the bus network, which has been called its Bus Revolution plan.
SEPTA plans to hold public hearings on the fare increase on Dec. 13 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
The transit authority is also in the midst of negotiations with several thousand key workers, seeking to avoid a potential strike amid these financial and operational upheavals.
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