Philadelphia transit agency will use project reserves to avoid cuts. Pittsburgh's might do the same

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration on Monday approved the use of hundreds of millions of dollars in capital project funding for Philadelphia’s public transit agency to help it restore bus, trolley and rail services that it had eliminated to shore up its deficit-riddled finances.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authorit y — one of the nation’s largest mass transit agencies with 800,000 daily riders — had made the request to comply with a judge's order to undo the two-week-old cuts. A similar request is likely to come from the state's next largest public transit agency, Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

SEPTA made the service reductions after Shapiro and Democratic lawmakers had been unable for the past two years to persuade enough Republican lawmakers to approve hundreds of millions more dollars in new transit aid to help fill deficits at transit agencies around the state.

“I am taking this action … to support SEPTA, to make sure that these 800,000 Pennsylvanians and the millions who will visit our commonwealth have a trolley or a bus or a subway or a train to get around,” Shapiro told a news conference Monday.

As a result of SEPTA's cutbacks, schools in Philadelphia reported a big increase in late student arrivals and absenteeism in the just-begun school year, Shapiro said. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is helping host major tourist attractions next year, including FIFA World Cup matches and events surrounding the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday.

The struggles in the nation’s sixth-most populous city reflect similar dilemmas at major transit agencies around the U.S. as they navigate rising costs and lagging ridership after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted commutes.

SEPTA had described the cuts as more drastic than any undertaken by a major transit agency in the U.S. but necessary to deal with a deficit of more than $200 million.

However, testimony in the court challenge described the cuts as being unnecessary and discriminatory toward poor and minority communities.

SEPTA said that shifting $394 million in state-provided capital funds could restore services and avoid other planned cuts for the next two years.

That’s about a year’s worth of funding it gets from the state for capital projects. The authority will still impose fare increases of 21.5% that it estimated will bring in $31 million a year.

All told, SEPTA had warned that it will cut half its services by Jan. 1.

Across the state, Pittsburgh Regional Transit said Monday that it is considering a similar request from the state.

It has been discussing a 35% service reduction to help close what it calls a roughly $100 million deficit this year. That could include eliminating 45 bus routes, reducing 54 others and eliminating one of three light rail lines.

That deficit will grow each year without more aid, and shifting money for capital projects is only a stopgap measure and not a sustainable plan, it said.

“Using capital funds for operations would only be a stopgap measure. Pennsylvania needs a long-term, reliable funding solution to provide the safe, reliable, and affordable service our communities depend on,” PRT said in a statement.

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Follow Marc Levy on X at https://x.com/timelywriter.