Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has announced that it will be forced to:
- Eliminate all weekend service,
- Increase fares an average of 25 percent, and
- Fire 16 percent of its empoyees,
by January 1, 2005 if the state legislature does not increase its funding to cover a $62 million deficit.
See "SEPTA warns of deep cuts" in today's Philadelphia Inquirer.
Though I am not privy to the details of SEPTA's operations and budget, I believe they have a serious perception problem to address. SEPTA operates two urban subway lines, a citywide bus and trolley system, eight regional rail routes and one regional high-speed rail line.
The frequency of service does not compare to the frequency offered in other cities with a similar or smaller population number (think Boston or San Francisco). Stations and busses are often dirty, in disrepair and in dire need of renovations.
It is a mystery how a public transit system that is not as active in its service timetables and in its renovation initiatives as other cities can be is in such financial straits.
In a nutshell, the poor quality of SEPTA's service and facilities paired with the fact that its fares rank consistently among the top 3 in the nation makes one wonder whether a serious amount of mismanagement is occurring.
Granted, perhaps it is the case that SEPTA does not receive an adequate amount of state and/or national support. I do not know -- I will research and post what I can find.
Update
From Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers:
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania funds transit in a vastly different way from other states: (1) There is no single adequate, reliable funding source for public transit, (2) Transit agencies must recover half of all costs from their fare box. This has meant years of service cuts and higher fares.
Without reasonable increases in operating support from the Commonwealth, transit in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, is being pushed into a descending spiral of service reductions, fare increases and loss of ridership. For six of the past nine years, the state has not increased subsidies for public transportation; as little as three-percent increase per year would have avoided the crisis public transportation is now facing.
Regardless of whether SEPTA is bailed out or not, the city, state and national agencies need to clamp down on SEPTA and consider a serious overhaul of its operations.
Or so goes the perception of a disgruntled rider.
| Save Transit Coalition |
| Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers |
| Phillyblog Discussion Forum |
| Pennsylvania Senate Bill #1162 (PDF) - for the establishment of dedicated funding to public transportation systems |