Commonwealth Media Services
Governor Shapiro approves $394M in capital funds to sustain SEPTA service through 2027
In a decisive intervention, Governor Josh Shapiro has directed the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to allow the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to repurpose up to $394 million in uncommitted capital assistance funds to maintain transit operations for the next two years.
Originating from the fiscal year 2025–26 budget, these funds were intended for infrastructure projects but will now shore up essential services amid a steep $200–$213 million budget shortfall.
This emergency measure comes on the heels of a court ruling requiring SEPTA to reverse abrupt service reductions rolled out last month – deemed among the most drastic cuts by a major U.S. transit agency. City buses, trolleys, and rail services, scaled back by 20 percent, drew widespread criticism and were seen as disproportionately affecting low-income and minority communities. The reprioritization of capital funds ensures SEPTA can comply with the court’s directive to restore full service by September 14.
Despite this lifeline, SEPTA will proceed with a 21.5 percent fare increase effective September 14 — raising revenue by an estimated $31 million annually.
SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer acknowledged this is merely a temporary fix that postpones deeper structural reforms. The larger, sustainable solution remains elusive amid rising operational costs, ridership recovery struggles following the pandemic, and a political stalemate in the state Senate over dedicated transit funding.
Governor Shapiro criticized Senate Republicans for failing to pass a long-term transit funding solution that wouldn’t deplete capital reserves, noting such policies threaten mobile infrastructure and compromise safety.
Shapiro’s administration had previously fought to inject new recurring funding – $292 million proposed in the 2025-26 budget – along with $80 million in bipartisan support and $153 million flexed federal highway dollars to avert immediate service disruptions.
Commuter advocates, public officials, and regional planners have warned that continued uncertainty could undercut Philadelphia’s economic vitality and future infrastructure needs — especially with major events on the horizon, including the 250th anniversary in 2026, the FIFA World Cup, and the MLB All-Star Game.
SEPTA had already suspended or postponed dozens of capital projects — costing billions in long-term repairs and expansions — to manage its fiscal crisis.
While the capital flex arrangement delivers immediate relief, experts caution that without policy reform and new revenue streams, the underlying vulnerabilities — declining ridership, aging infrastructure, and insufficient state support — will persist. SEPTA’s crisis is emblematic of a broader national pattern affecting transit systems across the country.
Anthony SanFilippo is the managing editor of both PhillyDaily.com and DelcoNow.com and also contributes to the company’s sports coverage at OnPattison.com. He has been covering professional sports in Philadelphia since 1998.
What percentage of the cost of providing the ride is paid for by the fare of the rider?
Who rides free on SEPTA??
How much does the City of Philadelphia and the collar counties provide annually to SEPTA for the services provided?
Shades of the Penn Central. Let’s use capital Improvement funds for operating expenses. Only a temporary fix. Well. when the wheels fall off from lack of repair/replacement we can watch the ridership decline further. Temporary usually has some time frame collaring the issue, open-ended “temporary” can mean infinity when politicians are involved. Until SEPTA and other leaders get serious about running a transportation system, SEPTA will always be in a funding crisis/political fight/ridership decline scenario. A start would be no or limited number of politicians on SEPTA’s Board, require yearly financial and operational audits, on-going review and rationalization of routes and times of service, bring the fares riders pay closer to the cost of service. Appoint people to the Board and hire operational people who both know how to run a railroad. Having lived through the Penn Central collapse, I didn’t think I would see such again, but the situation with SEPTA has eerie similarities. If SEPTA does a Penn Central, I’ll bid $10.00 for the railroad.
The PTTF they’re pulling cash from has an on-going funding stream of its own and is essentially a grant based project funding mechanism. The whole thing doesn’t consist of marked funds over any time horizon and taking cash from the unmarked portion now doesn’t take anything from specific repair or capital projects in the future.
Oh, and paying operational costs out of the PTTF is one of it’s explicitly listed functions in the PA Code.
The reporting on this whole thing has been abysmal.
The Democratic “””recurring””” funding isn’t actually recurring, either. They’re fighting hard to drain the state’s savings as fast as politically possible and, when the rainy day fund is empty, there won’t actually be any revenue left in the state sales tax stream that they want to use as a ‘recurring’ funding stream. Their preferred solution actually only lasts as long as the ‘temporary’ Republican solution.
It’s a vile lie that depends on the Democratic assumption that the people of Pennsylvania are too stupid to notice.