Montgomery County Democratic state reps call on Senate Republicans to pass funding for SEPTA

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State Democratic representatives called on their Republican counterparts to pass a public transit funding bill before SEPTA’s first round of cuts take effect Aug. 24.

“We support Governor Shapiro’s proposed funding plan to support SEPTA, and we call on the Senate to act now,” said Rep. Liz Hanbidge, D-Montgomery County, at a press conference at the North Wales SEPTA station Friday morning. “This investment isn’t just about transit. It’s about the economy across the whole state. It’s about the climate, and it’s about equity.”

A gutted SEPTA service would have a statewide impact, said state Rep. Joe Webster, D-Montgomery County.

“Southeastern Pa. is the economic powerhouse for the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and mass transit is the catalyst,” he said.

SEPTA is facing a more than $200 million budget shortfall, and without an influx of state funding, the transit agency plans to cut 45% of its services in the next year. The first round of cuts, which SEPTA said cannot be reversed unless it receives additional funding by Aug. 14, includes the elimination of 32 bus routes and reduced service along bus and train lines.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget, passed by the state House in June, allotted $292 million in new funding for mass transit and infrastructure improvement, but Senate Republicans stalled the legislation.

House representatives have been called back to Harrisburg early next week to advance yet another budget bill that would provide funding for mass transit and include several Republican priorities. The bill, the fifth attempt to pass mass transit funding, is expected to pass to the Senate for consideration.

Reduced regional rail service will hurt suburban communities, officials say

Hanbidge, whose district includes North Wales, said Southeastern Pennsylvania and the state as a whole are at “a crossroads.”

“SEPTA is not a luxury for many of us. It’s a lifeline. It’s how nurses get to their night shifts at hospitals. It’s how students get to college campuses,” she said. “It’s how residents in our very own neighborhoods in Montgomery County connect to their health care providers, grocery stores and family members.”

Projected cuts that would eliminate 50 bus routes total and cut five regional rail lines, with remaining service reduced, would be “devastating,” Hanbidge said, and “everyday, working people” would “pay the price.”

“In Montgomery County alone, hundreds of thousands of people rely on SEPTA every day to get to work. Seniors in Willow Grove, students in Blue Bell, retail and healthcare workers in King of Prussia,” she said. “If we allow the system to shrink, we’re saying to our constituents, you’re on your own. Without reliable transit, people lose their jobs, kids will miss school.”

Neil McDevitt, mayor of North Wales borough, said towns and communities like his in Montgomery and Bucks counties were built on the railroad and continue to rely on mass transit as a lifeline.

“3,700 people are coming right here, and then they’re not just leaving,” McDevitt said of the North Wales station, which serves the Lansdale-Doylestown line and is one of the oldest stations on the route. “They’re going to work. They’re going to our restaurants, our stores … SEPTA is North Wales.

State Rep. Mary Jo Daley, D-Montgomery County, said Senate Republicans need to act to pass a budget that includes transit funding.

“We have done our job, we passed public transit funding four times, each time Senate Republicans moved the goal post, and each time we met their demands, we sent the bills back over and over,” Daley said. “Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward and Majority Leader Joe Pittman have the power to move this forward, and so far, they’ve refused. They are holding up funding that millions of Pennsylvanians rely on to get to work, school and medical care.”

State Sen. Joe Pittman said in a statement that he met with Shapiro on Tuesday and is “optimistic that consensus on a responsible budget can be reached.”

“Our Senate Republican Caucus is focused on substantive actions and advancing fiscally responsible measures to address the needs of individuals and families across the commonwealth,” he said. “The Senate remains on a 24-hour call while we engage in discussions and work to reach common ground.”