Full SEPTA service to be restored Sept. 14, if state approves agency’s request to dip into maintenance funds

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SEPTA plans to restore all cut service on Sept. 14, while also implementing the more than 20% fare hike it had planned to start earlier this month, General Manager Scott Sauer said Friday.

The transit agency is requesting approval from PennDOT to use money meant for capital needs, such as repairing and replacing aging equipment, to pay for operations, Sauer said.

“This is not a solution,” Sauer said during a press conference Friday. “This is a Band-Aid.”

The move comes a day after a Philadelphia judge ordered the transit agency to reverse the service cuts that went into effect late last month, including the elimination of 32 bus routes and the reduction in frequency across its metro and bus lines. SEPTA is appealing this decision.

Sauer said the cut reversal was not a “direct result” of the judge’s order. He said in the first five days after the cuts went into effect, SEPTA drivers left over 4,000 people behind at bus and trolley stops due to overcrowding, and bus trips running late increased by 26%.

“Our riders deserve better,” he said.

PennDOT is currently reviewing SEPTA’s request and “determining next steps,” said PennDOT spokesperson Erin Waters-Trasatt. Sauer said SEPTA is “optimistic” the state will approve the plan.

Here’s what to know.

When will the cut bus routes be restored?

SEPTA has not yet restored the 32 bus routes cut late last month.

SEPTA plans to restore all routes on Sept. 14, if the state approves its request to divert up to $394 million of capital assistance funding toward operations.

Some bus routes that were initially slashed were restored Sept. 2 under an agreement with the city of Philadelphia to direct a portion of this year’s existing city subsidy to SEPTA toward bus routes most used by students travelling to school. Routes 14, 20, 23, 26, 47, 63, 67, 70, 82, T2 and T5 were augmented to reduce overcrowding, and routes 84, 88, 452, 461, 462, 476, 478, 484 and 31 from Overbrook Park to 63rd and Market streets were previously scheduled to be restored Sept. 15.

What is the status of SEPTA metro and rail service?

Frequency reductions across the Market-Frankford Line, the Broad Street Line and trolleys that went into effect in late August are still in effect, but will likely be reversed Sept. 14, according to SEPTA.

A planned 20% service reduction to Regional Rail originally planned for Sept. 2 has not yet gone into effect, and now seems to be delayed indefinitely.

When will SEPTA fares go up?

SEPTA’s fare increase, from $2.50 to $2.90 for metro and bus, was originally scheduled to take place Sept. 1. It did not go into effect because a court ruling last week forced SEPTA to delay the increases.

But the subsequent ruling Thursday allows the agency to proceed with the fare hikes, which also cover Regional Rail and SEPTA Access, formerly CCT Connect.

SEPTA plans to implement the fare increase Sept. 14.

What does the ruling mean for SEPTA’s budget issues?

Agency officials have said the drastic service cuts were necessary to fix its recurring budget deficit of $213 million.

Raising fares will bring in roughly $31 million in additional revenue per year, Sauer said.

But using capital dollars to fill that gap is not a sustainable long-term solution because it takes funding away from critical infrastructure rehabilitation and vehicle replacements, Sauer said.

“There’s risk here, tremendous risk to SEPTA,” he said. “Now we have to go back yet again and look for 400 million more dollars that we can defer on projects.”

Using the capital dollars to fund SEPTA’s immediate operations was a plan first endorsed by Republican state lawmakers. Democrats and Gov. Josh Shapiro initially opposed the idea, but Shapiro said he was open to it late last month as negotiations dragged on and the cuts went into effect.

Will the 9 p.m. curfew and Regional Rail cuts still happen?

SEPTA was planning to cut service even further in January 2026, implementing a 9 p.m. curfew across metro and Regional Rail and eliminating the Wilmington/Newark, Trenton, Paoli/Thorndale, Chestnut Hill West and Cynwyd Regional Rail lines.

Thursday’s court order restrains the agency from implementing all cuts, including curfews, station closures, reduction or elimination of ParaTransit routes and Regional Rail eliminations.

SEPTA is appealing that decision, said spokesperson John Golden.

Regardless of whether SEPTA wins its appeal, if the state approves the use of capital funds, the transit agency will not revisit any service cuts for the next two fiscal years, said Andrew Busch, SEPTA spokesperson.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information from SEPTA.