Posted on 08/26/2025 1:42:31 PM PDT by Kid Shelleen
--SNIP-- Almost 84 percent of SEPTA’s budget comes from taxpayer subsidies, not riders. And they still can’t make it work — and have shown little willingness to embrace reality and change.
SEPTA is pretending to be “broke” to cause crises to get more taxpayer money. They have $400 million in reserves and millions more in designated taxpayer funding. The present system cannot be supported without a never-ending, ever-growing annual subsidy from non-riders needed to prop up an outdated, non-customer friendly, bureaucratic, politically operated, unaccountable system.
They want money, not reform. Democratic politicians — from Shapiro to the state House, to suburban county commissioners — are leading that cheer
(Excerpt) Read more at broadandliberty.com ...
Born in Philly, went to college in Philly and worked in Philly before leaving to go into the Army in 1971.
As each trolley route was built, starting in 1911, it received a number. The third trolley route built was marked as the #3 trolley, etc. Over the years, the trolley lines were converted to buses. Despite this, there was little change in the routes. A bus ends its route a block away from a major cross-street because that's where the original trolley route had its loop. There was talk in 1968 of rethinking the entire system, but it never happened. There has only been piecemeal change.
In Los Angeles, where I spent half my adult life, the entire system was rethought in 1981 with a logical numbering of bus routes. Every ten years, the transit authority studied ridership patterns and added, deleted or changed bus routes. When LA's various heavy rail metro and light rail routes went into operation, there was a rethinking of how buses fit into the picture.
By contrast, Philadelphia is still locked into the PRT's transit map of 1915 even though almost all of the trolleys are gone. (I actually saw one of those maps, and it was in the same condition as the Dead Sea scrolls.) Rapid transit plans such as extensions of the Broad Street Subway to the northeast and northwest sections of the city, proposed in the 1920s, today remain unbuilt.
SEPTA needs new thinking.
Hey, that’s good stuff on there, also read the other SEPTA article. The main question I have about the approach is fare/mile will drive suburban commuters to their cars, though likely dissuaded by high parking rates
The northeast big city mass transit systems were struggling before Covid, barely getting enough fare revenue and government subsidies to keep their systems running. Then Covid lock downs hit (not “Covid”), ridership and rider revenue plummeted, followed by more “work from home” still higher now than before Covid. They always depended on government subsidies in addition to fare revenue, and with worsened government budgets the money is running out.
How could they (SEPTA) solve the problem?
They could solve the problem by selling the whole system and making no demands on how much of the system should be continued, as well as no demands on what the fares ought to be, and no forced continuation of the public transit union contracts. Yes, jobs for existing transit workers should be considered, under entirely new contracts. The taxpayers unfortunately will have to be left to cover the pension liabilities of the old system. They’ll only be freed of the ongoing costs of the operations of the transit system, sold off to a private company.
A private system will over time alter housing and employment patterns in the Phildelphia area, as fares reflect true costs, some lines are discontinued and people and jobs move. That’s how it should be, and within a decade Philly will be a nicer place; it might even be a smaller place.
I lived in a high rise apartment near Norristown PA. There was a SEPTA rail line go by twice a day. In the 2 years I lived in that apartment I only saw 2 riders on that train at any given time (which had 6 boxcars attached). The same can be said for the buses that go from Philly to King of Prussia mall.
It’s just a racket for the unions to get payment fees from the members (I won’t call those thugs workers). A scam, a total stinking scam for the Rat party. /spit
They were private, at least the suburban lines, until the ‘60’s. They were going broke then and the creation of the public transportation saved them. Maybe the fact the Philly suburbs have gone fro strong Republican to strong Democrat in the past 50-60 years would work out better for mass transit. However, the failure of now Democrat controlled County councils to step up with funding makes you think their constituents would be just as hypocritical.
“They were private, at least the suburban lines, until the ‘60’s.”
Were they like the NYC subways once were (when they were private), where local laws controlled the limits of the fares they could charge, which helped drive them into bankruptcy???
SEPTA is just another money-laundering scheme for Democrat political appointees. How many vacation homes and pleasure boats is all that tax-payer money funding? Probably hundreds if not thousands.
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PA Legislature: Grant the SEPTA-serviced counties the power to levy their own income and sales taxes and keep Philly and its burbs out of the pockets of the other 62 counties' taxpayers!
I doubt the suburban lines were consolidated , as they spread out over 2-3, 4 counties, again Republican bastions at the time,
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