Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives met hastily Monday to pass transportation funding legislation in a last-ditch effort to stave off deep service cuts at the Philadelphia region’s public transit agency.
The Democratic-backed bill passed the chamber, 108-95, over the objection of nearly every Republican in the chamber.
The nearly $1 billion bill has the support of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, and includes funding for highways, too. But it faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate, where the GOP majority has resisted increasing aid for transit.
The bill increases aid for transit agency operations by $292 million, or about 25% more, with the lion’s share of the money going to the Philadelphia-based Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
SEPTA has said it cannot keep waiting for more aid before it makes cuts, which it says would be more drastic than any undertaken by a major transit agency in the United States.
The nation’s sixth-largest public transit system has warned that it will cut half its services by Jan. 1 and be unable to provide enhanced service for major tourist events next year. Those include FIFA World Cup matches in Philadelphia, events surrounding the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, Major League Baseball’s all-star game, the PGA Championship and NCAA March Madness games.
The deadline push comes after two years of stalemate, amid transit struggles nationwide with rising costs and lagging ridership.