PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Common Pleas judge has blocked SEPTA from making more service cuts.
The decision came through Thursday evening after a hearing on whether to continue a temporary injunction issued Friday by Judge Sierra Thomas Street.
The lawsuit, filed by Attorney George Bochetto, claimed SEPTA manufactured its budget crisis to get more state money, and that the service cuts unfairly target minorities and the poor. He said SEPTA could have avoided the cuts altogether if it dipped further into its $300 million service stabilization fund.
In testimony on Thursday morning, SEPTA Planning Chief Jody Holton said the transit agency followed federal equity guidelines and that its service cuts did not have a disparate impact on the poor.
Per the judge’s ruling, there will be no more service cuts, but SEPTA can proceed with its planned fare increase
Stay with KYW as this story develops.
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