Mass transit cutbacks delayed two months

The SEPTA Board of Directors recently voted in favor of delaying the implementation of service cutbacks and fare increases, pending an ongoing legislative battle between Democratic Governor Ed Rendell and the Republican leaders of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

The Board voted at the end of December to delay the implementation of the contingency plan until Feb. 27 after Rendell pledged to provide an additional $13 million in subsidies from flexible highway dollars for use by public transit.

The contingency plan, which includes an initial 25 percent fare increase to be followed later by an additional increase and a 20 percent reduction in service, was designed to bail SEPTA out of its current $62.2 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2005.

Rendell had previously said that he would work with the General Assembly to secure the funding necessary to cover SEPTA's budget gap.

SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney expressed hope that Harrisburg could solve the problem.

"We're hopeful that [Rendell] and the General Assembly can come to a resolution both in the short term to get us through the fiscal year and a long term solution of dedicated funding for public transportation," Maloney said.

If the state government fails to come to a resolution, Maloney concedes that the contingency plan "would have an absolutely devastating impact on public transportation region-wide," a view with which Rendell's press secretary Kate Philips agrees.

"If the cuts are implemented, I think the results would be catastrophic," Philips said, citing massive job losses, problems for commuters and higher fares as probable results.

"That is why the governor worked so hard to flex the federal highway funding to find a temporary solution, but now he's focused on finding a permanent solution as well."

Public advocacy groups are firmly against raising fares.

"It would be a catastrophe for the entire state," said Peter Javsicas, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Transportation Solutions. "It would affect a lot of businesses both downtown and in the suburbs. The cities are the economic centers of the state."

However, Javsicas remains optimistic that a favorable solution will be approved.

"It seems like the GOP are trying to help, and I think somebody will come up with a plan," Javsicas said, adding that he thought a gas tax -- despite government statements to the contrary -- might be in the works. "It's a question of who is going to get the credit for the solution. ... The two sides of the aisle will work out a way of sharing the blame for that and making it look like a positive move."

However, the current Constitutional ban on using the gas tax for anything other than roads and bridges limits the effective use of existing funds, Javsicas argued.

"It is widely known that there is a tremendous amount of waste through the turnpike commission [and] unnecessary spending," Javsicas added. "This is an age when we want to encourage people to use public transportation and make it accessible to them."

Rendell invited legislative leaders to the Governor's Mansion in Harrisburg last night to discuss the problem and has called for a special session of the legislature -- tentatively scheduled for Jan. 18 -- to address the issue.

Public hearings are scheduled for Jan. 24-28 for the second step of fare increases.

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