One mass-transit crisis is averted -- at least for now.
SEPTA riders were able to breathe a sigh of relief this week thanks to Gov. Ed Rendell's $412 million maneuver.
With fresh money coming into the beleaguered transportation system, passengers will be spared fare hikes and service cuts that have been hanging over the city's head for months and would have gone into effect on Sunday.
Problem solved, right? Not exactly.
SEPTA continues to face escalating costs, due primarily to increasing employee benefit expenses. And as these costs grow, the agency's revenue remains stagnant.
Rendell's plan -- which allocates the majority of a $530 million federal highway funding windfall -- is a Band-Aid solution at best, but at least it is something.
Last fall, legislators in Harrisburg continued to chase their tails while threats from SEPTA grew more and more serious. And now that the problem is put on hold for two more years, chances are little will be done in the meantime.
At least Rendell had the common sense to notice that some internal reforms at the transit agency are sorely needed. By creating the Transportation Funding and Reform Commission, the governor made light of the fact that SEPTA's inefficiencies are partly to blame for its financial woes.
The commission will issue its report within two years. Maybe by then SEPTA and Harrisburg will be willing to actually sit down and hammer out a permanent solution. They can't do much worse.
