In the midst of an ongoing debate over the future of funding for public transit in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia's SEPTA system is currently facing the impending expiration of contracts with two of its unions.
The contract with Transport Workers Union Local 234 was originally supposed to expire March 15, but the union accepted SEPTA's offer of a one-month extension.
This union represents bus, subway and trolley operators and mechanics, primarily on routes operating within the city of Philadelphia.
SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney declined to comment on the situation, citing ongoing negotiations.
Another union, United Transportation Union Local 1594, has a contract that is to due to expire Friday. This organization primarily represents operators on transit lines to and from the 69th Street terminal.
These contract negotiations come shortly after SEPTA received a state bailout of $42.7 million to postpone a plan that would have cut service by 20 percent, raised fares substantially and resulted in job cuts.
The plan was slated to go into effect several times earlier this year.
The state money does little, however, to fix the underlying causes of SEPTA's crisis, as there is no permanent dedicated funding plan in place at this point.
Because the bailout is only a temporary solution, the contingency plan is now set to be implemented June 26 of this year, SEPTA's Web site announced.
If state legislators are able to formulate a permanent funding solution by then, it is highly unlikely that the contingency plan will have to be used.
