A Philadelphia judge ruled Thursday that SEPTA must restore cuts to services, routes, and staff after three plaintiffs accused the agency of unlawfully discriminating against marginalized populations.
The ruling does not prevent previously proposed fare increases but bars the agency from implementing any further cuts. The injunction follows two days of testimony alleging that the cuts created a “stark inequity” because “minority and low-income bus users bear the heaviest cuts while wealthier regional rail riders are protected.”
The agency planned to eliminate 32 bus routes, reduce service on 88 others, and implement a 20% reduction in services across buses and metro. Jody Holton, SEPTA’s chief planning and strategy officer, said that the agency was losing $517,000 a week after a previous court order that barred planned fare increases.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that SEPTA claims it will take 10 days to restore service.
SEPTA cited a $213 million budget deficit as justification for the cuts. A brief filed by the agency on Wednesday analyzed the impacts of service cuts on marginalized populations and found that there are disproportionate impacts. SEPTA provided rationale, alternatives, or mitigations for each cut.
SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch told the Inquirer that the agency will comply with the injunction, but is still “evaluating” what they can do. George Bochetto, the plaintiffs’ attorney, highlighted SEPTA’s more than $300 million Service Stabilization Fund, which he described as a “rainy-day fund."
The agency calls the money a “working capital account that it uses daily.”
“It’s not that complicated,” Bochetto said. “You fill a bus up with a tank of gas and you put it out on the route.”
Matthew Glazer, an attorney representing SEPTA, shut down the idea of using the stabilization fund by arguing that the agency pays bills with it daily. He stated that the plaintiffs could not ask the court to “appoint itself as a de facto treasurer” of the agency.
“Plaintiffs suggest there is some easy, magical fix that SEPTA has simply overlooked,” Glazer said. “If only that were true.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian previously reported that Penn students’ commutes have been directly affected by the cuts, with some criticizing both the Pennsylvania state legislature and the University for not using their leverage to address the crisis.
Senior reporter Anvi Sehgal leads coverage of the University's administration and can be reached at sehgal@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies philosophy, politics, and economics. Follow her on X @anvi_sehgal.
