Philadelphia's public transit agency said Friday that it will restore services that it eliminated after a judge ordered it to undo the two-week-old cuts that were challenged in court as discriminatory toward poor and minority communities.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said it is working on a plan to restore service, but that restorations could take 10 days. It couldn't immediately say whether it will appeal the judge's order or whether it will replace those cuts with different service reductions.
SEPTA has described the cuts as more drastic than any undertaken by a major transit agency in the United States, but necessary to deal with a deficit of more than $200 million.
SEPTA has said the cuts amounted to a 20% across-the-board service reduction. That included eliminating bus routes with lower ridership and reducing the frequency of bus, trolley and rail services across the region.
Students and commuters have talked of needing to get up much earlier to make time for longer commutes, unusually crowded buses and skipped stops.
The same judge also had ordered SEPTA to halt planned fare increases of 21.5% that had been set to take effect earlier this week for the system’s approximately 800,000 daily riders, increasing a weekday ride from $2.50 to $2.90 on a bus, train or trolley.
The cuts in the nation’s sixth-most populous city could herald similar moves by major transit agencies around the U.S. as they struggle with rising costs and lagging ridership after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted commutes.
All told, SEPTA has warned that it will cut half its services by Jan. 1 and won’t provide enhanced service for major tourist events next year. Those include FIFA World Cup matches in Philadelphia, events surrounding the celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, the PGA Championship and NCAA March Madness games.
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Follow Marc Levy on X at: https://x.com/timelywriter
