On April 10, 2025, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which provides public transit throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, announced a new budget proposal, which included higher fares and cuts to services. These fare increases and cuts are because SEPTA is $213 million dollars short, despite measures to increase revenue, like the recent 7.5% fare hike. The cuts would increase fares by 21.5% and cut 45% of all current SEPTA services. This includes closure of five regional rail lines, 50 bus routes, workforce reductions, a 9 p.m. curfew for metro and regional rail services, 66 station closures, the elimination of service for special events and a 20% reduction of service to all remaining routes.
Despite sometimes being a bit on the outside of the political events of Philadelphia, these cuts have some dire implications for Villanovans. The cuts would include a curfew for the Paoli/Thorndale Regional Rail line in 2025 with total elimination in 2026. Additionally, there will be no extra service for special events, curfews and reduced service for the Broad Street Line(BSL) and the Market-Frankford Line (MFL). This would severely impact on the ability of Villanovans to return to campus from events in the city, especially sporting events and concerts which typically end well after the proposed curfew of 9 p.m. While the Broad Street Line and Market-Frankford Line remain intact, making it possible for students to get back to the Norristown High Speed Line, the extent of cuts to those lines has not been clarified. Therefore, the viability of that route is in doubt.
This leaves ride-share apps like Uber and Lyft as the only guaranteed method of transportation to get back from a basketball game at Wells Fargo Center or an Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field. Uber and Lyft have been getting increasingly expensive even without the added demand leaving Wells Fargo Center. This would add an extra financial barrier of entry for going out or supporting Villanova or Philadelphia sports.
However, these budget cuts are not yet final. There are opportunities to prevent this. The solution lies not in Philadelphia but in Harrisburg. Governor Shapiro proposed a budget plan to raise $292.5 million to prevent the SEPTA cuts. This plan would involve raising the amount of Sales and Use Tax receipts that go to state public transit funding from 7.68% to 9.43%. This would not involve any rise in taxes but an increased amount of taxes that go to funding public transit. Another plan proposed by Pennsylvania State Senator Frank Farry would tax skill game revenue. This plan would regulate skill-based slot machine games and provide funding for public transit. Senator Farry proposed a similar bill last year that didn’t go through the state senate, but this year it has new life.
The potential SEPTA budget cuts are an issue that the Villanova community should care about, not just because it will create an inconvenience for us but because the cuts will increase cost of living for people across Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania. While Villanovans aren’t known for their political activism, this brings an opportunity to make a difference. Indeed, the best time to act was yesterday, but the second best time is now. Villanovans should contact their state senators and assembly members to support Governor Shapiro’s budget and Senator Farry’s skill game tax. Additionally, there will be public hearings on the budget plan on May 19 and 20, as well as state budget hearings May 21, with the final vote scheduled on June 26.
