Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently directed Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll to transfer $153 million in federal highway capital funds to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), one of the largest transit systems in the United States.
The federal highway capital funds will be temporarily reallocated from projects that have not been put out to bid or begun construction.
The Pennsylvania Senate failed to pass three state House of Representatives bills this year that would have increased funding to SEPTA and public transit agencies statewide. As a consequence, SEPTA planned to increase fares by 21 percent and make immediate service cuts to maintain critical operations through at least July 2025. Shapiro’s fund transfer will prevent this.
“As governor, I have a responsibility to serve every region of our commonwealth — rural, suburban, and urban,” Shapiro said. “Over the past two years, we’ve come together on a bipartisan basis to invest $330.5 million in additional funding for Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges, repairing more poor-condition bridges than any other state and improving more miles of roadway than at any time in the past decade. But while we’ve made great progress on our roadways, we must also address the needs of mass transit riders, particularly those in Southeastern Pennsylvania who rely on SEPTA every day to get to work, school, medical appointments, and more.”
Shapiro plans to work with Republican and Democratic leaders to deliver a long-term mass transit funding solution.
In his 2024-25 budget proposal earlier this year, Shapiro included $1.5 billion in new statewide mass transit funding over the next five years without raising taxes including $282.8 million in recurring annual revenue.
SEPTA serves 800,000 people daily in five counties in the Greater Philadelphia area and connects to transit systems in Delaware and New Jersey. Shapiro also secured funding commitments from all five counties to ensure SEPTA maintains current operations, continues to
invest in safety and cleanliness, and prepares for upcoming high-profile events.