SEPTA Service Cuts Could Add 275,000 Vehicles to Already Gridlocked Philadelphia Area Streets – WHYY
- GVF TMA
- May 1
- 1 min read
As many as 9,000 University of Pennsylvania Health System employees use SEPTA to get to work during an average work week.
That includes Penn Medicine’s CEO, Kevin Mahoney, who uses Regional Rail about half the time to get to his office in University City.
Mahoney said it would be devastating for the hospital system’s patients and employees if the transit agency moves forward with significant service cuts. SEPTA is facing a structural deficit of $213 million in its 2026 fiscal budget since COVID-19 era federal relief funding has expired.
“This ranks in the top two or three things that keep me up at night,” Mahoney said. “Just the sheer number of our employees that use the Regional [Rail], trolley and bus.”
Business leaders say they worry about the regional economy if there are deep cuts to public transportation, which could lead to massive traffic congestion during rush hour for commuters. SEPTA is also an economic driver and spends about $228 million with businesses across Pennsylvania. But some Republican lawmakers say that’s not enough to offset how much taxpayers already chip in to subsidize the transit system that doesn’t operate in their communities.
