2 weeks Ago By Daily Times
By Laura Manion, Trish McFarland and Bernard Dagenais SEPTA is not just a transit system. It is the lifeblood of our region’s economy, connecting our residents to jobs, our employers to talent, and our communities to opportunity. The proposed devastating cuts to services due to lack of dedicated state funding would be nothing short of catastrophic forthe economy of Pennsylvania, especially for the suburban counties of Chester, Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware.
Along with Philadelphia, the five counties generate 41% of the state’s economic activity with 32% of its population on 5% of its land. The ability to move people effectively throughout our region is essential to maintaining and growing this level of economic activity. While public transit is often thought of as a big-city issue, the truth is that suburban counties rely on SEPTA every single day.
Whether it’s a nurse commuting from Phoenixville to a hospital in Center City, a hospitality worker in Media heading to a restaurant job in King of Prussia, or a student from Coatesville enrolled in a Philadelphia trade school, SEPTA is the thread that binds together our regional workforce. The proposed cuts would rip that thread apart. Each day, tens of thousands of residents from the suburban counties rely on SEPTA to get to work in Philadelphia and vice versa.
Large employers such as Comcast, Vanguard, Wawa, our YMCAs, and our region’s health systems — Jefferson, Penn Medicine, Main Line Health, Nemours, Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic and CHOP — depend on hundreds of transit-connected employees to keep operations running. These are not abstract numbers. They are nurses, technicians, analysts, and office staff who power our economy and keep ourregion healthy and productive.
We have also heard from our small business community, hotels, restaurants and other service industries serious concerns about how fewer public transportation options for their employees would impact their operations and customer base. SEPTA also serves as a critical access point for basic and higher education. Thousands of students — from high schoolers enrolled in city magnet schools to college students commuting to Villanova, Widener and West Chester University in the suburbs as well as Philadelphia colleges such as Temple, Drexel, and the Community College of Philadelphia — rely on train and bus service to get to class.
Without transit, their pathway to opportunity is severely obstructed. And for many of these riders, there is no realistic alternative. What is now a 45-minute train ride could turn into a two- or even three-hour commute involving multiple transfers, long waits, and higher costs, which may result in many of these workers being forced to find new employment.
This isn’t just inconvenient — it’s a barrier to employment, education, and economic mobility. Other states have recognized the economic return of investing in mass transit. In Massachusetts, the MBTA receives consistent operating support through dedicated revenue streams including a portion of the state sales tax.
New Jersey’s transit agency benefits from motor fuel tax revenue. These states understand that reliable public transportation strengthens regional economies, improves air quality, and keeps people, and commerce, moving. In contrast, Pennsylvania’s current funding model for SEPTA is brittle, overly reliant on unpredictable vehicle rental tax revenue, and lacks the long-term vision necessary for a system that carries millions annually.
Without intervention, we will fall behind, not just in transit service, but in attracting new business and creating family-sustaining jobs. We urge the Legislature to act — not just to stop the cuts, but to stabilize and modernize transit funding for the long term. Reasonable compromises could include: • Dedicating a modest portion of state sales tax to mass transit, as other states have done.
• Reallocating a portion of surplus funds or one-time revenues to serve as a bridge while a long-term solution is crafted. • Creating a bipartisan task force to develop a 10-year sustainable funding model. • Exploring public-private partnerships, especially in suburban corridors where employers can benefit directly from improved service.
This should not be a partisan issue and it should not pit urban lawmakers against those who serve more rural areas of the state. There are shared reasons to invest in SEPTA to help retain a key economic engine affecting the entire Commonwealth. The suburban counties cannot afford to be collateral damage in a budgetary stalemate.
Our future workforce, housing accessibility, small business growth, and quality of life are all tied to transit. Let’s not derail our own success. Let’s fund the system that fuels our region, and keep Pennsylvania moving forward.
Manion, McFarland and Dagenais are, respectively, the presidents of the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and Main Line Chamber of Commerce.
