BusTalk

[Cyberider]

SEPTA 'doomsday' vote set for May 24
By: BRIAN SCHEID (Wed, May/09/2007)

With a vote on massive fare hikes and service cuts just two weeks away, SEPTA officials are no closer to filling a $129 million hole than they were three months ago, when they first pitched the plan for the annual budget shortfall, a SEPTA spokesman said Tuesday.

“Everything at this point appears to be the same,” spokesman Jim Whitaker said on the potential “doomsday” scenarios the struggling agency is facing.

SEPTA's board of directors will vote on May 24 on a $1 billion budget proposal with four potential outcomes that include fare increases, service cuts, merged rail zones and an altered fare structure.

One plan being considered, known as Plan A, would increase fares by 11 percent, but would go forward only if SEPTA receives a $100 million boost in state aid. If that extra funding never arrives, the board will consider Plan B, which would hike fares by 31 percent, cut service by 20 percent, and lay off 300 to 400 employees. The hike will make regional rail fares in Bucks County among the highest in the nation.

Using the Yardley station as an example for the worst-case scenario, commuters will pay $210 per month, a $47 per month hike, to travel on the R3 line to and from Center City if Plan B is approved.

Whitaker said Tuesday that both those proposals “were still on the table.”

“We continue to lobby in Harrisburg to get the Legislature to understand the seriousness of our budget deficit and the seriousness of budget deficits at transit systems throughout the state,” Whitaker said.

The Courier Times was unsuccessful in reaching Pasquale “Pat” Deon, chairman of SEPTA's board, for comment Tuesday.

The potential fare hikes would go into effect in July, and some state lawmakers have said they were unsure if a state funding plan to bail out transit agencies throughout the state could be put into place by then.

To raise $760 million a year for SEPTA and other mass transit agencies, Gov. Ed Rendell wants to impose a 6.17 percent tax on oil company profits. He also wants to raise $965 million a year to repair the state's bridges and highways.

On Thursday, mayors in 17 cities in the state will hold events to publicly pledge their support for the governor's plan, according to Barry Ciccocioppo, a Rendell spokesman.

“The governor has been saying all along that this is a serious crisis,” Ciccocioppo said. “The governor wants to establish a dedicated funding source so we don't have this funding crisis every year.”

On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation launched the Web site http://www.rideonpa.org/ to detail the transportation funding crisis the state faces.

Brian Scheid can be reached at 215-949-4165 or bscheid@phillyBurbs.com.

Article's URL:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/147-05092007-1343632.html

[ctrabs74]

The SEPTA board had approved the plan for a modest pass rate hike (but not to the base fare) however the City of Philadelphia's two reps had exercised their veto power over both that vote and a vote to adopt the more draconian service cuts in October. The votes are expected to be overriden next month.

[Cyberider]

Welcome to BT III, ctrabs74, and thanks for the update.