With the state budget now more than five weeks late, hundreds rallied at Philadelphia City Hall, calling on Senate Republications to return to Harrisburg, finish the budget, and fully fund public transit.
Philadelphia, PA − August 6, 2025 − With SEPTA just days away from implementing devastating service cuts, today Democratic State Senators, transit riders and advocates, and labor leaders joined hundreds of people at Philadelphia City Hall to call on Senate Republications to swiftly pass a budget that invests in communities across the Commonwealth, including full funding for public transit.
Today’s action was organized in part by state senators representing districts throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
State Senator Nikil Saval (D–Philadelphia), who leads the Pennsylvania Senate’s Philadelphia Delegation and serves as Democratic Chair of the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, was a cohost of the rally.
“Public transit is an essential, life-sustaining service, ensuring that people in every county in our Commonwealth can get to jobs, schools, medical care, and their loved ones—and back home again, safely, at the end of the day,” said Saval. “We are just eight days away from when it will be too late to prevent the debilitating cuts to SEPTA from taking effect. We need Senate Republicans to get back to Harrisburg, finish the budget, and fund the transit that our communities need and deserve.”
In April, SEPTA announced that without additional funding, it will be forced to slash its services by 45%. Today, SEPTA affirmed that funding is needed by August 14 to prevent the cuts from taking effect later this month. The Pennsylvania State House of Representatives has passed multiple funding bills, and Governor Josh Shapiro included increased funding for transit in his budget proposal. But all funding initiatives have all stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate, which is five weeks late in negotiating and passing a state budget.
“SEPTA is how working families in my district get to work, school, and everywhere in between,” said State Senator Christine Tartaglione (D–Philadelphia). “Letting this system fall apart isn’t an option. We need to fund transit, protect riders, and stand up for the people who make this system run. It’s time to finish the job.”
Nearly a third of Pennsylvania residents live in the counties served by SEPTA, and 750,000 people ride SEPTA’s buses, trains, trolleys, and subways every day.
Dr. Daniel Wolk, MD Faculty, Bryn Mawr Family Medicine Residency Program, is among them. Wolk uses SEPTA to access lifesaving medical treatments.
“For the 16 years I have lived with cancer, SEPTA has been a lifeline, connecting me to treatment,” said Wolk. “It is a lifeline as well for people all over our region, connecting us to work, health care, shopping, and other vital services, while directly improving the health, safety, and vitality of Greater Philadelphia. As the benefits reach beyond city limits, the Pennsylvania Senate must fund SEPTA to maintain this vital service.”
Kevin Aikens, a member of UNITE HERE Local 274 working for OTG Management at the Philadelphia International Airport, uses SEPTA to travel to work. The bus line he takes is one of 50 routes that will be terminated unless state funding comes through.
“Philadelphia International Airport brings more than $18 billion dollars into our local economy,” said Aikens. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that those billions of dollars would not be possible if it wasn’t for people like me taking the bus to get to work to make the whole airport run.”
Arthur G. Steinberg, President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), spoke on behalf of teachers and families who depend on transit to get to school.
“Right now, families across Pennsylvania are preparing to send their kids back to school in two and a half weeks. The 14,000 education professionals who work for the School District of Philadelphia, and are represented by the PFT, deserve to know that they and their students can get to school and back on time because SEPTA will have the funding it needs to avoid massive service cuts,” said Steinberg. “Pennsylvania lawmakers literally have just one job—which is to provide funding for essential services that residents need. Senate Republicans need to get back to work and pass a budget that funds our schools and saves mass transit!”
Cuts to SEPTA mean the Greater Philadelphia region will face the loss of nearly 80,000 jobs and some $6 billion in potential wages, while the Commonwealth stands to lose more than $11 billion in tax revenue.
Daniel P. Bauder, President of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO, spoke of the tremendous harm to working people and communities.
“Time and time again, workers across Pennsylvania are asked to do more with less. Hundreds of thousands of workers utilize public transit to get to work each day. By choosing not to fund SEPTA and transit across the state, Harrisburg Republicans are directly attacking workers statewide,” said Bauder. “Any budget without critical and sustainable transit funding is an attack on the working people who depend on public transportation and on the workers who will be tasked with making 2026 and beyond a safe and enjoyable experience for the millions who will visit our Commonwealth next year.”
Labor leaders representing SEPTA workers, including Maurice Landon, First Vice Local Chairman of BLET Division 71, and Raymond Boyer, General Chairman of SMART Local 61, noted that workers want to continue to be able to provide the services that their communities need and deserve.
“The Locomotive Engineers for SEPTA Regional Rail demand the PA legislature fund transportation so we can continue to do our jobs and serve our communities proudly,” said Landon.
“SEPTA is facing deep service cuts and job losses. The Pennsylvania State Senate must act now,” said Boyer. “As General Chairman of SMART local 61, I’m calling for immediate funding—no more delays, no more excuses.”
Years of underfunding by the Commonwealth have caused severe budget shortfalls for transit felt across Pennsylvania. If the General Assembly fails to act, many transit agencies will be forced to implement severe cuts to services and steep fare hikes.
Transit for All PA!, a coalition of community organizations, businesses, transit riders, and transit workers committed to safe, reliable, dignified public transit, helped to organize today’s rally.
Connor Descheemaker, Statewide Campaign Manager for Transit for All PA!, warned that the statewide need for transit funding jeopardizes the wellbeing of communities throughout the Commonwealth.
“The situation is existential: will our PA Senate leadership step up for the success of the Commonwealth? Our fates are interconnected, and while SEPTA faces crisis first, the same fate of worse traffic, worse accessibility, worse economic development, less investment in communities, and worse air awaits every corner of Pennsylvania,” said Descheemaker. “We must stop the cuts now, and put ourselves on a path toward transit restoration and growth.”
Saval closed the rally with a call to action.
“No more delays. No more kicking the can down the road,” said Saval. “We need a budget that invests in communities across the Commonwealth, including full funding for the transit infrastructure that moves all Pennsylvanians. And we need it now.”
The full recording of today’s event is available on Senator Saval’s website.
