Senator Saval called for full funding for SEPTA at a rally at City Hall today held in response to the transit agency‘s proposed service cuts. Several hundred community members, workers, transit riders, students, healthcare providers, labor leaders, and business representatives packed the north apron portal.
Several hundred community members from throughout the region packed the north apron portal at Philadelphia’s City Hall. Attendees brought signs, shared chants, and testified to the importance of SEPTA in their lives and for their communities.
Philadelphia, PA − April 11, 2025 − In response to SEPTA’s announcement of steep fare increases and devastating service cuts, state lawmakers rallied today with hundreds of community members in a united call for Pennsylvania’s General Assembly to fully fund the region’s vital transportation authority.
The rally was spurred by SEPTA’s Thursday morning release of its Fiscal Year 2026 Operating and Capital Budget Proposal, detailing the kinds service cuts and fare hikes that advocates and officials have warned could trigger a cascading “death spiral”—debilitating access to transit now and foreclosing on a vision of a vast and modern system in the future if the agency doesn’t receive the necessary funding in the upcoming state budget.
Today’s action was organized by members of the Pennsylvania House and Senate Philadelphia Delegations.
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 service operating in every county in our Commonwealth, connecting millions of people every day to their jobs, schools, healthcare, essential goods and services, and loved ones—and then safely bringing us back home again,” said Saval. “Throughout the Philadelphia region alone, SEPTA riders take 800,000 trips each and every day. The state budget is due June 30, and we need the Governor and the General Assembly to come together to fully fund transit throughout our region and throughout our Commonwealth. For now, and forever.”
“This Commonwealth does not work, the math does not math, if there is not a strong public transportation system in southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Senator Vincent Hughes (D–Philadelphia and Montgomery), who serves as the Democratic Chair of the Senate’s Appropriations Committee. “Forty percent of Pennsylvania’s economy is generated in southeastern Pennsylvania. If SEPTA is not working, Pennsylvania is not working.”
State Representative Morgan Cephas (D–Philadelphia), who serves as Chair of the House’s Philadelphia Delegation, and State Representative Joe Hohenstein (D–Philadelphia), who serves as Vice Chair, have endeavored for years to increase SEPTA funding.
“While this announcement is not a surprise, given our fight for funding options over the years, the draconian nature of these cuts is most assuredly painful to visualize,” said Cephas. “Let’s be clear—this is not just hurting tourism and worldwide visitors to our region. This is a direct hit at the heart of Philadelphia’s workforce and economic development. SEPTA has done their due diligence by increasing revenue, enhancing safety for riders and employees, and internal austerity measures. It’s time for Senate leadership to step up and show their support for mass transit and the 800,000 daily passenger trips on SEPTA. Pennsylvania cannot afford to dismantle SEPTA.”
“The action that SEPTA is being forced to take will devastate my neighborhoods and all of Philadelphia by severely limiting, and in some cases eliminating, the only way people have to travel,” said Hohenstein. “Kids all across this city use SEPTA to get to school and other activities. Parents use SEPTA to get to work without being delayed on our gridlocked streets. Seniors use SEPTA to safely get to medical visits or to see friends and family. And what’s the best way to get to a Championship Parade in Center City? SEPTA is ingrained in our lives and our identity. These extreme service cuts and fare increases would deeply impact the livelihood of Philadelphians, crippling our region and economy. SEPTA has to be accountable for providing a safe, clean, and efficient transit system, but in all honesty, it’s time for Senate Republicans to finally get serious and negotiate in good faith on a real solution for real funding for mass transportation.”
SEPTA and transportation authorities across the Commonwealth have been chronically underfunded for years. Funding for transit makes up just 13% of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s entire budget. Pennsylvania spends less per capita on transit than any other state in the Northeast.
Pennsylvania Transportation Secretary Michael Carroll attended the rally and affirmed the administration’s support for funding SEPTA.
“To grow our economy and our communities, our infrastructure and public transit systems must both be properly funded, which is why Governor Shapiro proposed the first major new investment in public transit in a decade,” said Carroll. “The House has passed legislation in support of the Governor’s proposal three times and the Senate didn’t act on it. Transit is available in every county in PA, and we need our legislature to meet Pennsylvanians’ current and future public transit needs just like we improve roads and bridges in every community.”
Among the hundreds of community members in attendance were transit riders, advocates, students, workers, labor leaders, business representatives, disability rights advocates, and healthcare providers.
Word of today’s rally spread quickly with outreach from Transit for All PA, a coalition of community organizations, businesses, transit riders, and transit workers committed to safe, reliable, dignified public transit.
“The threat to SEPTA is existential for Philadelphia—to its workforce, its elders and youth, to its congestion, and to its climate goals,” said Connor Descheemaker, Transit 4 All PA’s Statewide Campaign Manager. “To solve this statewide problem, we need a statewide solution. Transit For All PA is committed to working across the Commonwealth for a long-term solution that sets up SEPTA and other transit agencies for service restoration, and the mobility we need for success. Transit for All PA calls on our elected officials to join with riders and workers in demanding: no budget without transit, funded for restoration and long-term stability.”
Also in attendance were members of labor unions representing workers throughout the region, including Sam Schwartz, Assistant General Counsel for TWU Local 234, which represents SEPTA’s transit workers, and Arthur G. Steinberg, President of PFT Local 3, which represents more than 14,000 education professionals in the School District of Philadelphia.
“Public transit is not optional—it’s the engine that drives our economy, connects our communities, and keeps our most vulnerable neighbors from being left behind,” said Schwartz.
“The forecast cuts to SEPTA routes and services will be hugely disruptive to our members and the students we serve. Remote work or flexible schedules are simply not options for public schools,” said Steinberg. “In addition to the very serious safety concerns we have for students who rely on SEPTA during early morning or evening hours, we are alarmed that a fully preventable crisis has gotten this far. Pennsylvania public school teachers know a manufactured crisis when we see one. The revenue opportunities exist. We demand Pennsylvania lawmakers make the critical investments—from education to mass transit—that our communities deserve.”
High school students from Academy at Palumbo in South Philadelphia attended the rally to speak about the importance of reliable public transit service for their success in school and their ability to navigate the city.
“For us, SEPTA is more than transit. It is the ability to access our education. It is the ability to reach our extracurriculars, jobs, and internships. As young people, without licenses or cars, it is the key to our independence throughout the city,” said Jacob, a senior at Academy at Palumbo. “It’s time that our legislators saw how important public transportation is, and how much young people rely on it.”
“Many students live far from their schools or campuses, and some already commute an hour or more each way. When a route gets cut or reduced, it doesn’t just mean a longer ride—it can mean being late to class or missing school altogether,” said Jaylah, a junior at Academy at Palumbo. “When you fight to invest in keeping SEPTA accessible and reliable, you are also fighting to invest in education and the future of our city. Please consider how these changes in transportation can have such a big impact on the people with such few options. Funding SEPTA funds our future.”
Victoria Cimino, a doctor of internal medicine who has practiced geriatric outpatient care for the past seven years in Northeast Philadelphia, attended the rally to speak on behalf of her patients.
“I have been a primary care doctor to underserved elderly patients for the last seven years, and today I am here advocating for them,” said Cimino. “Less public transportation means less access to care and worse health outcomes. And we cannot let that happen.”
Lawmakers from across Greater Philadelphia attended the rally to add their voices in support of SEPTA. Senator Tim Kearney (D–Delaware), who serves as Chair of the Senate’s Southeast Delegation, spoke of the regional importance of public transportation.
“SEPTA is the lifeblood of metropolitan Philadelphia’s economy and culture, and whether you personally ride it or not, severe service cuts will cause a logistical and economic disaster for every town, school district, and business in the region,” said Kearney. “The legislature must protect Pennsylvania’s economy and make a deal to save SEPTA and maintain this public good.”
In attendance at today’s rally were Philadelphia City Councilmembers, including Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke (Working Families Party), who serves as Minority Whip and addressed the importance of robust public transit in cultivating economic equality.
“SEPTA is a fundamental pillar of economic mobility in our region, our great equalizer that moves business forward,” said O’Rourke. “In our Second Gilded Age, we need some more equalizing institutions, and we had better hold onto the ones we have.”
All attendees at the rally were resolved in their commitment to continue the fight for full funding for SEPTA and transit agencies across the Commonwealth.
“Philly is used to standing up and fighting against all odds. We’ve done it before, and we will do it again,” said Saval. “We know our future is vibrant and expansive. And we’re not getting there without SEPTA.”
The full recording of today’s event is available here: https://www.youtube.com/live/oFbJR4_FwlY.
