Wow! The operating budget for SEPTA was released yesterday and the agency will actually be expanding services over the next year. There are plans to make service more frequent, reduce overcrowding, and extend hours of operation. The best part? SEPTA has enough money to do all of this without raising fares!
According to an article in the Philadelphia Daily News, this is the first time SEPTA has added services without passing along the cost to riders in 10 years. How did this happen? Transit advocates have always maintained that the system needed more money from the state. I always assumed that was the only solution-- but that's not what happened this time. SEPTA can afford to improve because....people are actually using public transit:
SEPTA ridership has soared during the last year, with an additional 30,000 daily trips (up 4 percent over last year). Regional Rail ridership is the highest in 25 years, up 13,000 daily trips (a 12 percent rise).
The increase in ridership, not more money from any government source, has created budget surplus. The biggest factor driving this phenomenon is probably gas prices. It's a lot cheaper to take a train, bus, or subway to work than drive. The challenge for SEPTA is figuring out how to keep all of these new riders if gas prices go down. This story also presents a challenge to the many Philadelphians (myself included) who complain about how awful SEPTA is. We can help the system improve by actually using it.