Over 790,000 Southeast Pennsylvania residents commute for work and recreation every weekday via the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, also known as SEPTA.
However, SEPTA, the nation’s sixth biggest transit line, has recently been on a “transit death spiral,” according to SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer. In November, SEPTA announced it would be increasing its fare by 7.5% by December 1 and then by 21.5% in January 2025, with potential service cuts in July 2025, according to an article by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
That plan was postponed until November 23 when state governor Josh Shapiro allocated $153 million dollars in federal highway funding to SEPTA, allowing the transit line to delay drastic increases and cuts until the summer of 2025.
As of the posting of this article, SEPTA has only increased fares by 7.5%, meaning Travel Wallet, SEPTA Key Tix, and contactless fares on buses, subways, and trolleys rose from $2.00 to $2.50, and Regional Rail fares aligned with Quick Trip pricing by zone. All daily, weekly, and monthly passes remain the same price, with seniors 65 and older and kids 12 and under allowed to ride for free.
Freshman Scarlett Rein’s father rides the SEPTA to work every morning and is thankful that the fare increases as they are now will not significantly impact her and her family.
“Thankfully, we’re pretty comfortable with our wages, so I don’t think it will affect us too much, but I could definitely see how in different households that might be a big issue, especially if they’re taking it every day,” Rein said.
Senior JJ Bohr, whose stepmom takes the SEPTA into work at CHOP, says his family will not be affected by SEPTA’s fare increases because of work benefits.
“Work’s going to compensate it,” he said. “They [CHOP] pay for her traveling fees, which includes the SEPTA fees like the card and stuff.”
In the Wallingford-Swarthmore District, residents can take the SEPTA from two main stations: Swarthmore Station and Wallingford Station.
In Wallingford, Wallingford Elementary School (WES) sits close to Wallingford Station. This SEPTA route is vital for parent professional Mr. Jamal McKinney, who commutes to WES for work every weekday from North Philly.
“Even if I had a car, I wouldn’t drive because the train is just a simple commute,” McKinney said. “I don’t get lost at all. [WES] is right here.”
Beyond work, McKinney also uses the SEPTA for recreational purposes.
“I go to Eagles games. It’s super simple to hop on the train rather than drive and deal with all the sports traffic,” McKinney said. “Leaving my vehicle and having to hop on the regional to go to the airport when I have to go out of town is way better than taking my car down to the airport [also]. I can hop on the train with my suitcases and go right to the airport and be right where I need to be.”
In Swarthmore, the station is an important part of many residents’ commutes.
“We have a large proportion of commuters to University City and Center City, who use our train station. We have people who work or live in Swarthmore who also take the 109 bus to and from work, and that includes staff, faculty, and students of the college, as well as people who have other commuting patterns,” Swarthmore Council Vice President Scarlett McCahill said.
Having Swarthmore Station cut through the borough is also an economic benefit.
“We are always trying to attract people from out of town,” Swarthmore Council President Jill Gaieski said. “You can’t run a successful business if it’s based upon the local community only. This town is too small, so you have to be able to attract people from outside your community.”
SEPTA also provides a more environmentally friendly alternative to driving, which is one of the Council’s commitments to environmental sustainability.
“At the borough level, there is not a great deal of decision-making opportunity directly, but the local, regional, and state elected officials can express the importance of the mass transit system, which is one that we know is really valued in our community for people’s quality of life,” McCahill said.
Though the Council can’t control the turnout of SEPTA’s fare increases and potential service cuts, they encourage people to discuss the topic openly.
“I know that there’s a push to write to the governor, thanking him for putting aside these funds to help fill the gap with SEPTA. I don’t know if it’s temporary or how long that’s going to last, but certainly, we’re grateful that the stabilization dollars are in place now,” Gaieski said.
Looking forward to the future of SEPTA in the Swarthmore area, Swarthmore Station’s increasingly empty parking lots are to be part of Swarthmore’s ongoing comprehensive plan, according to Gaieski.
“There’s a push right now for the lot in Swarthmore to be developed potentially into housing that is affordable and retail spaces,” Gaieski said. “The idea is that [if] you encourage more people to live around the train, you will see more people riding the train. But these things have to work hand in glove.”
Swarthmore’s comprehensive plan, “Imagine Swarthmore,” is currently in its beginning stages and aims to improve parts of the community in the next ten years, working alongside Planning Next and SEPTA itself. Some Council members met with Planning Next and SEPTA members on December 4 to discuss a course of action further.
According to Gaieski, the SEPTA lot is a central topic in the community’s vision for the future, which is determined through comprehensive planning.
“This plan will shape Swarthmore, minimally, for ten years, but then it’s going to lead to the next comp plan in ten years, which will piggyback off of what gets done now,” she said. “So there is a lot happening, and SEPTA’s at the center of it.”
