Ride along: State reps tour SEPTA amid budget talks

With the future funding of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority still uncertain, members of the state House Democratic Policy Committee toured the agency's command center in Center City Philadelphia on Tuesday. They held a roundtable discussion about SEPTA, focusing on its safety and security operations, as well as preparations for an expected influx of visitors during what could be a record-setting 16-month period. 

State Rep. Morgan Cephas, chair of the chamber’s Philadelphia delegation, and state Reps. Mike Schlossberg and Darisha Parker joined SEPTA and city officials for the in-depth look at the agency’s 24/7 operations, a roundtable and a bus tour. 

Philadelphia City Councilmember Mike Driscoll described the significant events scheduled for 2026 – including the America250 celebrations and FIFA World Cup matches – as the city’s "North Star" as it readies for a substantial influx of visitors. 

SEPTA officials said the agency has benefited from “lessons learned” from championship parades in 2008 and 2018, adding that the Eagles’ Super Bowl parade last month was just the latest example of a large-scale event testing the limits of public transit. 

“This is not our first walk in the park,” Frank Brandis, deputy chief operating officer at SEPTA said Tuesday. “When our sports teams do well, our city does well and our region does well.”

Landers Reeves, SEPTA’s project manager for 2026 special events, stated that the system requires approximately $21.5 million in investment for anticipated operations, safety and security measures and marketing efforts in the coming year. 

Reeves noted that there is also a $30 million investment planned to improve the infrastructure and stations ahead of the World Cup and other major sporting events. 

“(It’s) going to take service logistics and coordinating from our department and our partners as well,” Reeves said. “We’re going to build upon that with these successes.”

And as budget hearings take place in the Capitol, elected officials said the need for state investment in public transit statewide is urgent. 

Cephas said public transit funding – not just in Philadelphia but statewide – is a high priority for her caucus and that they’ll do everything in their power to “elevate” SEPTA during budget negotiations. 

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s recently unveiled budget proposal calls for a 1.75% increase to the share of sales-tax revenue allocated to public transit – an estimated $165 million investment that SEPTA officials have said would give the agency breathing room to avoid service cuts and potential price hikes. Currently, 4.4% of sales tax revenue goes to public transit statewide. 

The Shapiro administration said the increased sales tax share would add $292.5 million annually for mass transit across the state, an amount estimated to grow to $330 million by the 2029-30 fiscal year.

SEPTA officials say that if they don’t get more state dollars from Harrisburg by June 30, they’ll have to cut service by about 20% and raise fares by a similar percentage in the fall. SEPTA has also estimated that the state investment beyond this year, if enacted, would ensure fiscal stability for the nation’s sixth-largest mass transit system for about five years. 

Republicans who control the state Senate have expressed concern with further tapping into the sales tax and have suggested using revenue from skill game regulations to fund public transit. 

Former state Sen. Tom Killion, who was also in attendance Tuesday, told City & State that skill games revenue seems to be the best path for the state to fund public transit in the future. 

He referred to utilizing skill game revenues as a “no-brainer,” adding that getting GOP leadership on board with an increased sales tax rate will be a “tougher lift.”

Pam McCormick, director of legislative and community affairs at SEPTA, said the agency has been preparing well in advance for 2026 and beyond, and will continue to coordinate with city and local partners to meet demands, adding that without further state funding, services face an uncertain future. 

“It is all at risk if the funding gap that we've been talking about for over a year now” isn’t filled, she said. “If we don’t address that with new state dollars right now, everything that we’ve been talking about and planning for 2026 is at risk.”