Another day, another transit bill passes amid Pa. budget impasse

by Ian Karbal, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
August 11, 2025

On Monday, the state House voted on a bill that would increase funding for transit agencies across the commonwealth. The bill will go to the Republican-controlled Senate, which is set to return to Capitol in Harrisburg tomorrow.

House Democrats say it was a necessary move to shore up funding as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) warns of impending service cuts if they don’t receive more state support. But, Republicans in the chamber accused the other side of the aisle of political gamesmanship.

The bill increases funding for mass transit agencies in rural, urban and suburban areas by giving an additional 1.75% of the total sales tax collected to mass transit agencies. Democrats also emphasized that the bill included a number of Republican transportation priorities, including funding for roads and bridges and requirements that transit agencies explore public-private projects and combat fare evasion.

For months, lawmakers have been discussing how to increase transit funding as part of broader budget negotiations. But, six weeks after the constitutionally mandated June 30 deadline to pass it, SEPTA announced last week that it will have to cut service by 20% if lawmakers don’t act to boost their funding by Aug. 14.

“I believe there are those who want to play politics or leverage for other issues, but the simple reality is there is an issue in front of us, a transit crisis,” House majority leader Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery) said.

Republican Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford), however, said the House’s move was nothing but a political show.

“While we believe [transit funding] is an integral part of the budget discussions that have been going on, it is part of the budget discussions,” Topper said. “We have to be able to get into a room and fix this budget in its entirety, not one issue at a time.”

Topper said that the Republican-controlled Senate is unlikely to act on transit funding as a standalone issue, instead viewing it as part of broader budget negotiations.

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) did not respond to a request for comment. 

Roughly 1 million Pennsylvanians — about one in 13  people in the state — use mass transit every day in all 67 counties. About 800,000 of those use SEPTA. But transit authorities outside of the Philadelphia area have also warned they face service cuts if no additional funding is provided by the legislature.

Previous coverage of the mass transit funding debate:

What’s at stake over proposed increase in mass transit funding in Pa.?

Pa. House holds a Sunday vote on transit funding as the consequences of a late budget loom

 

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