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“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up-to-date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.

The FIFA World Cup is here! Learn how you can get around to major summer 2026 events without a car, or being stuck in traffic with GoPhillyGo: Car-Free Routes Map!

WHYY: SEPTA, transit police reach tentative deal on new contract to avoid strike during World Cup – SEPTA police have been working without a contract since the end of March, and now they have reached a tentative agreement to avoid striking. Union members will now vote to ratify the agreement, and if agreed upon, it will move to SEPTA’s board for adoption. The agreement comes months after SEPTA reported significant drops in crime across the network. In 2023, the SEPTA police union authorized a strike, and after three days, it ended with a new contract.

NBC Philadelphia: 2000+ parking tickets issued during first weekend of FIFA Fan Fest in Lemon Hill – According to the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA), over 2,000 tickets were issued this past weekend for illegal parking near Lemon Hill’s FIFA Fan Fest. The event began on June 11 and will end on July 19. PPA monitored 587 residential blocks in the enforcement zone and issued 2,497 tickets for illegal parking. 173 were written in error to residents with valid parking permits, making around 7% of the tickets incorrect.

Erie Today (via AOL): How does the Pa. budget serve public transit outside big-city hubs? – It’s state budget season in Pennsylvania, and the due date is June 30, and PA’s state budget hasn’t been approved on time since 2021. Last year, the budget was delayed for five months, heavily due to Republicans blocking $292 million for public transit. This year, Shapiro will ask for $300 million for the Pennsylvania Public Transportation Trust Fund to pay for public transit across the state. Around 7.7% of sales tax goes into public transit, and the proposed budget would increase that by 1.75%. There are over 30 fixed-route public transit systems across the state outside PRT and SEPTA, and these smaller systems rely on state funding to access healthcare, employment, education, and travel. 65% of the state’s public transit users have no other transportation option, underscoring the need for the service.

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Talk PA Transportation: Officials Seek Public Opinion: Statewide Transportation Improvement Program

Philly Voice: SEPTA moves forward with mixed-use development at Germantown Station

Urban Wire: Congress’s Transportation Reauthorization Bill Would Drastically Underfund Transit and Rail Projects

StreetsBlog USA: In New Jersey, Mayors Show How Quickly We Can Slow Down Drivers

Business Insider: Uber now keeps most of the fare from your ride in some cities, according to a new driver study

CBS Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh cyclist pedaling across the country for a good cause

Article tags: fan fest, fifa world cup, lemon hill, lemon hill fan fest, pa state budget, public transportation, SEPTA, state budget, the hub, transportation

Join the Transit For All PA! campaign for sustainable transit funding to keep our state moving forward.

The Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro allocated $220 million to SEPTA to get Regional Rail back on track – Governor Josh Shapiro announced last week that $220 million is being sent to SEPTA to retain current service and safety that have been measures federally mandated. The funds are sourced from the Department of Transportation, this is not a new source of funding for the agency, which is desperately needed. The $220 million will assist with the repairs of both the Silverliner IV Regional Rail Cars, and the trolley tunnel power system, both experiencing issues that have left commuters with delays, cancellations, and chaos. These funds are critical to mass transit’s continued service due to a lack of support in the state budget, which was passed 6 months late in November. The safety and multitude of other problems have been exacerbated by the complete lack of funding, and years of political stalemates negatively impacting commuters and residents.

BillyPenn: Philly shares its roadmap to reducing traffic-related deaths and injuries – Philadelphia has made great strides in reducing traffic-related injuries, but still has more traffic deaths than other comparable cities across the US. The city’s 2024 Vision Zero Review was released this week, and it reported an 18% decrease in traffic-related injuries, primarily focusing on improving safety in Philadelphia’s High Injury Network (HIN). The HIN is the 12% of Philly streets where 80% of traffic deaths and serious injuries occur. In the past nine years, 154 miles of HIN projects were completed or remain in progress, and the Vision Zero Action Plan includes a 5-year plan to reduce traffic deaths and injuries to none, but advocates say more work lies ahead in order to meet the Action Plan’s goals.

NBC Philadelphia: Logan Square sidewalk project to impact traffic on Ben Franklin Parkway – Construction has begun along the Ben Franklin Parkway at Logan Square between 18th and 20th Streets and will result in weekday lane closures. Construction plans include sidewalk installations, accessibility upgrades, and inlet and stormwater pipe installations. Both directions of the Parkway in that area will have a lane closure every weekday from 7 am to 3:30 pm until May 19, 2026. The Logan Circle sidewalk and access to Swann Fountain will be closed to the public during this time as well.

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