“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.
Join the Transit For All PA campaign for sustainable transit funding to keep our State moving forward.
Billy Penn: How to find transit resources for aging adults in Philly – Adults 65 and older can obtain a SEPTA Key Senior Fare Card, which allows free rides on all SEPTA services in PA and 50% off Regional Rail services that start or end in New Jersey or Delaware. This card is available via appointments at the SEPTA headquarters or participating State Senate and State House district offices. Certain eligible seniors can also participate in SEPTA’s CCT Connect program, which offers door-to-door ridesharing services.
Mass Transit: SEPTA rolls out first hydrogen-powered buses into revenue service – The first two of SEPTA’s 10 hydrogen fuel-cell electric bus fleet have officially entered revenue service, as part of a pilot program designed to measure the buses’ performance. The buses are a huge milestone in SEPTA’s zero-emissions bus (ZEB) program, featuring zero tailpipe emissions, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and decreased noise pollution.
The Inquirer: SEPTA appoints Scott Sauer, former trolley driver, as permanent general manager – On Monday, SEPTA board officials appointed Scott Sauer as general manager, a position he has held in an interim status since December. Sauer has worked in various roles at SEPTA for 35 years. Board members are optimistic about his ability to lead the agency through its budgetary upheaval.
Other Stories
City of Philadelphia: Wrapping Up National Bike Month with a Look at Recent Events & Upcoming Projects
WHYY: Fire that damaged multiple decommissioned SEPTA buses at Philly storage yard now under control
KYW Newsradio: Pa. lawmakers, transit advocates rally for state funding to avoid SEPTA service slashes
The Inquirer: Pine and Spruce Street residents sue over Philly’s efforts to upgrade bike lanes
“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.
Join the Transit For All PA campaign for sustainable transit funding to keep our State moving forward.
The Inquirer: SEPTA cuts equal longer commutes – The proposed cuts to SEPTA’s service could result in drivers spending an additional 70,000 hours a weekday in Philly’s morning traffic. Many commuters, including drivers who don’t currently rely on SEPTA services, will have to adjust their morning commute if they plan on still getting to the office on time.
Philly Voice: With the Pride festival and Roots Picnic this weekend, here are the road closures around Philly – The annual Philly Pride celebration and the Roots Picnic are both taking place this weekend, causing road closures and traffic disruptions around the Gayborhood and Fairmount Park. Read more for a full list of road closures, with dates.
The Inquirer: Here are the major road construction projects coming to Cherry Hill – Six new improvement projects in Cherry Hill, slated for 2025 and 2026, will renovate roads and enhance the safety of pedestrian crosswalks and travel lanes. For a list of the targeted roads and intersections, see here.
Other Stories
NBC10: SEPTA wants you to jump in with ‘stylish and functional’ swim shorts
Philly Voice: Pennsylvania law toughens ban on using cellphones behind the wheel
Mass transit: PA: Active transportation summit looks at car-free travel in Lancaster County
The Inquirer: A unanimous Supreme Court upheld the fraud conviction of a man who lied to get PennDot contracts
6abc: ‘A disaster for us’: Philadelphia business owner fears fallout from proposed SEPTA cuts
The Inquirer: The city must leverage 2026 events to build a world-class transit system
“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.
Join the Transit For All PA campaign for sustainable transit funding to keep our State moving forward.
Plan Philly: Looming SEPTA cuts could increase climate pollution in the Philly area – The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission predicts that SEPTA’s looming service cuts would dramatically increase Philly traffic, estimating an increase of at least 275,000 cars on Philly-area roads daily. These higher levels of traffic could increase Philly’s overall carbon emissions by 1%.
Plan Philly: SEPTA board pressed for answers over proposed cuts: ‘Are people just supposed to walk?’ – SEPTA held the first of a series of public hearings on Monday at its headquarters on Market Street. Dozens of SEPTA riders shared testimony about how essential public transportation is to their daily lives, urging the agency’s board to avoid service cuts.
The Inquirer: Peter Pan CEO offers to turn Roundhouse into a bus terminal depot – At a City Council hearing on Wednesday, Peter A. Picknelly, chairman and CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines, offered to develop the abandoned Roundhouse police headquarters on Race Street into a badly needed intercity bus terminal. Currently, passengers riding on intercity bus lines convene near Spring Garden Street and Delaware Avenue, a location that was meant to be a temporary solution.
Other Stories
BillyPenn: Riders call SEPTA essential to their lives and plead for state funding
The Inquirer: On Day 1 of SEPTA’s public budget hearings, riders were scared by proposed cuts
NBC10: SEPTA workers bring their funding battle to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
PlanPhilly: Some popular SEPTA bus routes may disappear before others with low ridership. Here’s why
NorthJersey.com: As NJ Transit trains start to roll again on May 20, here’s how talks played out
Mass Transit: PA: FlixBus to begin service from Reading to Philadelphia and New York
“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.
SEPTA’s Budget Hearings: Register to attend the budget hearing on May 19th at 11:00 am in SEPTA’s Board Room or register here for the 5:00 pm time slot. You can also join the budget hearing scheduled for May 20th and the Capital Budget hearing on May 21st. Let’s show up for public transit!
The Inquirer: Amid financial crisis, SEPTA is pushing ahead with a money-saving efficiency effort – SEPTA’s Efficiency & Accountability program has reportedly generated $91.4 million since the program’s initiation in 2021. The program’s fresh focus includes initiatives to improve efficiency in safety, deter fare evasion, and gain income from development deals around SEPTA’s transit properties.
PhillyVoice: New Schuylkill River trail segment and bridge connecting Grays Ferry to Center City opens Saturday – The new Christian to Crescent addition of the Schuylkill River Trail, featuring 2,800 feet of pedestrian and cyclist pathways and a 650-foot bridge, will open on Saturday. The woven, cable-stayed design of the bridge is the first in the state, according to city officials.
Plan Philly: Philly hopes to slow down traffic on Lincoln Drive by adding speed slots – New speed slots are being installed on a residential stretch of Lincoln Drive, in West Mount Airy, with the intention of slowing down drivers and reducing crashes that endanger residents and pedestrians. The sets of speed spots are part of a pilot project with PennDOT that was catalyzed by a wave of neighborhood activism.
Other Stories
NBC 10: ‘Transit is vital’: SEPTA workers rally at Pa. capitol in fight for funding
Philly Voice: NJ Transit train engineers strike over wage dispute, halting rail service
The Inquirer: Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments over whether a special prosecutor for SEPTA crimes is unconstitutional
The Inquirer: NJ Transit rail engineer are on strike. Here is what you need to know.
NBC10: PPA delays start of fines for running red light at busy Center City intersection
“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.
PlanPhilly: Philly’s commuter foot traffic outpaced most peer cities’ downtowns in 2024 – Commuter foot traffic into Center City has rebounded to rates higher than downtowns in other cities, according to the annual State of Center City report released Thursday. About 73% of workers in Philadelphia — commuters and downtown residents — are back in person across Center City offices in 2024, up from 69% in 2023.
Metro Philadelphia: Fares up, service down: SEPTA riders sound the alarm – Montgomery County elected officials, university administrators and students, and transit advocates gathered at Bryn Mawr Station – slated for closure along with the entire Paoli-Thorndale Line – to call on Harrisburg lawmakers to provide additional funding to avert the proposed SEPTA “Doomsday Budget”. The news conference is part of a wave of pro-transit activism that has stretched from City Hall to the suburbs since SEPTA leaders last month unveiled a plan to implement a 45% service cut and 21.5% fare increase to address SEPTA’s $213 million budget deficit.
MyChesCo: Pennsylvania Lawmakers Push $292.5 Million Transit Funding Plan – On Monday, May 5, legislation to allocate $292.5 million for public transit infrastructure was approved by the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee. Authored by Majority Chair Rep. Ed Neilson, the proposal aligns with Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget, which prioritizes significant investment in the state’s transit system. The legislation addresses the looming fiscal challenges and underscores the importance of protecting transportation options for vulnerable groups, including seniors, people with disabilities, and those reliant on paratransit services, noting that public transit is used in all 67 counties of Pennsylvania. It now heads to the full House for a vote.
Other Stories
The Inquirer: Bike lane opponents challenge city plan for loading zones on Pine and Spruce Streets
BillyPenn: As city looks to ‘cap’ Vine Street Expressway, it seeks Chinatown community feedback
CityLab: The Life of the Most-Used Citi Bike in New York City
Pittsburgh Union Progress: As traffic grows, Pennsylvania Turnpike adds to capital spending for road, office upgrades
“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.
NBC10: Jumping a turnstile at a SEPTA station could cost you $300 – Amidst its budget crisis, SEPTA is ramping up efforts to prevent fare evasion by adding warning signs, installing special “fare evasion” gates that have full-length glass doors, and issuing more citations to evaders. SEPTA riders who jump turnstiles face a $300 fine.
PhillyVoice: Proposed Transit Access Fund would protect Zero Fare program for low-income SEPTA riders – On Thursday, city councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke introduced a proposed bill package that would direct 0.5% of the city’s general fund to a Transit Access Fund, to permanently fund the Zero Fare Initiative. The pilot program provides free SEPTA access to low-income Philadelphians.
WHYY: Without SEPTA, Philly businesses worry about lack of parking, traffic gridlock – SEPTA services are a critical part of the commute for as many as 9,000 University of Pennsylvania Health System employees, in addition to patients visiting the hospital. Concerns about the lack of accessibility of the hospital and overflowing parking lots are among issues raised by SEPTA’s proposed service cuts.
Other Stories
The Inquirer: A Morse code-like system governs when and how train engineers sound their horns
PlanPhilly: Philly’s commuter foot traffic outpaced most peer cities’ downtowns in 2024
Pittsburgh Union Progress: Emotional testimony, Democratic funding proposal highlight hearing on transit cuts
NBC10: Expect a slow ride along stretch of City Avenue as crews pave pedestrian bridge
The Inquirer: More roundabouts could be coming to the Philadelphia area soon
“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.
CBS News: Schuylkill River Trail expansion in Philadelphia to open in mid-May – On Saturday, May 17th, from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm, the Schuylkill River Development Corporation and the city of Philadelphia will host an event to celebrate the opening of an extension to the Schuylkill River Trail. The extension connects Christian Street to the Grays Ferry Crescent and includes a footbridge over the Schuylkill River.
Tri-State Alert: Amid massive SEPTA budget cuts, Topper proposes privatizing buses in Philly’s public transit system – Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Jesse Topper plans to introduce legislation to privatize SEPTA’s bus operations. A co-sponsorship memo he filed suggests that a public-private partnership would offload busing operations expenses from SEPTA.
WHYY: Penrose Roundabout is South Philly’s newest traffic-calming effort – A recent installment in South Philly, the Penrose Roundabout simplified a large intersection at Moyamensing, Penrose, and Packer avenues into a roundabout. Roundabouts have been statistically shown to reduce crashes; this change aims to make the road safer for not only drivers but also cyclists and pedestrians.
Other Stories
Mass Transit: Amtrak advances critical improvements and repairs at two historic stations
The Inquirer: Details on SEPTA’s proposed bus cuts, how to voice your concern, and other takeaways from our transit AMA on Reddit
The Inquirer: How the restoration of Philly’s historic 30th St. Station became a corruption bonanza
Mass Transit: NJ: Trenton-Philadelphia train service faces elimination in SEPTA budget cuts
The Inquirer: No more excuses — Harrisburg Republicans must find a way to fully fund SEPTA
In celebration of Earth Day, Clean Air Council will be tabling and/or in attendance at the following events. We hope to see you there!
Environatal Day at Bartram’s Garden | April 17th 10-2pm
Join Nature Momz at Bartram’s Garden for an organized group walk along the trail to discuss maternal health, air quality, and the impact of the environment on mothers and infants. Free to all and no registration is required.
In partnership with the Philadelphia Regional Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Clear Air Council, Nurturely and a Place for Ummi Maternity Care.
Spring Fest at Bartram’s Garden | April 19th 10-2pm
Join Bartram’s Garden for their annual spring celebration! Activities will include a guided tour of the Garden’s 19th-century flower garden, a youth-led block printing activity, hands-on natural dye activity, an annual plant sale, and so much more. Clean Air Council will be tabling at the event, so stop by to learn more about the smoke contamination issue at Bartram’s Garden.
SEPTA’s Earth Day Celebration | April 21st 11-2pm
SEPTAs Sustainability Department is hosting its annual Earth Day Expo. Check out SEPTAs Zero Emission Fuel Cell buses, learn more about SEPTA’s sustainability practices, and visit Clean Air Councils table to learn more about our transportation programs.
Earth Day Expo at Temple University | April 22nd 11-3pm
Join the Office of Sustainability and TSG Sustainability Committee for an Earth Day Expo to learn more about sustainability on campus through student involvement, departmental research, and action plan development. Clean Air Council will be tabling at the Expo, so stop by to learn more about the Council’s transportation programs.
Swissvale Community Garden Earth Day Cleanup | April 22nd 6-8pm
Join the Swissvale Community Garden to help clean out garden beds and prepare for the growing season. Clean Air Council organizers will be in attendance to discuss our composting program and how to start composting.
Mt. Lebanon Earth Day Event 2025 | April 27th 11-3pm
Join us for live music, vendors, henna art, yoga classes, a kids bike course, and so much more at the Mt. Lebanon Earth Day Event. Stop by Clean Air Councils table to learn more about our programs in Southwest Pennsylvania.
“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.
SEPTA in Crisis: SEPTA’s doomsday scenario is here: if you didn’t catch it last week, SEPTA announced a proposed $2.6 billion budget that would see vastly reduced service and fare hikes. SEPTA’s financial crisis has been impending for years; this proposed budget includes the potential elimination of 55 bus routes, five Regional Rail lines, and 66 stations. To avoid cuts, our state legislators must pass a budget that properly funds public transit and prevents our transit agencies from reducing services and increasing fares. SEPTA riders who depend on public transportation to access school, doctor’s appointments, and other vital daily needs in the city gathered to decry essential service cuts in a rally last Friday. State Senators Nikil Saval, Vincent Hughes, Joe Hoehenstein, and other local politicians, union members, and advocacy group leaders were present.
If you care about SEPTA and public transit in our state, take action by contacting your legislators here.
WHYY: Program places cameras on Philly buses to record motorists who illegally pass – 20 buses from the Philadelphia School District have been equipped with cameras in a new pilot program aimed at deterring drivers from illegally passing stopped school buses as students board and exit. The cameras, donated by vendors BusPatrol and Gatekeeper Systems, Inc., for no cost for the current school year, will provide data that will be monitored via AI and sent to the school district.
WHYY: Philly PHLASH adds 2 new bus stops, helping locals and visitors ‘explore every single attraction’ – The seasonal PHLASH bus service has added 2 new bus stops, increasing accessibility to spots like the Mütter Museum and Rittenhouse Square. The first stop is on Arch Street, between 5th and 6th streets; the second stop is on the Ben Franklin Parkway, between 21st and 22nd streets.
Other Stories
Mass Transit: PA: Philly’s 250 plans challenged as SEPTA funding crisis looms
City & State Pennsylvania: From Philly to Pittsburgh, mass transit leaders sound the alarm on funding shortfalls
WHYY: Main Line business leaders say proposed SEPTA cuts would be ‘absolutely devastating’
Mass Transit: Amtrak, NJ Transit highlight infrastructure, equipment improvements in new report
PhillyVoice: NJ Transit engineers reject deal, setting stage for possible strike in May
PHILADELPHIA, PA (Thursday, April 10, 2025) SEPTA is bleeding, and we need to stop the damage. In the last decade, the funding formula for public transportation has remained stagnant, even as costs for transit agencies have continued to rise. Now we are fully at a crisis point: SEPTA has announced fixed route service cuts up to 45% and fare increases of 21.5%. The impacts on disabled riders would be even more profound, with 40,000 paratransit trips per year no longer served by SEPTA ACCESS, and fares increased by 35%. This would effectively kill public transit in our region, and the ensuing damage to our riders, our economy, our healthcare system, our road congestion, and air quality is incalculable.
This is not just a Philadelphia issue. In all 67 counties of the Commonwealth, public transportation provides critical access for our elders, youth, disabled community members, and households without access to a personal vehicle. Transit systems statewide are hitting a funding “cliff,” which would devastate communities already suffering under similar cuts enacted over the past several years due to funding austerity. For instance, without new funding from the state, Pittsburgh Regional Transit will cut fixed route service by up to 40% with an additional 9% increase in fares. This is on top of 20% service cuts over just the last 5 years in Allegheny County. The lack of dedicated, expanded transit funding affects people riding to work in Allentown on LANTA, elders moving around their community safely in Erie, and disabled community members using paratransit in Harrisburg. The funding for all our transit agencies is tied to the same source, so the solution must be statewide, with input and support from communities all across the Commonwealth.
Transit riders and workers are ready with a response that meets the scale of the crisis. Over the last several years, our statewide coalition Transit for All PA! has been organizing for a new, dedicated state funding source to fund the transit services riders across the Commonwealth need. We are a coalition of thousands, hailing from Philadelphia to Pottstown, Bellefonte to Bellevue. And together, we have a shared demand: for state legislators to pass a new, dedicated funding package for public transit, sufficient to restore transit service across the state to 2019 levels– and to expand transit service in communities outside Pittsburgh and Philadelphia by an additional 10%. In the last three weeks, more than 10,000 Transit for All PA! supporters have contacted their state legislators and leadership in the House and Senate with this demand. This Transit for All PA funding package would go beyond austerity, and ensure transit funding stability and service restoration for all 67 counties statewide.
Better transit- not worse- is possible, is necessary, and is transformative. We’re ready to bring this challenge to our state elected leaders: will you meet this moment with us?
“It’s not enough to say that Philadelphians depend on SEPTA. SEPTA is part of the fabric of this city, and these cuts will have disastrous impacts on the quality of life in the Southeast, not to mention the larger state’s economy. It’s time for Harrisburg to stand up and say no budget without transit funding.” – Transit Forward Philadelphia
“Dependable public transit is the backbone of our region, connecting all neighborhoods to each other. With these proposed cuts and fare increases, our residents, environment, and economy would be devastated,” said Titania Markland, Clean Air Council’s Sustainable Transportation Program Manager. “We need a reliable funding source for public transit so we can get to where we need to go in a sustainable and equitable way.”
