Bucks County works to avoid ‘irresponsible’ cuts

💲SEPTA's next budget includes massive service cuts and a hefty fare increase

💲Bucks County reps say SEPTA is crucial to the area

💲Republicans who control the Senate must fund the agency to avoid cuts

Bucks County politicians are speaking out about the proposed closure of SEPTA's Trenton line that as part of massive service cuts and a hefty fare increase proposed in its next budget.

Unless a funding source is approved by the state Senate the Trenton line would be totally eliminated by January, according to SEPTA. The West Trenton, Landsdale/Doylestown and Warminster lines would end daily service much earlier in the evenings, at 9 p.m. starting in August.

“These proposed service reductions would have a significant impact on Lower Bucks County residents who rely on SEPTA to get to work, school, medical appointments, and other essential destinations,” state Rep. Tina Davis, D-Bucks, said. “The Trenton Line, in particular, is not only well-utilized—it’s also a profitable line. Eliminating it would reduce access and opportunity for thousands of commuters.”

Davis said the cuts don't make sense after SEPTA rebuilt the Levittown-Tullytown station in 2019 and is in the process of renovating Bristol station. Her district includes Bristol Borough and Bristol Township.

“These are significant, taxpayer-supported investments meant to improve service and expand access. To now propose eliminating the very services those upgrades support raises serious questions about long-term planning and priorities,” she said.

SEPTA funding a tough sell

State Rep. Jim Prokopia, D-Bucks, also condemned the proposal calling it "unacceptable and irresponsible."

"Public transportation is a public good — and it's time the legislature treats it that way. We need long-term, sustainable funding for SEPTA and transit systems across the state, not a death spiral of service cuts and fare hikes. If SEPTA's goal is to attract new riders, eliminating service is the absolute wrong way to do it," Prokopiak said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R- Indiana County, in a statement to 6 ABC Action News, said the state cannot fund all of SEPTA's needs.

"Given their own struggle with a structural deficit, I believe SEPTA should have an appreciation for our commonwealth's fiscal deficit and come to the table with more modest requests," Pittman said.

SEPTA has raised fares, resumed paid parking at many stations and made many administrative cuts to help close a $213 million budget gap.

Pittman in an earlier statement said that "asking Pennsylvanians to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into mass transit is a challenging argument to make to constituents in rural areas of the commonwealth."

Five of the seven most populated counties in Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester counties — are served by SEPTA.

Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed budget must be approved by June 30. The Pennsylvania legislature is on break and will begin its next legislative session in May. He calls the budget crisis avoidable."

“For two years in a row, I have proposed a commonsense plan to support mass transit all across the Commonwealth and last December, I flexed funding to give the legislature more time to come to the table. The state House has passed my proposal three times and plans to do so again next month – it is now squarely on the state Senate to come to the table and pass more funding for mass transit that their own constituents rely on.”

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