The Impact of SEPTA Cuts on Commuters with Disabilities

A service alert for the Route 12 bus line warns commuters of impending cuts. Photo courtesy of SEPTA

Faced with a $213M budget crisis, SEPTA announced on August 14 that they would move forward with service cuts after the deadline passed to secure crucial funding from Pennsylvania leaders.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic House committee said no to a budget amendment passed by the state senate that would have provided SEPTA with funding for two years.

In a press release, the Transit for All PA! coalition denounced the amendment, calling it a “transparent, rushed and cynical effort by Senate Republicans to feign action and run down the clock to service cuts.”

The first days with stops discontinued and less frequent services would be when students head back to school in Philadelphia.

SEPTA has released schedules reflecting the service cuts and is urging customers to review their travel options. Overall, there would be a 20% cut to all services, including the elimination of 32 bus routes and significant reductions in trips on rail modes, and an end to all special services, including the Sports Express.

SEPTA Cuts Reduce More Than Service for the the Disability Community

Every day, Nico Meyering, board president of Young Involved Philadelphia and the current chairperson of the Mayor’s Commission on People with Disabilities, takes a SEPTA route — either the 21, the 42, or the 9 — to get from his home in South Philadelphia to his office in the FMC Tower on the border of University City and Center City. He’s been doing that commute for about three years, and he’s been commuting with SEPTA daily for seven years.

“It’s been a really remarkable tool — not just for getting to work and then back home again — but on the weekends for transporting me to different cultural fairs, different cool events citywide,” said Meyering. “It has really opened up Philadelphia to me as it has so many other young professionals.”

“Young professionals rely on SEPTA for commuting, career growth, and more,” he said. “For Disabled Philadelphians — all 245,000 of us or about 17% of Philly’s population — SEPTA and accessible transit are literal lifelines. It’s how we get to doctor appointments, our pharmacies, and literally everything else.”

From our Partners

SEPTA cuts will impact his ability to get to work. “Coupling SEPTA cuts along with a gradual return to office ultimately means longer commute times, more inconvenience and traffic for everyone, and overall, a lower quality of life,” he said.

Disability advocate Nico Meyering is among some 250,000 commuters who stand to be affected by SEPTA service cuts. Photo courtesy of Meyering.

Meyering said another aspect that doesn’t get talked about often is that if these cuts become permanent, this results in about 40,000 fewer paratransit rides or Access rides. “That’s 40,000 fewer disabled people getting to their medical appointments, 40,000 fewer older Philadelphians not able to get to physical rehab, occupational therapy, or anything they might need to retain their independence and freedom of movement later in life.”

He said people with disabilities have thriving social lives in the city. “We have reason and need to get around the city, and SEPTA is a huge part of that,” said Meyering. “When we take away people’s ability to travel about the city, when we take people’s mobility away, we also take away their independence, and that’s unacceptable.”

Exploring SEPTA Funding Solutions and Changes to Routines

SEPTA benefits everyone in Philadelphia and in the city’s collar counties. Funding mainly comes from Harrisburg, but Meyering would like to see a public-private partnership diversifying the funding streams for SEPTA.

“Since we all rely upon SEPTA, I think we can all pitch in to make SEPTA a more financially sustainable solution so that Philadelphia can keep growing and can keep succeeding,” said Meyering. “I’m calling for public-private partnerships and increased buy-in from large companies in Philadelphia in helping to shoulder the cost burden that seems to be a major sticking point in Harrisburg and ongoing deliberations.”

In Meyering’s daily life, these cuts will mean a longer commute to get to his office.

“Granted, it’s Walnut, so it’s a fairly busy road,” he said. “But with longer commute times, I’d have to leave the house earlier. I would probably have to negotiate with my supervisor or my work team to come in less, which ultimately does make me a less effective employee.”

In terms of long-term changes, Meyering said he will need to find different medical providers who are closer to him so that he can make his medical appointments.

“This is tough for me and tough for other disabled Philadelphians because we can’t just go to any doctor,” he said. “We need specialist doctors who specialize in our varied cares and our varied diagnoses and our varied medical needs. This will be more than an increase in inconvenience. This will hinder our ability to live independently in Philadelphia, to have better say in our care and to have full control over our own quality of life.”

It will be dark days when SEPTA cuts happen, he said.

SEPTA has worked to create two sets of schedules for all service modes – one set of schedules based on current service levels and another set reflecting the 20% cuts. The Authority has also put up signs at the 3,000 bus stops across the system that will be eliminated as of Aug. 24, and has met with School District of Philadelphia officials, where tens of thousands of students will need to find other ways to get to school, which begins the next day on Aug. 25.