SEPTA warns "doomsday" service cuts could disrupt Philadelphia students' back-to-school commute
SEPTA is urging families in the Philadelphia region to start planning now for how their children will get to and from school next month.
All 55,000 students who ride SEPTA's buses and trains will be affected by the agency's self-described "doomsday" service cuts, according to Andrew Busch, SEPTA's communications director.
He said students will have to wake up even earlier to get to class on time.
"It's going to be much more difficult to get those kids to school," Busch said. "[What] students and parents will probably need to prepare for is having students take more transfers than they normally do and certainly allowing for time to get to and from school."
Agency leaders said the cuts were necessary to plug a $213 million budget hole.
The first wave of cuts, which includes removing 36 bus routes, eliminating 3,000 bus stops and slashing service systemwide by 20%, is scheduled to take effect on Aug. 24, exactly one day before the start of school.
Busch warned students living in the city's northeast and northwest neighborhoods will be most affected.
"In those areas where there's not as much density, the impact is going to be a little more just because things are spaced out a little more," Busch said. "There's not as much service in those areas, so when you take away some service, it can have a bigger impact in those areas where we're not running as much service to begin with."
Both politicians and SEPTA leaders are lobbying members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to allocate more money to the agency, but Busch warned that even if state money comes in at the last minute, SEPTA wouldn't be able to quickly reverse the cuts.
"The closer we get to the 24th [of August], the more difficult it's going to be," Busch said. "We need about two or three weeks to either make a decision to go or not go with these cuts, so if we got into the 20th and funding hadn't been approved, then we'd already be too late."
A spokeswoman with The School District of Philadelphia said the district is working with its transportation department to gather information and communicate options to families.
Starting Monday, SEPTA will begin posting signs about the cuts at every affected bus route and stop.
It's also urging parents to visit its for more details on the service cuts.
