Caught in the middle are commuters who are trying to figure out how they'll work around drastic cuts to SEPTA routes.
MORE | Get the latest on the SEPTA commuter crisis here.
Pennsylvania State Senator Steven Santarserio (D - Bucks County) told Action News that there were some talks between Democrats and Republicans on Thursday morning, but no deal on transportation funding has materialized.
SEPTA said that if a deal was not reached by midnight, service and route cuts would go into effect on August 24.
Residents like Craig and Page Peters are hoping for a solution. The cuts would impact the Yardley train station.
"We'll have to drive, and there will be more cars on I-95, and that's not a great thing," said Craig Peters.
The transportation giant has to shore up a $213 million deficit this fiscal year. Amid inaction in Harrisburg, it's moving ahead with the start of what could ultimately be a 45% cut to service, a 20% hike in fares, and other moves to save money.
Right now, it's unclear how much these cuts will account for the $213 million shortfall.
"We really do have to cut extremely deep on the service side to start achieving those savings. When we combine all those elements, the initial cut, the fair increase, the hiring freeze, and then the additional cuts, that would help us get toward closing that budget deficit," said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.
"Our accounting folks are going to be watching very closely how our numbers are lining up because we do, by the time we get to June 30, we do have to have a balanced budget for the year," he added.
SEPTA is preparing for the worst. The agency is making plans to send out ambassadors to local train and bus stations starting on Monday. Those ambassadors will be available at transportation stations that would be most impacted by service cuts.
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"These are people who are there to answer questions, to help direct you to resources, to make sure that our riders are aware of what is coming and everyone has a plan on how to get from A to B," said Lex Powers, SEPTA's deputy chief communications officer.
Last summer, thousands of city employees were mandated back to the office full-time. Action News asked Mayor Parker's office what, if any, accommodations were planned for city workers with the local transportation crisis looming.
"In regard to SEPTA service reductions and delays, the effects from these changes are real and the City will do everything in its means to ensure public transportation into and throughout Philadelphia is reliable," said press secretary Leah Uko in a statement.
Bucks County's Democratic House Delegation gathered Thursday afternoon to push for a deal. They say three times Republicans failed to take action on a Democrat-backed plan.
On Wednesday, Democrats rejected a Republican-backed proposal. Democrats say the GOP plan does not provide a recurring revenue stream for SEPTA. Instead, they say, it uses money that's already allocated to other projects in the state transportation fund.
"That's not a proposal," Santarserio said in a press conference. "That's taking money out of one pocket of SEPTA and putting it in the other and saying it's an increase when it's not."
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Republican President Pro Tempore State Senator Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland County) thinks Democrats could compromise and go with the Republican-backed plan at least in the short term.
"I think if the Democrats would come back to the table and say we'll take this for a year, but let's keep working," Ward.
Republicans say their plan includes money that is available in the state transportation fund.
"The money is sitting there, but Democrats and the governor are not happy about how that money will come to them," said Ward.
Before the deadline passed, lawmakers spoke about returning to Harrisburg to hammer out a deal.
"We're all prepared to do that," said Santarserio. "Whether that will happen, I'm skeptical at this point."
You can learn more about the planned cuts here.