Service cuts begin August 24, just one day before Philadelphia students return to school.
There are more than 198,000 students in the school district, and nearly a quarter of them rely on SEPTA to get to and from school.
Meanwhile, in Harrisburg, lawmakers remain gridlocked. Funding bills failed to pass this week, leaving commuters caught in the middle and scrambling to adjust.
"I'm just trying to figure out how to rework not just my work schedule, but also my weekends," said Ryan McCann, from East Falls.
MORE | SEPTA urges riders to start planning now for upcoming service cuts that begin on Aug. 24
SEPTA urges riders to start planning now for upcoming service cuts
The transit agency plans to slash 45% of all service and raise fares by 20% to close a $213 million budget gap.
"It's really frustrating, but I just hope there's something they can do," said Mulibana.
To soften the blow, SEPTA said it will station ambassadors at major hubs, including 69th Street Transit Center, starting Monday around 6 a.m. to help riders plan their trips.
"I do use SEPTA more because I'm visually impaired, so I put the bike on the front of the bus so I can get to a location that's safe for me to ride my bike. So I do ride SEPTA a lot," said Powell.
MORE | Get the latest on the SEPTA commuter crisis here.
SEPTA said there are no immediate plans for layoffs. But for riders, finding alternatives is already a pressing challenge.
"My partner and I share a car. But we might have to start relying on it more, or even consider buying a second car, which we don't really want to do," said Chris Vanni, from Wissahickon.
Action News reached out to lawmakers to see if there's been any progress.
So far there have been no updates.
You can learn more about the planned cuts at SEPTA.org