SEPTA approaching the point of no return for major service cuts

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The looming cuts to SEPTA service are close to becoming inevitable, according to the transit agency.

SEPTA says that unless the funding bill passes the state legislature, the cuts will begin on August 24.

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The decision to roll the cuts out, however, would come sooner than that because of scheduling.

"We have to schedule thousands of employees for their work. They pick bus runs they're going to operate, training routes they're going to operate," said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.

For the first round of cuts, 32 bus routes would be eliminated and rail services would be reduced.

"There are three buses that serve this area right now," Democratic state representative Tarik Khan said of Main Street in Manayunk. Two of those routes would be eliminated.

"People use SEPTA to get to work, to go to school. I hear it all the time," he said.

The Pa. House of Representatives has passed the transit funding bill.

Now, the fate of SEPTA is in the hands of the state Senate.

"In just a few weeks, we will completely lose 40% of all of the services of SEPTA," said Khan.

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SEPTA says in order to avoid the cuts, the bill needs to be passed in time for the transit agency to make the schedule.

It's normally made three weeks out, but Busch says the agency is pushing it as long as possible.

"The further we go along here without a resolution, the more difficult it gets to turn back," he said.

SEPTA says senators on both sides of the aisle seem to still be working toward a resolution.

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The state budget, however, is already a month overdue. If this goes on for another few weeks, SEPTA will get to the point where it implements a hiring freeze, and it will be even more difficult to restore service.

"When we freeze hiring, that's going to leave us short of employees to provide service, so even if a resolution comes, it's going to become that much more difficult to return service to the levels it's at now," said Busch.

Senate Republicans did put out their own plan that they say will improve SEPTA, but it stopped short of funding for the system.

Action News reached out to several state senators for comment on Thursday and have not heard back.