SEPTA unveils Fiscal Year 2011 capital & operating budgets

A number of projects vital to SEPTA and its riders will become budget casualties if the federal government does not approve a plan to provide dedicated funding for transportation in Pennsylvania, according to Fiscal Year 2011 budget projections. The Federal Highway Administration is currently reviewing Pennsylvania's application to convert Interstate 80 to a toll highway. This is a key component of Act 44, the state law enacted in 2007 to create a dedicated source for transportation funding throughout the Commonwealth.

Without I-80 tolls, Act 44
cannot be fully implemented – leaving SEPTA and other transportation agencies
throughout the state significantly short on funds needed for operating
expenses, infrastructure repairs and other initiatives.

SEPTA is projecting a $300-million
Capital Budget for Fiscal Year 2011 – reflecting cuts of $110 million due
insufficient Act 44 funds. The spending plan would leave the Authority with
just enough to pay for mandated expenses such as debt service, vehicle and
infrastructure repairs and new equipment.

However, SEPTA will not
have money for a number of desperately needed initiatives. To name just a few,
the potential cuts would force SEPTA to delay or abandon efforts to implement
new payment technology, renovate the City Hall Station and move forward with
plans for Elwyn to Wawa service. SEPTA would also lack funding for a number of
Regional Rail station renovations and bridge replacements.

For its part, SEPTA is
following the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and
Reform Commission, which suggests periodic fare increases. For Fiscal Year
2011, which starts July 1, SEPTA is proposing fare increases averaging about six
percent system-wide on all modes of travel. However, the current base transit
cash fare of $2 will remain unchanged. SEPTA’s last fare increase was implemented
in 2007. The new fare adjustment is consistent with leading economic indicators
such as the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index, both of which
have increased by approximately six percent since the SEPTA’s last fare
increase.

SEPTA anticipates
generating an additional five percent in revenue under the new fare structure
during Fiscal Year 2011. This will help pay for various day-to-day expenses,
including projected increases in medical and prescription drug costs. SEPTA
also projects a 10 percent increase in electricity costs when price caps are
lifted in January 2011.