After a court order was issued to reverse SEPTA’s service cuts and capital project funding was approved to cover daily expenses, SEPTA will be nearly back to normal as of this weekend.
On Sunday, about half of the SEPTA bus, trolley and train routes that were shortened or eliminated will be fully restored, but a 21.5% fare hike also takes effect. The rest of the routes will be restored on Monday, Sept. 15.
Riders could be paying anywhere from an extra 40 cents to $2 per fare, and if you frequently ride SEPTA, that cost will add up.
Instead of paying $2.50 to ride the bus or subway, you’ll be paying $2.90. A Regional Rail ticket will now cost you anywhere from $5 to $13.
This is all happening after a judge ordered SEPTA to reverse major service cuts it made to plug a $213 million budget gap. In response to that, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro directed PennDOT to approve SEPTA’s request to use $394 million in capital funds to cover the cost of daily operations.
SEPTA is preparing for Sunday’s switchover by changing thousands of employees’ schedules, updating its signals system and printing out new timetables for passengers.
“This Sunday, Sept. 14, we will begin restoring service across our bus, metro and Regional Rail systems. This is a big undertaking, and I know there will still be some confusion as we make the transition,” SEPTA general manager Scott Sauer wrote in a letter posted online. “As you may know, SEPTA usually updates its schedules once every few months, and it takes time to prepare riders and employees with new work schedules, signage, timetables and navigational tools. Over the past month, we’ve changed schedules three times already, sometimes with only a few days’ notice.”
Sauer added it will take time for the transit authority to take down the more than 3,000 service reduction signs across the five counties.
SEPTA restored service schedules: When is my bus or train route getting restored?
The latest information on the restoration of routes will be available on this page on SEPTA.org.
SEPTA says all Regional Rail service will be restored Sunday, but restorations to bus, subway and trolley service will happen over two days.
