The crisis in public transportation funding continues. To continue the present level of service SEPTA needs $70 million more than it can expect from the current level of fares and state support. And that does not include the funds necessary to reach a fair agreement with the Transport Workers Union next year. Without substantial new funding for SEPTA, the agency will be forced to propose drastic cutbacks in service or dramatic increases in our fares, or both.
A superior public transportation system is vital to our region. To see this, we just have to imagine what would happen to our metropolitan area if public transportation were dramatically cut back:
- Our roads will be horribly congested. More people will die in traffic accidents.
- Our hopes for economic development will be dashed. New businesses need to draw on skilled workers who live throughout the region. If workers do not have accessible, economical, and efficient transportation, businesses will not develop or move here.
- Our residential communities will wither. Communities that came to life because of the train and bus lines in this region will die without them. Strong communities will weaken. And plans to revive weaker communities will come to nothing.
- Our low income citizens will suffer terribly. They will lose access to jobs and shopping as well as family members who live in different parts of the area.
- Our air and water will be degraded. And, because any development that takes place will have to rely on transportation by automobile, our open spaces will disappear.
- Our senior citizens will be isolated. Many senior citizens who live in their own homes will be forced to move to institutional settings.
- Our children will have fewer choices about where to go to school.
- All of us, but especially people with low incomes, senior citizens, and children, will be cut off from the social, cultural, educational and recreational riches of the greaterPhiladelphiaarea.
- And hundreds of good jobs with good benefits in the transportation will disappear.
If we want to avoid these disastrous results, the immediate task before us is to secure new, dedicated funding for public transportation. To do that, we need to create a broad coalition of community groups, labor unions and businesses united by our belief in the critical importance of public transportation. I am afraid that, if do not receive pressure from their constituents to address this difficult issue, our political leaders will leave SEPTA holding the bag. And then SEPTA, which is required by law to have a balanced budget, will have no choice but to take drastic action.
A group of activists, mostly fromNorthwest Philadelphia, have recently come together to help bring such a coalition together. We have formed a new organization, the Philadelphia Transportation Campaign. Some of us have been working on these issues for a while. Others are new to the issue. We disagree about some issues. And we all have our complaints about SEPTA, and hope to make the agency more responsive to the concerns of the citizens of the region. But we all believe that must come together to pursue the overriding goal of solving the fiscal crisis of public transportation in this state. We are ready to work with SEPTA to attain this goal.
We have called for a Rally for Public Transportation on Tuesday, June 8, at 4:30 pm at the state office building at Broad and Spring Garden Streets. We have invited a broad range of speakers, including political officials, labor leaders, businessmen, and representatives of SEPTA. The initial response to this rally has been very positive and we expect support from all quarters.
We want to use the rally to help build this coalition in support of public transportation. We see it as the kickoff for a campaign that will continue until the General Assembly and Governor take the action needed to preserve public transportation inPennsylvania. We hope that to inform our fellow citizens about the importance of public transportation and the critical need for new state funding. And we want to show our political leaders that there is broad support for such funding.
We encourage you to join with us. We are looking for activists and not-yet-activists to attend the rally join our campaign. For more information, go to our website www.phillystraphangers.com or to the Northwest Campaign for Public Transportation (NCPT) Website www.ncpt.com. You can also email the NCPT at nctp@wman.net or call at (215) 438-6022.