Harrisburg Decides to Screw Philadelphia. Again.
Senator critical of SEPTA’s delay in raising fares
“The chairman of the state Senate Transportation Committee yesterday criticized the SEPTA board for delaying its approval of a fare hike, saying the strategy could endanger legislative support for more transit funding.
“SEPTA must do its share by raising fares and trimming costs - the state cannot be expected to shoulder the entirety of the funding problem,” Sen. Roger Madigan (R., Bradford) said in a statement. “Delaying action won’t change that fact and only raises further concerns about how we can come to a solution.”
[snip]
The city representatives on the SEPTA board, Christian DiCicco and Jettie Newkirk, said last week they hoped a 30-day delay in approving fare hikes would give the legislature time to act. But Madigan said yesterday that “SEPTA has made a decision that could significantly hinder efforts to build consensus on new funding, given the fact that the legislature has clearly indicated that transit users have to be part of any funding solution.”
Isn’t beautiful that some douchebag who lives in the middle of nowhere and probably thinks trolleys are transportation to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe is going to dictate to Philadelphia how much extra dough SEPTA will be siphoning from our pockets.
Every single effort to make the system work better for Philadelphians is stymied by Harrisburg, and every method at their disposal to make the system unpleasant and expensive to ride is employed.
As the mayor said last week, this fare increase would disproportionately affect city riders.
[snip]
Under the proposal that the SEPTA board will reconsider next month, the base cash fare would remain $2 and tokens $1.30 for bus and subway riders. But 60-cent paper transfers would be discontinued, meaning riders who wish to transfer - most often within the city limits - would have to use an additional token or a daily, weekly or monthly pass. The cost of passes would rise about 11 percent.For Regional Rail passengers, new fares would mean an increase in peak and off-peak ticket prices. For Zone 3, the most popular, a one-way peak ticket would cost $5, up from the current $4.50, while an off-peak ticket would cost $4.25, up from $3.75. Riders who buy tickets aboard trains would pay a surcharge even if there are no ticket sales at their stations.
SEPTA also is expected to approve its more draconian Plan B, which Deon said would take effect by the end of the summer if the legislature does not provide the extra $100 million for the agency. That plan would increase fares an average 24 percent above current levels, cut service by 20 percent, and eliminate about 1,000 jobs.
What’s the fucking point of even having a transportation system if no one can afford to use it. Something needs to give, and quite frankly what Harrisburg needs is for SEPTA’s riders to descend on the statehouse and not let anyone leave until our transit system is fully funded. And the same thing needs to happen at SEPTA’s headquarters on Market Street here in the city. The trolley lines should be blocked. Just shut the whole system down for a week: make it impossible for anyone to get anywhere on the Regional Rails, the trolleys, the El, and the Broad Street line.
Harrisburg treats Philadelphia as if they wish our City would go away. Honestly, I wish we could: we certainly don’t fit in in a state that’s home to the Aryan Nations, that hates gays, and that forces women seeking abortions to watch videos describing how horrible to procedure is and wait 24 hours before terminating the pregnancy. Philadelphia would fit in MUCH better in New Jersey. If only we could secede: maybe if we agreed to buy Camden, NJ would let us in…
But since we can’t leave, why don’t SEPTA riders give the state a taste of what Philadelphia would be like without SEPTA? Take a collective week off from work: don’t ride the rails for a week. Carpool whenever possible. or show up late and leave work early every day, explaining “I have a train to catch.” Cost the city and the state so much revenue that someone has to do something.
I’m tired of politicians from the sticks stealing from the cities. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and the rest are the ones providing revenue for the rest of the state: in fact, it’s the city riders, not the suburban counties, that provide most of SEPTA’s income, so why should we get the shitty end of the stick? It’s not like East Buttfuck Bradford County is some kind of economic powerhouse.
Fund our goddamn public transportation. Stop fucking with the working class people.
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May 30th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
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