As SEPTA’s long-term funding solution gets kicked further down the tracks, the transit agency is relying on capital funds to stay afloat.

Thanks to a Sept. 4 Common Pleas Court decision by Judge Sierra Thomas Street, SEPTA was ordered to reverse all service cuts and halt any future cuts the authority had planned to cope with its funding crisis.

Following the decision, PennDOT and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) approved the use of up to $394 million in capital funds for SEPTA to continue operating the bus routes and rail lines the transit authority had eliminated, along with avoiding service cuts for the next two years unless the state legislature can reach a funding solution.

However, experts warn that using capital funds for its operational budget is not a magical solution to SEPTA’s crisis and could cause long-term consequences.

In a Sept. 14 press release, SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer said, “This is not the long-term funding solution we need to address our $213 million budget deficit. … But over the last two weeks, we have seen the devastating effects of the service cuts on our customers. Our riders deserve better, and they deserve stability.”

Capital vs. operational

SEPTA’s operational funds cover the transit agency’s day-to-day expenses. In contrast, capital funds are used for the big projects, repairs, and upgrades the decades-old system desperately needs.

For example, this summer, SEPTA shut down the Chestnut Hill East line to make structural repairs on several bridges along the regional rail line, some of which were about 100 years old.

Jeffrey Doshna, an associate professor and head of Temple University’s Planning & Community Development program, told the Local, “A system like SEPTA uses capital funds to replace certain equipment, to replace things that are going to be in use for 10, 15, 20 years or more. That’s very different from the day-to-day, week-to-week operating of the system.”

He said of SEPTA and Pittsburgh Regional Transit, “Their reluctance, I know, for both systems, in using capital funds means that they could certainly cover a year or two of ongoing operations, but it will come at the cost of necessary repairs and maintenance and purchases that are categorized as capital expenses.”

SEPTA adopted a 12-year Capital Program in June, requiring $1.6 billion in infrastructure and vehicle projects. Their current use of capital funds for operational expenditures will delay that plan.

SEPTA does not have the capital funds to fix every issue or upgrade every system at once, so repairs are prioritized. According to Bob Previdi, policy director for the Save the Train Coalition, each year, the capital budget is used and replenished, with the most necessary repairs and upgrades give priority.

Using these funds could mean a two-year gap in planned priority upgrades, Previdi said.

“The risks of taking from the capital budget for another two years are that SEPTA’s capital budget is already underfunded,” Previdi said. “We’ve had four rail cars burn up this year, and there will be more, because 50-year-old cars are ready to be retired, and they should be retired and replaced with new cars. But you need capital money.”

He added, “Thankfully, we’re going to be replacing the Market Street rail cars. But Regional Rail cars, the trolley cars, and the Broad Street subway cars need to be replaced. City Hall Station? Who wants to go to City Hall Station? Nobody. That’s why we drive. If we want people to take the train, we’ve got to make it better. That means capital money.”

Doshna echoed Previdi’s concern. “Every year, you replace a certain percentage of those things in order to keep the system running well,” he said. And now you’ve taken potentially up to two years’ worth of funding for those kinds of regular maintenance things.”

He added, “We’re still without a budget. We’re still at a point where transit for the rest of Pennsylvania hasn’t been funded. The only two systems that have the ability to do this were the Pittsburgh area system and SEPTA.”

Political stalemate

As the Democrat-controlled state House continues to pass funding proposals for SEPTA and other transit agencies, those efforts have stalled in the Republican-controlled state Senate, which has prioritized funding for rural roads and highways.

Doshna said, “Around 40% of the economic activity in the state happens in the Philadelphia region, and you can’t have a thriving region without transit.”

While coverage is limited in some rural areas of Pennsylvania, according to Doshna, each of the state’s 67 counties have some form of public transit. Some individual agencies operate in multiple counties.

“When we talk about transit funding in Pennsylvania, SEPTA is a big part of that conversation. But I think it’s a boogeyman argument that is being made by many of these Republican lawmakers that they don’t want to fund Philadelphia’s problems,” Doshna said. “We have transit in every single county, and they still put up these arguments.”

Prior to the lawsuit that halted the cuts, Senate Republicans, led by Joe Picozzi (a Philadelphia state senator whose District 5 covers Northeast Philadelphia), attempted a temporary solution to divert capital funds and keep SEPTA operating. That attempt was rejected by House Democrats. However, the September court decision achieved the same outcome.

Doshna said this solution will ultimately cost SEPTA more, a fact echoed by the agency during the lawsuit hearings.

He asked, “Why is [Picozzi] voting against the interests of his constituents, and why does he want to use a Band-Aid solution that, in the long term, is going to be more expensive for the system when he says he wants to save money?”

The Local attempted to contact Picozzi several times, but received no response.

An ideal system

Previdi’s ideal version of SEPTA would draw twice the authority’s current ridership.

“The first thing I would do is replace the rail cars on Broad Street,” Previdi said. “You’ve got to replace the rail cars on the regional rail, and you’ve got to get the trolley modernization going.”

Previdi has emphasized repeatedly to the Local that SEPTA has the plans in place to draw more ridership and improve the system; they just need more capital investment.

“Then number one on my bucket list would be to fix City Hall station and Suburban [Station]. It’s gross. It should be the shining beacon on the hill. It’s at City Hall, underneath the most gorgeous city hall in the country. We should fix it sooner rather than later. Make it attractive, then run it frequently enough that people actually don’t think twice about using it,” Previdi said.

Doshna also approves of the plans SEPTA has in place, such as trolley modernization and increased regional rail frequency, but would take it further.

“Those are all really good ideas. And I like trolley modernization. It’s crucial and important. Quite honestly, we’ve been out of compliance with the ADA since 1990,” Doshna said. “If I’m in Abington, Jenkintown, and every 15 minutes I know I can get on a regional rail train to get where I have to go into Center City, that makes it work like a subway in certain ways, using equipment we already have.”

He added, “I think there are other things that need to happen long term. I think we need the subway on [Roosevelt Boulevard]. We need to have better integration with the PATCO system.”

These ideas expand SEPTA’s benefits outside the city limits to serve an even greater population, Doshna said.

Tommy Tucker can be reached at Tommy@chestnuthilllocal.com.