Many residents of Northwest Philadelphia are fearing the worst as federal pandemic funding runs dry and SEPTA is anticipating a $240 million budget shortfall. 

Cuts could be on the way. It’s no secret that Chestnut Hill West has the lowest ridership of any of SEPTA Regional Rail lines – not counting the tiny Cynwyd line, which only has five stops.

“We want to avoid that,” said Suzanne Ponsen, president of West Central Germantown Neighbors. “If SEPTA cuts services on Chestnut Hill West – or even worse cuts it entirely, which is a real possibility – that would hurt our area and lower Germantown, and certainly Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill.”

Ponsen and representatives from other Northwest civic organizations, including the Chestnut Hill Community Association, the Chestnut Hill Business District, the Chestnut Hill Conservancy, West Mt. Airy Neighbors, East Mt. Airy Neighbors, West Central Germantown Neighbors and SoLo/Germantown Civic Association, have already started organizing. In the event a proposal for cutting Chestnut Hill West gains steam, they want to be ready. 

“At a time when the city is championing higher density housing around transportation hubs, plans for SEPTA's future seem to be going in the wrong direction,” said Chestnut Hill Community Association executive director Anne McNiff. “We need more service, not less.”

The group is hosting a Zoom meeting, scheduled for Tuesday of this week, to discuss the issue. 

If SEPTA fails to close its budget gap, it would almost certainly result in a series of service cuts and fare increases for the transit agency. That would lead to decreased ridership, a process known in the industry as a “death spiral,” said SEPTA’s CEO and General Manager Leslie Richards. 

Bill Webster, SEPTA’s Chief Communications Officer, isn’t sounding any alarm bells. At least not yet.

“Nothing has been decided,” Webster, who lives in Chestnut Hill, told the Local in a phone call on Saturday. “We’re looking at a 20% cut on service of all modes, including buses, subways, trolleys and Regional Rail. This is not a Chestnut Hill West vs. nothing else decision.”

Chestnut Hill West riders have fought attempts to kill it off in the past. This time around, the threat comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has perhaps permanently altered the way Philadelphians and commuters in all cities get around. 

Ridership data broken down by Regional Rail line for 2023 has not yet been released. But as of the latest numbers, Chestnut Hill West’s ridership in 2022 is only about 39.2% of what it was in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. That puts it around the middle of the pack for SEPTA’s 13 Regional Rail lines. Taken together, total ridership for both Chestnut Hill West and Chestnut Hill East adds up to being only the transit agency’s 7th most-ridden line.

Still, local leaders have reason to worry. 

“It doesn’t take a genius to see the writing on the wall,” said Anne Dicker, a board member for West Mt. Airy Neighbors. “The fact of the matter is that during the pandemic they cut the line for over a year. It’s only the pandemic and the federal funding that got Chestnut Hill West up and running again.”

Transit Forward Philly coalition manager Connor Descheemaker, who uses they/them pronouns, agreed. They pointed to SEPTA’s “essential service” schedule, which ran during the pandemic and cut Chestnut Hill West completely.

“If your service was not included in the essential run, I would say that’s something more likely to be on the chopping block,” they said. 

Transit Forward Philly, which is separate from the new coalition Northwest civic associations have formed, is an interest group that advocates for improvements to public transportation in Philadelphia. 

Initially, Descheemaker and other transit activists in Pennsylvania were hoping that the Pennsylvania legislature would be able to increase the portion of sales tax revenue going to state public transit agencies from 4.4% to 6.4%. But that increase never made it into the final budget signed into law by Governor Josh Shapiro in December.

The plan would have generated $295 million more in revenue for Pennsylvania transit agencies, $190 million of which would go to SEPTA – not enough to close the gap but enough to keep rates from going up and services from being cut, Richards said.

It’s possible the idea could be revived this year, Webster said. But he’s not holding his breath.

“We thought that would be a great solution to close that gap,” Webster said. “It’s possible to resurrect it, but it’s been put forward, voted on, and didn’t get passed. I don’t know if there’s much hope.”

Descheemaker thinks including the increase in this year’s budget should be an easy decision. The measure would be fiscally conservative, they said, because the state wouldn’t have to raise taxes to pay for increased transit funding, which other states, including New York, California and Massachusetts, were recently forced to do.

“We don’t have to do that in Pennsylvania,” they said. “We’ve got a great opportunity here.”

Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives already passed a version of a bill that includes this increase in sales tax allocation for state transit agencies last month. 

“This budget shortfall can be addressed before SEPTA runs out of money as long as Senate Republicans choose to pass [the bill] before the end of June,” said Chris Rabb, a state representative whose district covers Mt. Airy and West Oak Lane. 

He accused Senate Republicans of “holding [the bill] hostage because they want something for it, and are willing to let working families, students, business and visitors suffer for it.”

Other options

In the event SEPTA does fail to close the $240 million gap, Webster said, cuts would be made using three determining factors: ridership, redundancy and equity. 

In addition to low ridership, Chestnut Hill West advocates also have redundancy to worry about, since the Northwest has two other transit modes to get downtown: the Chestnut Hill East and the Route 23 bus, which runs along Germantown Avenue.

For residents like Chea Villanuevo, an older adult who lives in the Four Freedoms House, a senior living community located a short walk from Chestnut Hill West’s Tulpehocken Station, there’s nothing redundant about the two lines. The nearest Chestnut Hill East station is significantly farther away and taking the 23 bus to Center City would also mean a transfer to the Broad Street Line subway at Erie Station, which, she said, also doesn’t feel safe and would add time to her commute.

“It would be hard,” she said. “And it’s going to be hard on commuters who have to work downtown. They’d have to get up a lot earlier to take two modes of transportation down there.”

Merri Brown, a Chestnut Hill resident and fundraiser who takes the Chestnut Hill West line about three times a week to get to her Center City office said that if the line went away, she could see herself driving downtown more often – something she doesn’t want to have to do.

“I love taking the train,” she said. “It’s relaxing. I can sit in the quiet car if I just want to shut my eyes and think about the day. More often than not I’m checking emails, reading news about the day. It’s much better than driving.”

Wendy Ward, a public relations manager who works for a Center City law firm, said that a potential closure of Chestnut Hill West would mean she’d probably have to start taking Chestnut Hill East.

“But it’s not going to be as convenient for me,” she said. “I can’t imagine the overflow on the Chestnut Hill East if the Chestnut Hill West gets cut.”

It would also create issues for business districts in the Northwest, like Chestnut Hill’s.

“Maybe 15 to 20% of our business comes via public transportation,” said Courtney O’Neill, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business District. “I have heard from business owners that a lot of their staff commutes [using the train].”

But all hope is not lost, Webster said. There’s still an opportunity for SEPTA to seek additional state or even federal funding. 

Richards has been in discussion with representatives in Washington, D.C. about that very issue, Webster said. There’s also the potential for SEPTA to see increased funding from the city with help from its new mayor, Cherelle Parker.

“Part of the new mayor’s commitment is making our systems cleaner and greener,” he said. “We think SEPTA fits in with that plan.”