OUR OPINION: A Mess On SEPTA’s Hands

Our General Assembly needs to realize it has duties which it continues to neglect. A major one of these duties is funding the state’s infrastructure. A corollary is they must fund the public-transit systems on which their voters depend.

In a post above is a graph showing how little money SEPTA gets, compared to sister public-transport systems in other cities of similar size.

What our Representatives and Senators must realize is SEPTA has to continuously upgrade and repair its massive system, and it cannot do so without state help. A single bridge, needing critical repair, suddenly closed to traffic, can impact SEPTA commuters in a nightmarish way.

Yet the voices of the riders remain unheard. Now a study by a major, respected authority, The Economy League, must not only be heard, but it must be responded to, beginning now.

The Governor may not believe he has voters in the southeastern region of the state. Yet he still has an obligation, as do the members of the two caucuses from this area, to demand an increase in funding for this well-run, well-engineered and nationally acclaimed transit authority.

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