SEPTA Records Record Regional Rail Ridership

SEPTA has marked its 16th consecutive year of operating with a balanced budget, according to year-end data from Fiscal Year 2015, which was the 12-month period from July 1, 2014 through June 30. SEPTA also achieved record ridership on Regional Rail in FY 2015.

To balance the budget, SEPTA carefully managed expenses throughout the year, including continuing aggressive efforts to combat fraudulent lawsuits. Other initiatives, such as a wayside storage program that utilizes regenerative braking on rail cars, are helping control energy costs.

SEPTA achieved record high Regional Rail ridership in FY 2015 with 37.4 million trips – an increase of more than 2 percent compared to FY 2014. Overall, the Authority’s ridership of 330 million trips was approximately the same as the previous year, and is the fifth highest total within the last 25 years. Regional Rail ridership is a significant part of the upward trend on all SEPTA modes of travel in recent years. System-wide, total annual trips are up by approximately 40 million since 2006; Regional Rail ridership has increased by more than 50 percent over the last 17 years, from 24.8 million in 1998 to last year’s 37.4 million.

“SEPTA is thrilled to continue to welcome new riders to the system,” said SEPTA General Manager Joseph M. Casey. “We look forward to delivering further enhancements for our customers with longneeded capital improvements that are now underway.”

SEPTA’s “Rebuilding for the Future” program is tackling the Authority’s $5 billion backlog of state of good repair projects, including work on core infrastructure such as power substations, bridges, track, maintenance facilities and passenger stations. SEPTA embarked on this capital program following the November 2013 passage of Act 89, Pennsylvania’s long-term, statewide transportation funding solution.