Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission approves transferring of $153 million in federal highway capital funds to SEPTA

On Dec. 4, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) approved the transferring of $153 million in federal highway capital funds to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which will allow the agency to maintain critical operations through at least July 2025 as it faces a $240 million annual budget deficit with the exhaustion of federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds. The transferring of the funds was initiated by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to prevent SEPTA from making immediate service cuts, as well as follow through with a planned 21 percent fare increase. 

DVRPC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Greater Philadelphia region. The commission is tasked with developing and maintaining the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the region. DVRPC amended the fiscal year 2025 TIP for the state of Pennsylvania by adding the $191.3 million in Federal Preventive Maintenance Program (including the $153 million in federal highway capital funds and $38.3 million in SEPTA’s existing local funds to meet the required local funding match) back into the TIP, which is required to allow SEPTA to access the federal funds.   

In addition to the $153 million in federal highway capital funds and the local match provided by SEPTA, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties are contributing more than $38 million in additional local funds. The transferring of funds provides time for the Pennsylvania State Legislature to take action on a comprehensive funding package in spring 2025.  

"The DVRPC Board approved a TIP action facilitating the transfer of $153 million in federal highway capital funds to SEPTA, allowing the transit agency to meet its immediate operating needs and postpone additional fare increases and service cuts. This follows Gov. Shapiro’s directive to [the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation] (PennDOT) to “flex” or transfer these funds from PennDOT’s Interstate Management Program to SEPTA," said DVRPC Ariella Maron in a statement to Mass Transit magazine. "Like many other transit agencies across the nation, SEPTA has hit a fiscal cliff after the exhaustion of one-time federal COVID relief funds that were used to help cover the everyday expenses of running the system during the pandemic and supporting the post-pandemic recovery, leaving the agency with a nearly quarter billion dollar annual budget deficit in the current fiscal year and beyond.

"This “flex” of highway funds is a stopgap measure that will provide additional operating funding support to carry SEPTA through the fiscal year that ends on June 30, providing time for the Pennsylvania State Legislature to take action on a comprehensive funding package in spring 2025. There is still a need for a sustainable, long-term strategy to ensure SEPTA has the necessary operating funds to be able to continue to provide the level of transit service this region deserves," Maron concluded. 

In September 2024, the DVRPC Board members from southeastern Pennsylvania submitted a letter to the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee that highlighted the critical need for sufficient funding for Pennsylvania transit systems, outlined the potential outcomes of SEPTA’s operating budget crisis if not addressed and emphasizes the need for greater funding towards the region’s transportation infrastructure generally (including roads and bridges).  

The joint letter to the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee can be found on DVRPC’s website.