Latest news with #ScottSauer
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
SEPTA board votes to cut service, raise fares amid massive budget deficit
The SEPTA board voted Thursday to dramatically cut service and raise fares by more than 20% to deal with a major budget deficit. SEPTA faces a $213 million budget deficit starting July 1, the Philadelphia-based transit authority says. Advocates and residents say the cuts will be devastating, especially for communities like Strawberry Mansion that rely on public transit. Nine routes through that neighborhood could be discontinued or reduced by up to 20%. SEPTA officials have been warning for months that without help from the state, these cuts are the agency's only option. Scott Sauer, SEPTA's general manager, has acknowledged that the changes could lead people to avoid public transit altogether, exacerbating the problem. "Given the dramatic impact that these measures will have on ridership, the reality is that we would start the dismantlement of public transit for our city and region as we know it today," Sauer said in April. Declining ridership would add to the "death spiral" affecting SEPTA, in which cuts and price increases lead to fewer customers and creates a cycle that makes problems worse. Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide nearly $300 million to fund mass transit in the state. The state Senate has not yet voted on that legislation. According to SEPTA's website, the proposal will: Eliminate 50 bus routes Cut five Regional Rail lines Reduce all remaining service by 20% Add a 9 p.m. curfew on metro and Regional Rail service Cancel special service such as sports express trains Close 66 stations Raise fares by 21.5% The new fare would be $2.90 for bus, metro and ParaTransit rides. These are the new prices for Regional Rail monthly passes: Zone 1: $116 Zone 2: $180 Zone 3: $217.50 Anywhere: $255 This is a developing story and will be updated.
CBS News
11-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
SEPTA shutting down Chestnut Hill East Line until early September for bridge repairs
SEPTA is temporarily halting service on its Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail line from Sunday, June 15 until Tuesday, Sept. 2, to allow for five bridges along the line to be repaired. While service is suspended, there will be extra service on the Chestnut Hill West Line, SEPTA said. SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer and Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass will speak on the rail line's temporary shutdown at 9 a.m. Wednesday. You can watch in the player above. The line connects communities like Chestnut Hill, Germantown and Mt. Airy to Penn Medicine and 30th Street stations in the heart of the city. While this is a capital budget expense (the budget used for construction projects/building for the future), SEPTA is still facing a $213 million deficit in its operating budget, which covers day-to-day operations of running the transit system. SEPTA is warning that riders will face service cuts and the elimination of multiple transit routes if the budget gap is not fully funded. Meanwhile, Gov. Josh Shapiro is speaking out about that deficit. "All across our commonwealth, our mass transit agencies are in need. I'm confident that we're going to find a way forward. I'm working incredibly hard on this with all parties to make sure that we can get it done," he said Tuesday. The agency collects revenue from fares but is also supported by funds from state, local and federal governments and recently, federal funding from the COVID-19 pandemic stopped. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Battle over SEPTA funding continues in Harrisburg: This Week in Pennsylvania
(WHTM) – The fight over funding SEPTA continues to brew in the State Capitol with the budget deadline looming. The transportation authority has thousands of stops across five southeastern counties. However, some lawmakers in Harrisburg say if funding keeps going toward SEPTA, there needs to be more funding for roads statewide where residents don't ride SEPTA. Scott Sauer, General Manager for SEPTA, joins This Week in Pennsylvania to discuss the ongoing structural deficit, SEPTA's biggest needs, and how SEPTA impacts all of Pennsylvania. Every week, This Week in Pennsylvania gives a comprehensive look at the week's biggest news events in Pennsylvania, provided by the abc27 News team, along with the latest updates on local stories. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Check your local listings for weekly air times. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cause of massive fire at SEPTA bus depot found: officials
The Brief SEPTA says a battery on one of the electric buses sparked the huge blaze at the SEPTA bus depot in Nicetown. A massive fire erupted at SEPTA's largest bus depot on Thursday, damaging 40 decommissioned buses. NICETOWN - After a huge fire broke out at SEPTA's largest bus depot in Nicetown on Thursday, officials have determined a cause for the fire. What we know A spokesperson for SEPTA stated that the Philadelphia Fire Department said a battery in one of the electric buses set off the massive fire Thursday at their largest bus depot, in Philly's Nicetown neighborhood. Residents living near the bus depot were urged to stay indoors while firefighters fought the blaze, due to air quality concerns. Philly's Health Department gave the all-clear for air quality on Friday. The backstory Firefighters were called to the Midvale SEPTA Bus Depot around 6 a.m. after employees reported a fire in the decommissioned bus lot. Investigators said the fire reached 3-alarms and torched about 40 buses, many that haven't been used in years, including former electric buses. SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said the lot is used to store 100 buses that have been or are in the process of being decommissioned. He provided some insight into the decommission process, saying the buses' batteries are disconnected, and the mechanical fluid is drained. 16 of the burned buses are electric, made by the Proterra Company. SEPTA is battling in court in part over an earlier fire. SEPTA said the nine remaining electric buses at the depot are going away. Big picture view Meanwhile, the Health Dept. said the fire caused a rise in the amount of particulate matter, both PM 2.5 and PM 10, and released benzene, ethylbenzene, and carbon monoxide into the air. The levels of those pollutants were recorded at their highest point in the early morning on Thursday, June 5, while the fire was still burning. Those levels were reduced once the fire was brought under control, though residents were not advised to resume normal activities until Friday afternoon. No other details were released about the battery.
USA Today
05-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
At least 40 city buses catch fire at Philadelphia SEPTA facility
At least 40 city buses catch fire at Philadelphia SEPTA facility Show Caption Hide Caption Blaze burns through SEPTA buses at depot A huge fire erupted at a SEPTA bus depot in Philadelphia's Nicetown neighborhood Thursday morning. Fox - Fox 29 More than 150 firefighters in Eastern Pennsylvania battled a massive blaze at a major Philadelphia transportation depot yard after dozens of buses went up in flames at the yard in the early hours of June 5. The fire broke out sometime around 6 a.m. ET at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) facility in the 2400 block of Roberts Avenue near Pulaski Avenue, the Philadelphia Fire Department reported. The facility is in the city's Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood, about seven miles north of downtown. Shortly before 6:30 a.m. ET, firefighters responded to the depot for a report of multiple buses on fire, SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer told CBS News. At the scene, SEPTA worked to pull out unaffected buses to facilitate better access for firefighters, PFD said. Initially reported as a two-alarm fire at 6:30 a.m., the number of vehicles on fire, coupled with large plumes of black smoke, quickly escalated the situation to a three-alarm fire. Firefighters confirmed that they had the scene under control by 8:10 a.m. What caused the Philadelphia bus fire? The cause and origin of the fire are under investigation by the Fire Marshal's Office. The fire destroyed approximately 40 buses, including 15 decommissioned electric buses, which Sauer suggested could explain how the fire started. A similar electric bus caught fire in 2022 at a separate SEPTA depot, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The buses that caught fire were "getting ready to go to the scrap heap," said Andrew Busch, SEPTA's director of communication. What is SEPTA? SEPTA is a public transportation authority servicing five counties in and around Philadelphia. It was created by the state's legislature in 1963 and is one of two transit authorities in the United States that operates all five major types of terrestrial transit vehicles: regional rail, buses, trolleys, subways and a high-speed line. According to its website, the authority connects to transit systems in New Jersey and Delaware. This story has been updated to include new information. Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.
