Latest news with #servicecuts
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
SEPTA warns 'doomsday' service cuts could disrupt Philadelphia student's back-to-school commute
SEPTA is urging families in the Philadelphia region to start planning now for how their children will be getting to and from school next month. All 55,000 students who ride SEPTA's buses and trains will be affected by the agency's self-described "doomsday" service cuts, according to Andrew Busch, SEPTA's communications director. He said students will have to wake up even earlier to get to class on-time. "It's going to be much more difficult to get those kids to school," Busch said. "[What] students and parents will probably need to prepare for is having students take more transfers than they normally do and certainly allowing for time to get to and from school." Agency leaders said the cuts were necessary to plug a $213 million budget hole. The first wave of cuts, which includes removing 36 bus routes, eliminating 3,000 bus stops and slashing service systemwide by 20%, are scheduled to take effect on Aug. 24, exactly one day before the start of school. Busch warned students living in the city's northeast and northwest neighborhoods will be most affected. "In those areas where there's not as much density, the impact is going to be a little more just because things are spaced out a little more," Busch said. "There's not as much service in those areas, so when you take away some service, it can have a bigger impact in those areas where we're not running as much service to begin with." Both politicians and SEPTA leaders are lobbying members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to allocate more money to the agency, but Busch warned even if state money comes in at the last minute, SEPTA wouldn't be able to quickly reverse the cuts. "The closer we get to the 24th [of August], the more difficult it's going to be," Busch said. "We need about two or three weeks to either make a decision to go or not go with these cuts, so if we got into the 20th and funding hadn't been approved, then we'd already be too late." A spokeswoman with The School District of Philadelphia said the district's working with its transportation department to gather information and communicate options to families. Starting Monday, SEPTA will begin posing signs about the cuts at every affected bus route and stop. It's also urging parents to visit its website for more details on the service cuts.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Mayor hopes Cambridgeshire buses can be saved by cutting others
Two "key" bus routes at risk of being cut by an operator could be saved by stopping three lesser used services, said a Conservative East is due to stop its route nine bus service, which links Littleport to Ely and Cambridge, and the 31 route from Ramsey to Whittlesey. Passengers told the BBC cuts to the services would have a negative effect on people living in the alternative proposal from Paul Bristow, the Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, suggested stopping the south Cambridgeshire Tiger On Demand public transport service and the bus routes number 15 and 8A. The proposal will be put forward to the combined authority on 22 July and was estimated to save about £531,000 a year, Bristow estimated cost of running the 31 and nine services, due to axed by Stagecoach, was £500, who asked not to include his surname, lives in Ramsey and has two sons who use the 31 bus to get to school in Whittlesey. He said: "It's a lifeline for us because when we are working we can't get them to school. "But it's not just my sons: it's for people looking to go to work, medical appointments and not just going into Whittlesey, but to Stanground or college - there's a lot of people involved." Rising costs Stagecoach East previously said cuts and changes to its services in the county were necessary "to keep the local bus network viable". It added the changes followed a £1m rise in National Insurance annually, which put the price of provision up for "services already struggling to cover their cost of operation".Bristow said he wanted to save services that connected major towns and cities such as Chatteris, Ely, Littleport and Ramsey with Cambridge and bus route 15 from Haslingfield, Cambridgeshire, to Royston, Hertfordshire, cost £50,668.61 to run in the year to April 2025 and it carried 281 passengers - which is £180 per passenger. The service 8A that runs between March and Cottenham had 1,969 passenger journeys in 2024-25, costing about £100.33 per Cambridgeshire Tiger on Demand service, which is part of the precept funded services, had 1,654 passenger journeys in the first three months of operation and cost about £180.11 per passenger."You have to make a decision at some point about how much you're willing to subsidise," Bristow said. "I don't think [services such as the 15] are justifiable especially when we could end up losing services like the 31 and the number nine. "I am going to put to my board that we divert that money spent on those services to saving the 31 and the nine where the subsidy required was lower. "The 31 between Cambridge and Fowlmere, was estimated to cost about £76.89 per passenger. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Bloomberg
26-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares
Philadelphia's largest transit system approved sweeping service cuts and fare hikes as it struggles to deal with a gaping budget deficit. Officials at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority voted Thursday to approve a fiscal 2026 budget that slashes service by 45% and raises fares by 21.5%. The system has been warning about a $213 million operating deficit for months.
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Residents make their voices heard amid proposed PRT cuts, "We need funding."
Citizens make their voices heard on last day of PRT public comment Citizens make their voices heard on last day of PRT public comment Citizens make their voices heard on last day of PRT public comment The third and final day of public hearings is underway regarding proposed service cuts by Pittsburgh Regional Transit. The public comment period ends next week -- before PRT's board makes a decision on its budget. It wasn't a packed house Thursday morning, but the transit supporters there are fervent ones. Linda Warman brought some company. It's a makeshift bus with significance, like the "53l" on the back. "It's to prove a point, basically," she said. That line could see a lot of service reductions. PRT faces a $100 million deficit for the next fiscal year. "We're on fumes – we're running on fumes," Warman said. The cuts would include nearly a third of PRT's service. "If they cut the buses, most of the time I'll be walking – and that will be putting my health at risk," Warman said. Fares would also go up by 25 cents to $3.00. That would make them the 5th highest in the country. "I'm just hoping something good comes out of all of this," Greene said. People here told KDKA-TV that having transit in their lives allows them some sort of freedom. "Work, shopping, just everything because I don't own a car," Greene said. Those abilities are now ones they want to protect. "No more Band-Aids, no more year-by-year crisis – we need funding," Warman said. There's gonna be a second session here too Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. People will still be able to mail and use the internet, and phone to share their thoughts until June 18th at 5 p.m.
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
With mass transit funding deal still up in the air in Springfield, CTA, Metra and Pace begin planning for possible cuts
CTA, Metra, and Pace officials are preparing "doomsday budgets" after Illinois state lawmakers didn't address the Chicago area mass transit system's massive budget shortfall during the spring legislative session. With federal COVID-19 funding expiring at the end of the year, the transit agencies are facing a $770 million dollar shortfall in 2026. Without new funding from the state, the agencies have warned of service cuts of up to 40%. The Illinois Senate passed legislation that would impose a $1.50 tax on deliveries like Amazon, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, a 10% tax on rideshare trips, and add a new tax to charge electric vehicles to fund mass transit, but the Illinois House didn't take it up before adjourning their spring session. Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) said that's due to how late in the last day of session the Senate passed the bill, but he said there's time to get a deal done this year. "CTA, Metra, Pace – they approve their budgets at the end of the year in December. They have not a July fiscal date like we do here in the state, but they have a January fiscal date. We've spent the last year or so talking about structural changes and governance reforms, and we've got that part right. And so, now, we can spend the next couple of weeks and months figuring out how we deal with the revenue piece. So when we come back to Springfield, whenever that may be, we'll be ready to go," Buckner said. While lawmakers could return to Springfield this summer or during their fall veto session to address mass transit funding, any laws passed after the end of May will need a three-fifths majority in both chambers to take effect before June 2026, making it more of a challenge to get the necessary votes to approve any potential deal.
