What To Know About SEPTA Fares, Routes After Judge's Ruling On Price Hikes, Service Cuts

PHILADELPHIA — SEPTA released details Sunday clarifying how a judge’s ruling Friday to halt planned service cuts and fare increases will affect the transit system and its riders.

SEPTA’s budget calls for the cuts and increases, as well as workforce reductions and other money-saving measures, to close a $213 million deficit, with the fate of a proposed state funding solution uncertain.

Planned changes that were not already in place are now pending a hearing on Thursday, according to Action News.

“SEPTA is fully complying with the court’s order, which means that fares and service levels will stay as they were on Friday,” SEPTA said in a news release.

The 21.5 percent fare increase set to start Monday is on hold, with all fares to remain at current prices until further notice. The price hike would have affected riders across all SEPTA modes of transportation, bringing the new base fare for bus and metro trips to $2.90 — tying New York's MTA for the highest in the country.

A 20 percent Regional Rail service cut that was to begin Tuesday is also on hold, with service following the same schedules as last week, according to SEPTA.

Real-time schedules on SEPTA’s website and app, as well as third-party apps, may not immediately be available. Customers should refer to PDF schedules dated June 15 at www.septa.org/schedules?mode=regional-rail, according to SEPTA.

A 20 percent service cut for buses and metro that started Aug. 24 will remain in place, with SEPTA supplementing bus service to schools starting Tuesday under an agreement with the city of Philadelphia.

On Jan. 1, SEPTA also planned to eliminate five Regional Rail lines, cut an additional 18 bus routes, and impose a 9 p.m. curfew on all remaining rail services. The latter was expected to have a major impact on events at the South Philadelphia sports complex.

The judge's injunction came after a lawsuit was filed last week by attorney George Bochetto, Action News reported.

"The judge has stopped any further cutbacks. No more phase one implementation and certainly no more phase two implementation. She said she's heard enough," Bochetto said.