At Levittown Station, Lawmakers, Transit Advocates Rally To Save SEPTA Service

State lawmakers, county officials, and transit advocates gathered at the Levittown Train Station last Thursday afternoon to demand action on SEPTA funding.

The officials warned that without state intervention, the Trenton Regional Rail Line and numerous bus routes in Bucks County could face elimination over the next year.

The press conference, which was held at a station in Tullytown Borough that could soon lose service starting Jan. 1, 2026, highlighted the urgency of addressing SEPTA’s $213 million budget shortfall before devastating cuts take effect.

“If SEPTA has to make the cuts that it’s proposing to meet this shortfall, it’s been estimated that will increase volume on I-295 and I-95 by 30 percent,” said State Sen. Steve Santarsiero. “This is going to have a tremendously negative impact on Southeastern Pennsylvania.”

The Trenton Line is one of five regional rail lines that could be suspended if additional funding isn’t secured. The lines operate on Amtrak territory, which requires SEPTA to pay multi-million dollar leases that would become unaffordable without state support for the transit agency.

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, a Democrat, who also serves on the SEPTA board, said that the transit agency isn’t looking to make cuts but is forced to consider them to balance its budget.

“These are not cuts that are advantageous to the entire system. These are cuts that need to be made because of our effort on the SEPTA board of balancing the budget,” Harvie said. “Mass transit across the country relies on public funds and cannot work without it.”

The potential service reductions extend beyond rail lines. Bus routes 127 and 128, which serve Bristol Borough, are also targeted for elimination.

Bristol Borough resident Denise Smith, a senior citizen who relies on these routes, expresses her concern about the cuts.

“I live in Bristol Borough. It’s the 128 bus line and the 129. Now they’re thinking about stopping the 128. That’s the one that goes closest to my house and it comes up here to Walmart,” she said, holding up her SEPTA senior pass.

Smith noted that many seniors in her community depend on these services:

“There are other senior citizens in Bristol Borough that rely on that 128 that goes right by the senior citizen building right there. They can roll up if they have their wheelchairs or if they’re handicapped,” Smith said.

State Rep. Jim Prokopiak, a Democrat whose district includes the Levittown Train Station, noted the potential economic impact of the cuts.

“The cuts particular to the 140th district are catastrophic. Quite simply, there won’t be SEPTA service in the 140th district if these cuts go through,” Prokopiak said. “We are in an integrated economy where workers from Philadelphia are coming into Bucks County to work just as many are going from Bucks county into Philadelphia.”

Patrick Garraud, a member of the SEPTA Citizens Advisory Committee and Falls Township resident, pointed out that the transit agency has proven its value during emergencies, such as when I-95 collapsed last year.

“When I-95 collapsed on Sunday, SEPTA had a plan by Monday morning on rush hour to put extra trains on both this line and the West Trenton line,” Garraud said. “Then even if you don’t take the train to work, you weren’t stuck in traffic on local roads trying to navigate around the freeway.”

According to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, eliminating these services would add approximately 275,000 more cars to regional roadways.

The state legislature is considering House Bill 1364, which mirrors Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposal to allocate a portion of existing state sales tax revenue to mass transit. The bill on Monday passed 16-10 out of the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee.

Of the proposed roughly $290 million for transit statewide, about $168 million would go to SEPTA.

While the bill is expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House, advocates are concerned about its prospects in the Republican-controlled Senate.

“We demand a vote on House Bill 1364 when it gets to the Pennsylvania State Senate,” Santarsiero said, noting that the state currently has $11 billion in the bank that could easily cover SEPTA’s needs. He noted that several billion dollars of the funds were in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

Transit Workers Union representative Joe Coccio questioned the reluctance by state lawmakers to fund transit agencies.

“It’s really not about why the over 50 transit agencies need to be funded. It’s more about why the rest of the state doesn’t have more transit agencies to connect all the counties throughout,” Coccio said. “That’s going to help benefit the entire state financially.”

Officials pointed out that cuts to SEPTA will mean contracts to vendors in Bucks County and across the state will have to be ended to save funds.

Bucks County County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, laid out how transit cuts would impact vulnerable populations, including nursing home residents and community college students.

“Our nursing home has 350 people, our most vulnerable population, and most of our employees that provide their care come in on train and a bus,” Ellis-Marseglia said, referencing the county-owned Neshaminy Manor Nursing Home in Warrington Township.

The Levittown station, which was renovated in 2019 at a cost of nearly $40 million, represents the kind of investment that would be wasted if service is eliminated, State Rep. Tina Davis said.

Davis, a Democrat, called for the state to chip in more money for the transit system.

“If these cuts go through, all that money will be to waste,” Prokopiak said of the station renovations. “That is not efficiency for the taxpayer, that’s actually waste.”

State Rep. Perry Warren, a Democrat, said the cuts will also impact the West Trenton Line in his district and hurt commuters.

While the bill proposing a shift in sales tax revenue is making its way through the Democratic-led state House, it faces a steep hill in the Republican-led Senate.

State Rep. Joe Hogan, a Republican, said he didn’t have comment on the bill. However, he has been supportive in the past of more state funding for SEPTA.

State Sen. Frank Farry, a Republican, said he knows the importance of “robust public transit” and expressed his interest in seeing how his fellow lawmakers would lay out funding SEPTA during budget negotiations.

Farry has proposed taxing skilled games as a potential revenue source. He added that half of the projected $1 billion in new revenue would be allocated to transportation funding, including for public transit.

“The taxing of skill games brings new revenue to the state,” Farry said, adding that his proposal would not take money from elsewhere in the state’s budget or coffers, but create a fresh revenue stream.

Farry, who recently met with SEPTA’s CEO, told LevittownNow.com he is open to supporting a proposal similar to the house bill if that was the only way SEPTA could be funded before major cuts.

Advocates urge residents to contact their state lawmakers to demand a vote on the funding bill before the June 30 state budget deadline.

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