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--- transportation:transit [2024/08/06 04:52] – [Articles] timb
+++ transportation:transit [2026/01/16 21:32] (current) – [Pensylvania] timb
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 https://www.fastcompany.com/91166562/us-transit-exceptionalism
+===== Pensylvania =====
+== Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares ==
+Sri Taylor - June 26, 2025 at 12:33 PM PDT
+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.
+With a July 1 deadline to pass a balanced budget, officials said they had no choice but to move forward with the sweeping cuts to keep the system afloat, though they are continuing to press the state for help.
+By Sri Taylor
+June 26, 2025 at 12:33 PM PDT
+Takeaways by Bloomberg AI
+* Philadelphia's Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has approved a fiscal 2026 budget that slashes service by 45% and raises fares by 21.5% to address a $213 million operating deficit.
+* The cuts will result in the loss of 50 bus routes, 66 rail stations, and five regional rail lines, with service reductions starting August 24 and a full hiring freeze in September.
+* SEPTA officials are continuing to press the state for help, citing the need for sufficient funding to avoid devastating consequences for commuters and the economy, particularly with the FIFA World Cup 2026 expected to bring 6.5 million visitors to the US next summer.
+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.
+With a July 1 deadline to pass a balanced budget, officials said they had no choice but to move forward with the sweeping cuts to keep the system afloat, though they are continuing to press the state for help.
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+The vote could kick off the first phase of what transit advocates call a “death spiral” of ridership. Commuters who rely on the system for their daily needs may be left stranded or forced to drive, leading to declining revenues and further cuts.
+“This budget will effectively dismantle SEPTA,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer during a board meeting Thursday. “Once this dismantlement begins, it will be almost impossible to reverse, and the economic and social impacts will be immediate and long-lasting for all Pennsylvanians, whether they ride SEPTA or not.”
+https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-26/philly-transit-system-votes-to-cut-service-by-45-hike-fares
+===== Washington (Seattle) =====
+== Seattle is Building Light Rail Like It's 1999 ==
+Posted by msmash on Friday January 16, 2026 10:13AM
+Seattle was late to the light rail party -- the city rejected transit ballot measures in 1968 and 1971, missing out on federal funding that built Atlanta's MARTA, and didn't approve a plan including rail until 1996 -- but the Pacific Northwest city is now in the middle of a multibillion-dollar building boom that has produced the highest post-pandemic ridership recovery of any US light rail system.
+The Link system opened its first line in 2009, funded largely by voter-approved tax measures from 2008 and 2016. The north-south 1 Line now stretches 41 miles after a $3 billion extension to Lynnwood opened in June 2025 and a $2.5 billion leg to Federal Way debuted in December. Ridership is up 24% since 2019, and 3.4 million people rode Link trains in October 2025.
+Test trains have been running since September across the I-90 floating bridge over Lake Washington -- what Sound Transit claims is the world's first light rail on a floating structure -- preparing for a May 31 opening. The Crosslake Connection is part of the 2 Line, a 14-mile, $3.7 billion extension voters approved in 2008 that was originally slated to open in 2020. The expansion hasn't come without problems. Sound Transit faces a roughly $30 billion budget shortfall, and a planned Ballard extension has ballooned to $22 billion, double original estimates.
+https://news.slashdot.org/story/26/01/16/1813239/seattle-is-building-light-rail-like-its-1999