Over 300 people rallied outside Philadelphia City Hall on Aug. 6 to demand no cuts in services or fare increases for South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) trains, buses and trolleys.

Faced with a $213 million deficit, SEPTA plans to cut 45% of its services in the coming year unless the Pennsylvania legislature increases its budget proposal to include $292 million in new funding for public transit statewide. 

The first 20% cuts in SEPTA services are set to start on Aug. 24. Plans include eliminating 32 bus routes and shortening 16 additional routes, cutting frequency of SEPTA metro and regional rail line service by 20% and raising fares by 21.5% on Sept. 1. Another 18 bus routes would be shut down sometime between Aug. 24 and Jan. 1. 

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