Overview

• The first phase of reductions started Sunday, with 32 bus routes eliminated, 16 shortened, and fewer trips across buses, trolleys, and subways, with remaining Metro changes taking effect Monday.
• SEPTA will increase fares by 21.5% on Sept. 1, raising the base one‑way price to $2.90.
• Regional Rail will scale back starting Sept. 2, with midday frequencies thinning to as much as two hours between trains and weekly trips dropping from 1,414 to 960.
• The funding crisis stems from a partisan impasse in Harrisburg, where Senate Republicans advanced a short‑term plan using Public Transportation Trust Fund money that House Democrats declined to consider, leaving the budget nearly two months overdue.
• Absent new funding, January plans call for eliminating five Regional Rail lines and imposing a 9 p.m. rail curfew, with immediate disruptions already expected for more than 50,000 students on the first day of school and for late‑shift and event riders.