Transit riders are pushing back against cuts that are being proposed across the state. We have put forward a legislative package that would expand transit in every corner of Pennsylvania. Now we need your help.
The time to TAKE ACTION IS NOW! Use this form to email your legislators and ask them to support the Transit for All PA! funding package!
Transit riders have put forward the Transit for All PA! legislative funding package that would EXPAND transit service across the state. The time is now to write your reps and sign on as a co-sponsor.
Whether the cuts that have been proposed in Pittsburgh, or in Philadelphia, or in other small towns across our state, transit riders are done with decline (if you’re from Pittsburgh and you want to get involved in fighting against the proposed cuts, check out our toolkit here). We organized throughout the spring to create a slate of ideas that would generate enough funding to expand service levels in Pittsburgh and every PA County. Then we organized and convinced our legislators to introduce them as bills in the House and Senate. Now we need to keep on organizing to make our dreams a reality.
Overview of Transit for All PA! funding package
Our goal goes beyond maintaining our current levels of austerity service. Instead, we at Transit for All PA are aiming to restore transit service statewide to 2019 levels, with an additional 10% service expansion in regions outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
To do that, we calculate that $537 million is needed in new funding for FY 26. We are looking to uplift Governor Shapiro’s proposal to increase the allocation of the existing sales tax to fund public transit, but also to expand on it with commonsense and achievable tax reforms to ensure that we can stabilize, restore and expand transit to meet all our communities’ needs.
In order to reach this goal, we need to propose funding sources that will meet this need and which will increase year over year to meet inflation. Moreover, these funding mechanisms should be:
- Politically viable
- Quickly enacted
- Not disproportionately burdensome to marginalized, disabled or low income populations
- Related to transportation
- Ideally non-competitive to other basic needs through the General Fund, and dedicated to public transportation
To find a solution, we underwent months’ worth of research and held lengthy discussions with hundreds of stakeholders statewide. We believe we can meet our goal with three collective funding mechanisms, together with the Governor’s proposed sales tax ALLOCATION increase.
PRT’s proposed cuts. How we stop them and win service expansion:
If PRT doesn’t get this funding, they have proposedd that the entire system would see a 35% decrease in service and a 9% increase in fares. Paratransit service would be cut a staggering 62%, and fares would increase 20%.
We know that transit is a public necessity, connecting people across our region–no matter their neighborhood, income level, or ability–to jobs, healthcare, food, and community. The state government’s budget proposal will revoke access to these lifelines for thousands.
Alongside our partner coalition Transit For All PA!, we’re calling on our elected officials to find a stable, alternative funding source for public transit–one that restores transit funding and service to pre-2019 levels across the state, from Pittsburgh to Erie to Philly and everywhere in between.