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PUBLIC
TRANSPORTATION |
 Waiting
for the Gravy Train
Activists want
state lawmakers to put mass transit back on track.
by Gwen
Shaffer
While the vast majority of city employees enjoyed
a day off last week, consumer advocate Lance Haver plodded
into the office on Monday.
"I can think of no better way to honor the memory of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. than to save public transit," Haver
told a reporter who'd expected to hear a voicemail greeting at
the other end of the line.
Haver is, in fact, taking a break from his position with
the Street administration and is "on loan" to the Pennsylvania
Transit Coalition (PTC), which formed last year. This
statewide alliance--comprised of representatives from labor,
business, civic, religious and environmental groups--raises
awareness of the need for dedicated funding for SEPTA and
other flat-broke public transit systems in the commonwealth.
Last week about 60 PTC volunteers pressed thousands of
fliers into the hands of evening rush-hour passengers at
Suburban Station and Market East (the group was barred from
lobbying passengers at 30th Street Station, which is owned by
Conrail, not SEPTA). PTC is focusing on Regional Rail
users--who are in a position to influence their elected
officials in Harrisburg, Haver says.
These constituents can pressure House speaker John Perzel
and other Republicans to vote for a mass-transit funding bill.
So far few GOP or Democratic members from rural parts of the
state are championing the initiative, Haver says.
The bright yellow PTC fliers caution riders that their
trains are "about to be derailed" and warn of potential fare
hikes and service cuts. "Call your legislators NOW!" they
read. Customized for each Regional Rail line, the fliers list
contact information for state elected officials who represent
communities located along the route.
While most Suburban Station commuters study the message as
they ride the escalator down to the platform, others
immediately crumple them up and dunk them into trash cans.
A rider who depends on SEPTA to transport him from his
Southwest Philly home to classes in Center City says service
cuts would mean a train wreck for his daily routine.
"I really have no alternative transportation," says the
rider. "I've been getting emails about calling my City Council
member, and I plan to do that."
City riders who have no choice but to take SEPTA have been
very forceful, Haver says. "But few people who live in Bucks,
Montgomery and Chester counties attended public hearings--you
almost have to be a city resident to believe lawmakers can
punish you."
Marc Stier, president of West Mt. Airy Neighbors and an
active member of the transit coalition, says he's confident
that Philadelphia legislators support dedicated funding for
public transit. "But we need to reach suburban voters."
All this week PTC members are hosting a "phone slam" at
SEPTA stations throughout the system. Volunteers with cell
phones are asking morning commuters to call their state
legislators while they wait on the platform for trains.
Although mass transit activists have often rallied for
system improvements in the past, Stier distinguishes those
efforts from the current campaign.
"Instead of fighting for money from the state, we fought
SEPTA," he says. "Now our focus is on the legislative
struggle."
Several Pennsylvania lawmakers have introduced competing
proposals for dedicated mass transit funding.
Gov. Ed Rendell endorsed a bill introduced by Philadelphia
Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans. The measure would raise $110
million to make up the transit funding shortfall for the
current fiscal year for SEPTA, the Port Authority in
Pittsburgh and smaller transit agencies across the state by
increasing various fees.
The driver's record fee would go up from $5 to $12; the
motor vehicle rental fee would double, increasing from $2 to
$4; the tax on new tires would increase from $1 to $3; and the
state would implement a new emissions inspection sticker fee
of $2.
Rep. Keith McCall, the top Democrat on the House
Transportation Committee, recently floated a proposal he hopes
will win over rural colleagues demanding more money for road
and bridge projects.
One part of McCall's $580 million plan would raise the cost
of annual vehicle registrations for passenger cars from $36 to
$43, while SUV and minivan owners would have to shell out $50.
McCall also proposes to make permanent the four-cent-a-gallon
increase in the state gasoline tax that took effect Jan. 1.
A third provision in McCall's plan mirrors a bill
introduced by Philadelphia Democratic Sen. Vince Fumo. He
recommends increasing the state realty transfer tax by half of
a percent, to a total of 1.5 percent. That new revenue would
be earmarked for helping Port Authority Transit in Allegheny
County, SEPTA and smaller transit systems in Pennsylvania.
PTC doesn't favor one measure over another, Stier says.
"The best bill is one that gives SEPTA enough money to
avoid draconian cuts," he says.
The group is organizing a March for Transit, to be held
outside the state Capitol building in Harrisburg on Feb. 14.
Gwen Shaffer (gshaffer@philadelphiaweekly.com)
last wrote about city residents displaced by the Neighborhood
Transformation Initiative.
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