City halts SEPTA's plans for fare hike

In a rare use of its veto power, the City of Philadelphia yesterday put the brakes on a last-minute plan by the SEPTA board to erase the agency's $62 million deficit by raising the cash fare from $2 to $3 - the highest in the nation - and eliminating 20 percent of weekday service on buses, trolleys and trains.

"Most of the workers in this region cannot afford" a 38 percent fare increase, said Christian DiCicco, City Council's representative on the 15-member SEPTA board.

DiCicco joined Jettie Newkirk, Mayor Street's appointee, in temporarily derailing the plan. Under Pennsylvania law, the two representatives of the city - home to 80 percent of SEPTA's estimated one million daily riders - can veto any measure. No one at the transit agency could recall when that power was last exercised.

SEPTA riders' sense of relief could be short-lived. Most board members were vowing yesterday to override the veto at their next meeting on Dec. 16, unless Gov. Rendell produces enough money to close the chasm in the agency's $920 million budget.

"I expect we will be back here voting the same way unless we have drastic relief," SEPTA Board Chairman Pasquale T. "Pat" Deon said. "The only one who can solve this right now is the governor."

Rendell has the authority to funnel federal highway funds toward SEPTA's deficit - at least until a new two-year session of the legislature convenes next month in Harrisburg.

In a statement released late yesterday, Rendell offered "no guarantees that we can solve this problem."

Since September, SEPTA had threatened to raise fares by 25 percent, end weekend service, and lay off 1,300 employees. The proposal on the table at yesterday's meeting put more of the hurt on riders - so much so that SEPTA officials themselves predicted that 20 percent of commuters would abandon public transit.

"It's terribly inappropriate to ask riders of SEPTA to pay more and get less," Mayor Street said yesterday.

DiCicco expressed another concern: If the fare increases bring in enough money to solve the budget crsis, the state will be less inclined to do anything.

SEPTA Board Vice Chairman James Schwartzman, however, characterized the new plan as "the least offensive and the easiest to swallow," while acknowledging that "all of the alternatives that have been presented are unpleasant."

The board's decision to whittle weekday service rather than discontinue all weekend runs was based in part on fear of litigation.

If weekend service were discontinued, SEPTA counsel Nicholas Staffieri said yesterday, the board and the agency's corporate officers could be held personally liable for losses suffered by both riders and bondholders in class-action or other civil lawsuits.

"Our enabling legislation requires us to run a transit system," Staffieri said. "We could see a class action... . Anyone could sue us, and believe me, they already do."

Being sued "is a concern for me," said Herman Wooden, a board member appointed by state House Democrats. "Sure it is. The legislature set out what our duties are. If we do not act in the public interest, we could be sued."

Passenger advocates were elated that the board's drastic plan was blocked by the two representatives of the city.

"It buys us two more weeks to get on the governor. That is a godsend," said Marc Stier, an organizer of the Philadelphia Transit Campaign, a recently formed grassroots group. "We are going to go after the governor like he has never seen in the next two weeks."

The city, the four suburban counties, Rendell, and factions within the legislature send representatives to the board. Twelve votes are required to override the city's veto.

Under Deon's leadership since the late 1990s, the diverse SEPTA board has been notable for its unanimous votes on issues, brief public meetings, and lack of spirited debate.

Instead of their usual 20-minute meeting, however, members openly deliberated yesterday for more than two hours, discussing nine scenarios of fare hikes and service cuts. The conversation included impassioned outbursts, such as a plea from Delaware County representative Cornelius Cassidy that the board adhere to its original plan to ax weekend service.

"I would suggest we stick to our guns," Cassidy said. Rendell and legislators, he added, would feel the heat from business leaders whose employees would have no way to get to work. "I think we need to back him to the wall."

Cassidy, nonetheless, was one of the 13 members who voted for the new plan, which would be rolled out in two stages. A 25 percent increase would go into effect Jan. 23. An additional 13 percent fare hike would then kick in March 1, after required public hearings.

What it Means

The SEPTA board's budget-cutting plan was vetoed by the city's two appointees yesterday, but 13 of the 15 members have vowed to override the veto at the next meeting, on Dec. 16. If they prevail, riders would face:

FARE INCREASES

Effective Jan. 23, all fares, including weekly and monthly passes, would jump 25 percent. The cash fare would go from $2 to $2.50. A $1.30 token would cost $1.70.

Effective March 1, all fares would increase again, this time by an average of 13 percent. The cash fare would rise to $3 and a token to $2.

SERVICE CUTS

Instead of ending weekend service, the SEPTA board now proposes slashing 20 percent of weekday service beginning Jan. 23. Saturday service on most buses, trains and trolleys would be reduced to Sunday levels.