Facing a potential budget deficit of more than $210 million, SEPTA, the authority that manages Philadelphia’s mass transit, is proposing severe cuts in service and a 40-cent fare hike. The proposed cuts would include elimination of the Trenton and West Trenton rail lines, which are used by more than 7,000 riders a day.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora deplored the potential loss of train service to Philadelphia.
“Any cut to the service is going to be devastating for area commuters on the Northeast Corridor,” he said. “We need more mass transit options, not less.”
“We’re trying to be more environmentally conscious. We’re trying to get people out of combustible vehicles and getting them on mass transit,” said Aaron Watson, business administrator for Ewing Township. “In my fifteen years in New Jersey transit, I’ve never seen a rail line eliminated. I’ve seen bus service eliminated, but never a rail line.”
SEPTA is also proposing a 45% reduction in service, workforce reductions and the elimination of all trains leaving at or after 9 p.m.
