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Yesterday, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) officials announced they will hold off on raising fares and cutting service until next month.

SEPTA is delaying the fare hikes and service cuts until March 6 because a Feb. 23 hearing for a lawsuit filed by the city of Philadelphia — which strongly opposes the plan — was rescheduled for Feb. 28.

The plan to increase fares 25 percent — including raising the cash fare from $2 to $2.50 — and cut service 20 percent initially was delayed from Jan. 23 to Feb. 27 after Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell provided an additional $13 million in state subsidies to the authority.

At its Feb. 24 meeting, the SEPTA board will consider plans to implement the second phase of the fare increase, which would raise the base fare from $2.50 to $3.