advertisement

---

Tomorrow, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will begin hosting a series of public hearings to present its proposed $951.8 million fiscal-year 2006 operating budget, which for the first time in three years does not include fare increases or service cuts.

SEPTA officials spent most of FY2005 working with the state assembly to enact legislation that would provide the authority and other state transit agencies a dedicated funding source to address budget shortfalls. In late February, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell announced a plan to provide federal highway funds for public transit agencies that addressed FY2005 and FY2006 budget deficits.

"Without this commitment from state government, SEPTA would be faced with a budget shortfall of $92.1 million for the new fiscal year," said SEPTA General Manager Faye Moore in a prepared statement. "The only reasonable solution to the statewide transportation funding crisis is the approval of a long-term subsidy source for transit in Pennsylvania."