Shapiro rides SEPTA Regional Rail to promote his proposal for transit funding

LANGHORNE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday rode a SEPTA Regional Rail train the 12 miles from Rydal, Montgomery County, to Langhorne, Bucks County, to draw attention to his plan for transit funding.

At Langhorne Station, Shapiro made remarks about the mass transit portion of his budget proposal.

SEPTA general manager Leslie Richards, who accompanied Shapiro, said the governor’s plan would help the transit agency avoid fare increases and service cuts as it addresses a $240 million shortfall.

“This is an investment that is absolutely essential for SEPTA,” Richards said at the news conference. “It would help fill a looming budget deficit and allow SEPTA to build on efforts to ensure our system is safe, clean and secure.”

Richards said the proposed funding would allow SEPTA to nearly double its spending on safety and cleaning over the level of two years ago.

Shapiro said when he talks with business owners about moving to Pennsylvania, they want to know about transit.

“One of the things they always ask me is, ‘How close are we going to be to that train station? To that bus stop? What’s mass transit going to look like in that community?”

The governor said he’s hopeful his transit funding will survive budget negotiations with a divided legislature.

“We’re going to go back and forth. We’re going to have to compromise. We’re going to have to find common ground," Shapiro said. "But I feel good about our opportunity to get mass transit in the final package that passes the legislature in a few weeks.”

The state budget deadline is the end of June. Shapiro said if his proposal is adopted by the legislature, it would be the first time the state increased public transit funding in a decade.