(The following article by Sean O’Sullivan was posted on the News Journal website on November 23.)
WILMINGTON, Del. — Service cuts in Delaware and a fare increase of up to 25 percent on regional rail service to the state are expected next year after the Pennsylvania Legislature adjourned without giving any additional money to help that state’s public transit systems.
“We fully expect to see a fare increase … and the Saturday service may be in jeopardy,” said Delaware Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Williams.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is facing a $62 million budget shortfall and will be forced to make service cuts and raise fares if Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell or the Legislature does not provide more money, said Richard Maloney, a SEPTA spokesman.
“All we can do is hope and plan,” Maloney said. “Hope for the best and plan for the worst.”
About 700 riders use SEPTA’s R2 service to Delaware on Saturdays, and nearly 3,000 use the service on an average weekday. There is no Sunday service to Delaware.
The fare for a one-way trip between Newark and Philadelphia is $5.50 during peak hours and $4.25 during off-peak hours. Any fare increases or service cuts will not be known until after the SEPTA board meets Dec. 2 to review the budget situation.
Rendell still holds out hope the Legislature will return before the end of the year to avoid the fare increases, layoffs and service cuts, said Kate Philips, the governor’s press secretary.
“The question is will the Legislature come back to complete the work,” said Philips. “It is far from finished.”
DelDOT has a $6.8 million annual contract with SEPTA and Amtrak to provide rail service between Delaware and Philadelphia. The state takes in about $2 million in revenue from the service, according to DelDOT.
Ridership on the R2 has grown to about 784,000 passengers a year, an 87 percent increase since the service was started in Delaware 10 years ago. Delaware Transportation Secretary Nathan Hayward sent a letter to SEPTA officials in October urging them to avoid a 20 percent to 25 percent fare increase because it could discourage ridership and end the growth of commuter rail use in Delaware.
Donald Nigro, of the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, supports SEPTA’s efforts to get more money from Harrisburg but opposes fare hikes.
Nigro said SEPTA already has some of the highest regional rail fares in the nation.
“We are trying to discourage them from doing that and we are holding out some hope they will,” he said.
SEPTA also is threatening to lay off 1,400 employees unless additional money is appropriated.
Despite the financial trouble with SEPTA, DelDOT is going ahead with public workshops aimed at improving and expanding rail service in Delaware.
DelDOT will hold a public hearing Monday on plans to relocate the Newark train station, which is served by SEPTA and Amtrak, to an area near the Newark library.
DelDOT officials say the move is necessary to provide downstate rail service from Wilmington and Newark to Middletown and Dover, because that is where the tracks intersect.
DelDOT is considering starting downstate rail service and taking over regional rail in Delaware.
The hearing will be 4 to 7 p.m. at Girl Scouts Inc., 501 S. College Ave. in Newark.
Plans for the move and other track improvements will be on display, and public comments will be taken.