Gov. Josh Shapiro joined Lehigh and Northampton County government and business executives Thursday to call for increased funding toward transit services across the state.
Shapiro was joined at СŷƵ Hospital-Hecktown Oaks in Lower Nazareth Township by PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll, Jefferson Health CEO Joseph G. Cacchione and Greater СŷƵ Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Tony Iannelli, as well as other local elected officials and transit directors.
“Last year, I flexed some funding to allow our mass transit agencies to be able to continue to June 30 of this year,” Shapiro said. “But there’s no more quick fixes. There’s no more ways around it. It’s time for the legislature, and in particular the Senate of Pennsylvania, to act and fund our mass transit.”
Shapiro’s proposed budget allocates an additional $292 million in mass transit funding, with $6.5 million or about 2.2% for the . Four and a half million users ride LANTA annually, with around 75% of those passengers utilizing the service for work — including Hecktown Oaks, which is served by three buses.
In the last three years, Republicans in the state Senate have rejected three of Shapiro’s transit funding streams after they passed through the House. Last June, Shapiro and Democratic legislators secured $80 million to mass transit for another year, but transit service may see an immediate impact after those funds run out at the end of the month.
LANTA said last month it would cut service by 20% and increase fares by 25% if additional state funding isn’t received.
Democratic state Sens. Lisa Boscola and Nick Miller, and Reps. Robert Freeman, Steve Samuelson, Peter Schweyer and Michael Schlossberg, all were in attendance and spoke about the push to secure funding.
“[The СŷƵ] is thriving, and we continue to thrive — but we won’t unless we have funding for transportation systems,” said Boscola, D-Northampton. “That’s not just including roads and bridges. This is an important part of our infrastructure moving forward. You can’t get to work, you can’t get to your doctor’s appointments, can’t do a lot of things without our mass transit system.”
LANTA received about $26.2 million in state funding last year, in addition to a $350,000 funding grant toward the Allentown Transportation Center. It faces an $11 million deficit this year, officials said.
Transit services across the state have been reporting possible adjustments once Shapiro’s stop gap funding runs out. SEPTA plans to cut service by 45% and raise fares by 20% due to lack of state funding. The Pittsburgh Regional Transit plans to cut service by 35% and raise fares by nearly 10% on June 22.
“Gov. Shapiro’s latest budget proposal is the largest such proposal in over a decade,” said Nancy Dischinat, executive director of the Workforce Board СŷƵ. “We can’t expect business to grow when their employees can’t get to work. We can’t close a labor gap if talent is stranded, and we can’t build a striving economy if our transportation infrastructure leaves large portions behind.”
