In the somewhat positive transit news
According to Delaware County Times, SEPTA, the agency that runs every form of public transportation in Philadelphia and its adjacent counties, announced that its rider revenues exceeded expectations, leaving it with a budget surplus for the first time in its history.
Now, that in itself is actually a big deal. The Great Recession has dented transit funding all across the board. As virtually every transit agency in United States is cutting service and/or increasing fares to stay afloat. Most of them can barely break even. The fact that any transit agency managed to generate surplus is remarkable. And, considering that the surplus is due to rising ridership, it's pretty encouraging.
But, as the article pointed out, a surplus doesn't mean that SEPTA is going to use that money to improve service or infrastructure. Like every transit agency in United States, SEPTA is millions in debt. So that money is going to be used to take care of those debts. And, while it would help, it wouldn't eliminate the debts altogether.
Still, that's more than any other transit agency can say, so even that is kind of good news.
Now, that in itself is actually a big deal. The Great Recession has dented transit funding all across the board. As virtually every transit agency in United States is cutting service and/or increasing fares to stay afloat. Most of them can barely break even. The fact that any transit agency managed to generate surplus is remarkable. And, considering that the surplus is due to rising ridership, it's pretty encouraging.
But, as the article pointed out, a surplus doesn't mean that SEPTA is going to use that money to improve service or infrastructure. Like every transit agency in United States, SEPTA is millions in debt. So that money is going to be used to take care of those debts. And, while it would help, it wouldn't eliminate the debts altogether.
Still, that's more than any other transit agency can say, so even that is kind of good news.