Philadelphia Transportation Campaign

6639 Germantown Avenue • Philadelphia, PA 19119 • (215) 438-6022 • www.phillytransitcampaign.com

Philadelphia Transportation Campaign to Hold Rally for Dedicated Funding for Public Transportation

Public transportation is essential  to the vitality of the state and, especially, the Southeastern region.  But public transportation agencies in Pennsylvania are in serious financial difficulty. Without additional revenues, or a reduction in services, SEPTA is facing a deficit of $70 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1. And that does not included money to protect the health care benefits or provided salary increases for SEPTA workers.  (See below for an article about the current crisis in transportation funding and about the Philadelphia Transportation Campaign. For information about an upcoming forum on the future of transit in the Delaware Valley, click here.)

The Philadelphia Transportation Campaign (www.phillystraphangers.org), the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) (www.gpop.org), and NW Greens are sponsoring a rally next week to demand that state official establish a source of dedicated funding for public transit across the state.   Community, union, party, and political leaders are expected to address the rally. 

When:             Tuesday, June 8, 2004,  4:30 PM

Where:           State Office Building, Broad & Spring Garden Streets

Confirmed speakers include: Tom Cronin, President, District Council 47; Lance Haver, Director of Consumer Affairs, City of Philadelphia; Marc Stier, President, West Mt. Airy Neighbors; Tom Hutt, 2003 Green Party City Council Candidate (8^th District); and Tim Kearney, 2004 Democratic Candidate for State Representative (172^nd District).  Other political and union officials are expected to speak as well.

The Philadelphia Transportation Campaign is a coalition of political and civic groups including: NW Greens, Green Party of Philadelphia, and the Northwest Campaign for Public Transportation. For more information contact Belinda Davis (bedavis@rci.rutgers.edu) or Hillary Aisenstein (hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu).

PTC Steering Committee (in formation)

Hillary Aisenstein •  Belinda Davis • Jacob Faber • Peter Javsicas •  Chris Robinson •  Marc Stier

This invitation to attend a rally for dedicated public transportation funding has been sent to everyone on the Northwest Campaign for Public Transportation (NCPT) email list; to people who signed the petition to save the R8 Train and C Bus last year; and to other folks who we believe might be interested in this issue. If you wish to be removed from this list, click on the link below or email the NCPT at NCPT@wman.net

Public Transportation: The Fiscal Crisis Continues

by

Marc Stier

The crisis in public transportation funding continues. To continue the present level of service SEPTA needs $70 million more than it can expect from the current level of fares and state support. And that does not include the funds necessary to reach a fair agreement with the Transport Workers Union next year. Without substantial new funding for SEPTA, the agency will be forced to propose drastic cutbacks in service or dramatic increases in our fares, or both.

             A superior public transportation system is vital to our region. To see this, we just have to imagine what would happen to our metropolitan area if public transportation were dramatically cut back:

• Our roads will be horribly congested.  More people will die in traffic accidents.
• Our hopes for economic development will be dashed. New businesses need to draw on skilled workers who live throughout the region. If workers do not have accessible, economical, and efficient transportation, businesses will not develop or move here.
• Our residential communities will wither. Communities that came to life because of the train and bus lines in this region will die without them. Strong communities will weaken. And plans to revive weaker communities will come to nothing.
• Our low income citizens will suffer terribly. They will lose access to jobs and shopping as well as family members who live in different parts of the area.
• Our air and water will be degraded. And, because any development that takes place will have to rely on transportation by automobile, our open spaces will disappear.
• Our senior citizens will be isolated. Many senior citizens who live in their own homes will be forced to move to institutional settings.
• Our children will have fewer choices about where to go to school.
• All of us, but especially people with low incomes, senior citizens, and children, will be cut off from the social, cultural, educational and recreational riches of the greater Philadelphia area.
• And hundreds of good jobs with good benefits in the transportation will disappear.

If we want to avoid these disastrous results, the immediate task before us is to secure new, dedicated funding for public transportation. To do that, we need to create a broad coalition of community groups, labor unions and businesses united by our belief in the critical importance of public transportation. I am afraid that, if do not receive pressure from their constituents to address this difficult issue, our political leaders will leave SEPTA holding the bag. And then SEPTA, which is required by law to have a balanced  budget, will have no choice but to take drastic action.

             A group of activists, mostly from Northwest Philadelphia, have recently come together to help bring such a coalition together. We have formed a new organization, the Philadelphia Transportation Campaign. Some of us have been working on these issues for a while. Others are new to the issue. We disagree about some issues. And we all have our complaints about SEPTA, and hope to make the agency more responsive to the concerns of the citizens of the region. But we all believe that must come together to pursue the overriding goal of solving the fiscal crisis of public transportation in this state. We are ready to work with SEPTA to attain this goal.

            We have called for a Rally for Public Transportation on Tuesday, June 8, at 4:30 pm at the state office building at Broad and Spring Garden Streets. We have invited a broad range of speakers, including political officials, labor leaders, businessmen, and representatives of SEPTA. The initial response to this rally has been very positive and we expect support from all quarters.

            We want to use the rally to help build this coalition in support of public transportation. We see it as the kickoff for a campaign that will continue until the General Assembly and Governor take the action needed to preserve public transportation in Pennsylvania. We hope that to inform our fellow citizens about the importance of public transportation and the critical need for new state funding. And we want to show our political leaders that there is broad support for such funding.

            We encourage you to join with us. We are looking for activists and not-yet-activists to attend the rally join our campaign. For more information, go to our website www.phillystraphangers.com or to the Northwest Campaign for Public Transportation (NCPT) Website www.ncpt.com. You can also email Belinda Davis (bedavis@rci.rutgers.edu) or Hillary Aisenstein (hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu) or Marc Stier at the NCPT at nctp@wman.net.