Pa Shapiro Administration Approves SEPTA’s Request to Use Up to $394 Million in Future Capital Funding to Maintain Mass Transit Service for Two Years

Today, Governor Josh Shapiro directed Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Mike Carroll to approve the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) request to use up to $394 million in capital assistance funds for daily operations. On Friday, SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer sent a letter to PennDOT requesting this flexibility, and with the Shapiro Administration’s approval, SEPTA will be able to preserve existing service and avoid planned service cuts for the next two years.

Governor Shapiro and his Administration have already taken several measures to support SEPTA and strengthen mass transit across the Commonwealth. For two years in a row, the Governor has proposed the first major increase in state transit funding in more than a decade, including $292 million in new funding in his 2025-26 proposed budget that would grow to $1.5 billion over five years. He also secured $80 million in additional funding for mass transit in the 2024-25 bipartisan budget and, last November, flexed $153 million in federal highway funds to prevent SEPTA from making immediate service cuts and enacting a 21 percent fare increase.

This action ensures SEPTA will continue to provide critical transportation services ahead of and during high-profile events in 2026, including America’s 250th anniversary, the FIFA World Cup, and the MLB All-Star Game. Additionally, SEPTA will be able to continue to meet the needs of nearly 800,000 Pennsylvanians every day – including 52,000 students in the School District of Philadelphia and hundreds of thousands of workers who take SEPTA every day.

As a condition of its approval of SEPTA’s request, the Shapiro Administration instructed SEPTA to continue to address its structural challenges and report to PennDOT every 120 days the steps taken and progress made to increase efficiencies within the system.

Governor Shapiro and the Shapiro Administration will continue advocating for a long-term, recurring, funding solution to ensure the Commonwealth’s transportation services can provide reliable service for Pennsylvanians to get where they need to go in a safe and efficient manner.

-via Press Release

CSX Reopens Expanded Howard Street Tunnel Ahead of Schedule

CSX today announced the re-opening of the expanded Howard Street Tunnel, a historic and transformative $450+ million infrastructure project that will modernize freight rail transportation along the East Coast. The project marks a major milestone in the decades of effort by state, federal, and private partners to deliver a long-sought boost to Maryland’s economy and the nation’s supply chain.