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So, let me get this straight. SEPTA’s plan for the good people of Philadelphia is to run 50-year-old trains that occasionally catch fire, cancel dozens of them a day so you can’t get to work, and then have the gall to charge you 21.5% more for the pleasure.
This isn't a transit system. It's a masterclass in institutional contempt for the public.
I’ve been watching this slow-motion train wreck—sometimes literally—and I can’t decide if it’s tragic or just darkly hilarious. The Federal Railroad Administration had to issue an Emergency Order because of fires on the ancient Silverliner IV fleet. SEPTA’s brilliant response? Yank cars off the tracks for "inspections," creating shorter trains.
Let’s translate that corporate-speak from their spokesperson, Andrew Busch. When he says, "We’re trying to keep everything on a regular schedule with shorter trains," what he really means is, "Get ready to stand on the platform and watch a train, packed like a sardine can, roll right past you because it’s already full." Fifty-five trains were canceled on the first day of this chaos. It's a clear case where SEPTA inspections cause major delays for Regional Rail users. People were forced onto buses that take twice as long. But don’t worry, your `septa key card` now costs more to tap.
A Lawsuit Built on Pure Rage
Just when you think it can’t get more absurd, in walks attorney George Bochetto with a class-action lawsuit. It's a Lawsuit seeks to undo SEPTA fare increase, refund riders – Metro Philadelphia, and honestly, thank god someone is doing something. Bochetto, representing the public, isn't just asking for a rollback of the fare hike; he wants refunds for everyone who’s been fleeced since September 14th.
The core of his argument is something I’ve been screaming about for ages: SEPTA manufactured this crisis. The lawsuit alleges that the authority concocted a "doomsday" budget to extort money from Harrisburg, all while sitting on a pile of cash. And here’s the kicker—a "Service Stabilization Fund" that, as of September, contained over $300 million.
Three. Hundred. Million. Dollars.
So, let me ask the obvious question: what in the ever-loving hell is a "stabilization fund" for if not to… you know… stabilize service during a crisis? Is it just a slush fund for executive bonuses? Is it an emergency piggy bank they break open only when aliens invade? The whole thing smells rotten. They cry poverty, hike the `septa fare`, and slash service while sitting on a dragon’s hoard of our money. It’s an insult to everyone’s intelligence.
The Phantoms on the Bus
And then there's the fare evasion issue. This is where the story goes from simple mismanagement to a complete detachment from reality. SEPTA claims it loses between $30 and $50 million a year to people jumping turnstiles. A lot of money, sure. But Bochetto’s lawsuit claims the real number is somewhere between $300 and four hundred million dollars.
The lawsuit flat-out states, "the majority of people using SEPTA buses do not pay a fare."
Offcourse, a SEPTA spokesperson says they have "no data or evidence to support such a number." I bet they don't. Why would you want data that proves you’ve completely lost control of your own system? The whole thing is a joke. No, a joke is funny. This is just a slow-motion tragedy that you have to pay to watch unfold every morning on your commute. It’s a system where the honest people pay more to subsidize the chaos and the people who don’t pay at all.
They’re installing new fare gates at some stations, which they claim cut evasion by 20%. Great. At this rate, they might get a handle on the problem by the year 2075, right around the time the Silverliner IVs are celebrating their 100th birthday. SEPTA and its leaders need to be reined in, the lawsuit says. And you just have to wonder if anyone in charge even...
What does it say about your organization when the public’s perception of your revenue loss is ten times higher than your own official estimate? It says nobody trusts you. It says that what we see with our own eyes every day on the `septa bus` and `septa train` feels more real than the sanitized numbers you feed to the press.
Maybe I'm the crazy one here. Maybe it's perfectly normal to expect people to pay more for a service that is actively getting worse, less reliable, and literally more dangerous. Maybe it ain’t a problem that replacing the rolling fire hazards will cost an estimated $2 billion that SEPTA clearly doesn't have.
But I don’t think so. This isn't just about a fare hike or some old trains. It's about a fundamental breakdown. A public trust that’s been shattered into a million pieces.
A System Running on Fumes
Let's be real. SEPTA isn't just broken; it’s a symptom of a deeper rot. We're looking at an organization that seems to view its riders not as customers to be served, but as an inconvenience and a piggy bank to be smashed open. They're running on fumes—financially, mechanically, and morally. The lawsuits, the federal orders, the daily commuter misery… it’s not a string of bad luck. It’s the inevitable result of years of neglect and contempt. You can't fix that with a fare hike.
