Signed, sealed and delivered.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) approved the transfer of $153 million in federal highway capital funds to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) on Wednesday.

With SEPTA facing a significant funding shortfall due to the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds, Gov. Josh Shapiro directed PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll to begin the process of transferring $153 million in federal highway capital funds to SEPTA. The action would prevent immediate service cuts and a planned 21 percent fare increase, allowing the transit agency – which serves 800,000 people across Southeastern Pennsylvania every day – to maintain critical operations through at least July 2025.

The DVRPC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Greater Philadelphia region. In this capacity, DVRPC is tasked with developing and maintaining the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) for the region. DVRPC amended the FY2025 TIP for Pennsylvania by adding the Federal Preventive Maintenance Program back into the TIP in the amount of $191,250,000 (including the $153 million in “flexed” highway funds and $38.25 million in SEPTA’s existing local funds to meet the required local funding match). This TIP action is required to allow SEPTA to access the federal funds.

In addition to the “flexed” highway funds and the local match provided by SEPTA, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties are contributing over $38 million in additional local funds. This “flex” of highway funds is a stopgap measure that will provide additional operating funding support to carry SEPTA through the fiscal year that ends on June 30, providing time for the Pennsylvania State Legislature to take action on a comprehensive funding package in spring 2025.

“As Governor, I have a responsibility to serve every region of our Commonwealth — rural, suburban, and urban,” said Shapiro. “Over the past two years, we’ve come together on a bipartisan basis to invest $330.5 million in additional funding for Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges, repairing more poor-condition bridges than any other state and improving more miles of roadway than at any time in the past decade. But while we’ve made great progress on our roadways, we must also address the needs of mass transit riders, particularly those in Southeastern Pennsylvania who rely on SEPTA every day to get to work, school, medical appointments, and more.”

State Senate Republicans have blocked Shapiro’s proposal to raise $1.5 billion over five years for transit operations by allocating more sales tax revenue to the Public Transportation Trust Fund. SEPTA, as the largest system, would receive about $161 million annually under that plan.

GOP leaders have called for a comprehensive package that would tie more money from roads and bridges and to use other sources of revenue besides the sales tax. Shapiro has said he is open to that but nothing was enacted this year.

SEPTA’s $153 million will come from seven different interstate infrastructure projects across the state, said Carroll: on I-79 in Mercer County; I-80 in Columbia County; I-95 in Philadelphia; on I-83 in York County; two I-80 projects in Jefferson County, and another on I-70 in Washington County.