A Look Back at 2025 and What Comes Next
Dear Riders,
The past year brought historic challenges for SEPTA customers and employees alike. Decades of underfunding showed up across the system, contributing to operating and capital budget shortfalls and federal safety directives that led to too many service disruptions for riders.
I thank all who have supported our efforts to meet these challenges throughout this difficult year. I am proud to say that through it all, our dedicated employees have answered the bell time and time again, and as we continue to work through these issues, accountability, innovation and collaboration will guide our efforts.
At the same time, we achieved a great deal in 2025. When the Federal Railroad Administration directed us to inspect our 223 Regional Rail Silverliner IV cars, for example, our employees worked around the clock, seven days a week, and completed the inspections is just 45 days. Crime has gone down dramatically across the system, thanks to the expansion of SEPTA’s Transit Police. And we have strengthened fare enforcement, thanks in part to new full-length fare gates that physically block jumping or squeezing through.
We have launched new cleaning initiatives at our stations, and we have moved to contactless payment across all modes. Lastly, SEPTA’s new easy-to-read signage and maps are making the system more user-friendly than ever before.
The second half of 2025 saw unprecedented developments at SEPTA. First, when transit funding was left out of the state budget, SEPTA diverted $394 million in state capital funds to cover SEPTA’s operating deficit for two years, and to avoid major service cuts to our system.
Second, the Shapiro Administration allocated $220 million in additional capital funds to support upgrades to our Silverliner IV cars, the oldest passenger rail fleet in the nation, and other infrastructure needs. Finally, we won a $43 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to replace 35 diesel-powered buses with diesel-electric hybrid buses in 2028 to improve operational efficiency and reduce environmental impacts.
These funds will make a needed difference in addressing current crises, but the work for long-term, sustainable funding remains as critical as ever.
Transit can make a defining difference in attracting people, businesses and investment to Southeastern Pennsylvania. We are pursuing a vision to make that happen with new investments including:
- A modern Metro system with 200 new train cars on the L; 130 next-generation trolley cars; and fully accessible, easy-to-navigate stations with modern amenities.
- A reimagined Regional Rail system with a simpler fare structure and more frequent service to make Regional Rail the fastest, most dependable way to travel into and out of Philadelphia.
- An efficient bus network that provides faster and more reliable service, better connections to major employment centers and shopping corridors, and convenient service days, nights and weekends.
SEPTA’s mission is to provide safe, reliable and accessible transit, and we are committed to advancing this mission while working to create a world-class public transit system.
You have been with us through every step of this journey, in good times and bad, and we deeply appreciate your continued support. We owe you our very best in 2026, and I promise you that we will deliver it.
With appreciation,
Scott A. Sauer
General Manager, SEPTA