Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony and your commitment. I wish you well in your service. And it's definitely better seeing you this time, without about 1,000 members, to talk about a very serious issue. I appreciate your leadership. 61 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Thank you.
Our next panel will talk about public transit and the potential impact on the center city economy. Paul Levy, Valerie Ferguson, and Joseph Zuritsky, if you could come to the witness table. Denise Early from the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce had planned to be with us this afternoon. She is unable to be with us, but has left testimony which will be incorporated into the record as if it were read. I'm sure the three of you have had some time to chat. We appreciate your being here. And you will determine among yourselves which will go first, which will keep me out of trouble.
Thank you, Councilman Clarke -- excuse me -- Councilman Nutter. I'm already in trouble. See that.
Miss Ferguson, 62 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 would you like to go first? (Laughter.).
My name is Paul Levy. I'm here on behalf of Central Philadelphia Development Corporation, the Transportation Management Association, Center City District. And I'm joined, as you noted, by Valerie Ferguson from the Loew's Hotel, representing the perspective of the hospitality industry. And really a surprising person to join us, but Joe Zuritsky is not only the Chair of our Board; he's the head of a major parking company, and will talk about the impact. I will be very brief because I want to echo I think a lot of what was said by other speakers. But very quickly, this year SEPTA did have a choice to continue to pass on to the public the sort of steady drip, drip, drip of slow cutbacks or to frankly force this issue. Utilities - 11/15/04 strategy, I compliment them because they have really put on to the public agenda. And I compliment Council on putting on to the public agenda the central issue; because, frankly, this is not simply about the importance of jobs or the importance of people getting to work. This is about the competitiveness of the city's economy and the region's economy. It is very, very clear that SEPTA is really essential in bringing together a skilled work force with employers in the downtown. SEPTA's essential in the effort to link residents without opportunity, since it enables those people without cars to get to jobs in the suburbs. SEPTA is essential to our education and health care institutions, since it brings together students and teachers, patients and doctors. Just a few numbers, and then I'll move on very quickly. And I brought copies of my testimony with a map. Utilities - 11/15/04 perspective, for center city: Employers in downtown office buildings pay residents of the region over $5 billion in salaries each year. 7 billion a year out of the office sector is paid to residents of every sector of this city. And the attached map simply shows the salaries generated in the neighborhoods across the city. Over 100,000 people work in downtown office buildings. 70 percent of them take public transit to get to work. The second map and Valerie will address this more, focuses on the hospitality industry. But the hospitality industry generates $368 million per year in salaries to residents of Philadelphia neighborhoods. 90 percent of people in that industry, 90 percent of 55,000 workers, take public transit to work every day. Utilities - 11/15/04 of half the private sector jobs in this city, off from the people in our neighborhoods? What happens to the economy of center city when 120,000 workers a day who are riding transit have a much harder time to get here? What happens when the expressways are filled with the 40 percent surge in traffic? What happens when all those cars try to find their way into 52,000 downtown parking spaces? Realize, too, that in all the efforts that the city, PIDC, and we recently engaged in to retain 82 out of 83 major employers in the downtown. The number one competitive advantage they all cited to being in downtown was public transit and its ability of public transit to bring skilled workers to them. In the efforts to attract new businesses to Philadelphia, this is an essential part of our competitive advantage. Utilities - 11/15/04 leaders, labor leaders, environmentalists, business people, all have come together to support SEPTA's basic proposition. With dedicated funding they can serve us all much better. With dedicated funding, they may have more research and information to provide answers to people in Council. With dedicated funding they could be investing in information technology. With better funding, they could be investing in customer service, all of the things that those of us who occasionally criticize SEPTA are not doing as well as they should. But without dedicated funding all they can do, as Faye Moore said, is go hat in hand each year worrying about day-to-day operations, not planning ahead. 75 percent of SEPTA's funding comes from a dedicated revenue source.
Utilities - 11/15/04 transit systems. New York City Transit gets 30 percent of its revenue. That's three times almost what SEPTA's getting from dedicated transit. 2 percent from dedicated transit. And Boston is 49 percent. If we want to compete with these cities on a level playing field, we need to fund SEPTA accordingly. I think the message that can come from Council, from labor leaders, from business leaders, and from residents, we're all together, and this is not only about Philadelphia. This is the competitiveness of the region as a whole. Thank you.
Good afternoon. Thank you for allowing me to be here today. My name is Valerie Ferguson. I'm the Regional Vice President and Managing Director of the Loew's Philadelphia Hotel. The Loew's Philadelphia Hotel is an 68 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 architectural landmark that we were proud to open and restore in the year of 2000. We are proud to be part of the revitalization of the East of Broad, Center City Area. Suspending public transportation on the weekends and dramatically increasing the rates would devastate our businesses and our community. This city does not close down on the weekends. Our hotels are open 365 days a year and hours a day. We don't lock our 12 doors. 13 We are part of an industry which is 14 vital to the economic well-being of the City 15 of Philadelphia and to the direct 12,000 16 employees of the hospitality industry. 17 80 percent of our staff relies on 18 public transportation. 50 percent of the 19 employees of the Loew's Philadelphia have 20 been here since we have opened in 2000. They 21 will be fully vested next year after five 22 years of employment. 23 They will receive benefits that are 24 beyond what their expectations were when they joined us five years ago. 69 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 percent of our employees came directly from welfare rolls. Their starting pay ranged between $10 and $12 at that time, plus a benefit program and an employer funded pension plan. Where will they go when they are unable to work due to transportation challenges? We have worked hard and tirelessly to cultivate and build our weekend business in conjunction with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation, and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. We have worked hard to build a world-class city. As a result of those efforts, our occupancy rates have thankfully increased and we are hosting more people from the surrounding areas. Our area attractions between hotel rooms, great shows at the Convention Center, and the historical sites host upwards to 20,000 people on the weekends, and they rely on public transportation. 70 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 We have worked to improve our city and our service. We cannot allow this to compromise the lives that have been so positively affected by sustaining a good job with good benefits and long-term growth. Please do not compromise the infrastructure. It's so desperately needed to support economic growth in the community well-being of center city. As my grandparents used to say, we need to make a way out of no way. We all understand the dilemma that's before you and before the legislature in Harrisburg. These are difficult decisions that equate to the measure of those talented individuals and their leadership. Let's continue to move this city forward to the world-class status it so richly deserves.
Joe Zuritsky, Chairman of the Center City district, and Chairman and CEO of Parkway Corporation. 71 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Good afternoon, Councilman Nutter, and committee members. I have many good reasons, both civic and financial, to support a dedicated funding source for SEPTA throughout the Commonwealth. I can, however, only speak with knowledge and authority on the impact of SEPTA on center city Philadelphia. It must be clearly understood that the continued economic health and vitality of center city Philadelphia is directly tied to SEPTA's existing services and to its future upgrading. The vast majority of people visiting and working in Philadelphia utilize SEPTA. My own employees, at least 80 percent, come in. And we're open hours a day. I come 19 in using SEPTA. 20 Reducing or eliminating those 21 services would create a huge disruption for 22 all Philadelphia businesses that could not be 23 remedied by any other means of 24 transportation. Therefore, there is no doubt in my 72 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 mind that the Philadelphia tax base is directly tied to maintaining SEPTA's existing services. You might think it strange that an officer of a parking company would be so strongly in support of public transportation, but as an owner of real estate and as an operator of parking facilities, I have over the years witnessed short-term disruptions in SEPTA's service that have kept people and business out of the city, and then created chaos in the city streets when they finally came back. Those disruptions have had a negative impact on Philadelphia businesses. So, I strongly urge our Mayor and our City Council to not only continue to support SEPTA, but specifically to help set up a stable and predictable funding source that would allow SEPTA to properly plan and execute its vital functions both now and into the future. Thank you.
Thank you. 73 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Any questions? (No response.)
Thank you very much. Appreciate it. The next panel will talk about public transit and its connection with neighborhood economic development. Andy Toy, Farrah Jiminez, and Suzanne B. Miller. And there was a previously scheduled panelist who was a little under the weather, Richard Voight who is transit consultant and expert. Miss B. Miller, I understand that you also have his testimony which you'll read into the record.
Why don't we? Okay. Thank you, Councilman Nutter. Utilities - 11/15/04 you mentioned, Richard Voight was extremely sorry he couldn't be with you or all of us today. He is an economist with E-Consult and a former SEPTA board member. And I'd like to read his testimony into the record. And I believe you have copies of it. And there's some charts that I'll refer to along the way. SEPTA has periodically faced serious budget challenges, as have all public transit authorities in Pennsylvania. SEPTA currently expects a $62 million operating shortfall in its FY 2005 annual budget. This crisis this year threatens to change public transit in the city and the region as we know it. Dramatically lower service levels, no weekend service, virtually no evening service. These changes will undermine the very viability of the city as a place to live and work. Utilities - 11/15/04 the funding process for public transportation within the region and across the state. But the problem is still our problem. For years financial problems at SEPTA have been viewed as SEPTA's problem, but SEPTA is a creation of the state with the support of regional leaders. The failure to resolve the current budget crisis would be a giant step backward for the region and its leadership. Public subsidies for transit should balance two competing public objectives. Sufficient funding to support a strong public transportation system, with its attendant regional economic benefits, coupled with enough restraint on the growth of those subsidies, to assure that the public systems run efficiently and provide good return on public investments. For the last nine years, spending restraint has dominated public transit funding decisions. This restraint is now threatening not only the viability of SEPTA but the whole region. Utilities - 11/15/04 Rather than depend on uncertain swings of the policy pendulum, funding for public transit should be in a long-term predictable basis that grows at least as rapidly as the rate of inflation. This approach would assure the maintenance of existing service, yet still impose operational cost discipline on the transit authority. If new transit services are needed to preserve the region's quality of life and economic vitality, the base of operating funding must increase to accommodate the new services. Attempts to solve the current budget shortfalls through weekend service elimination, service cuts, and large fare increases are short-sighted for at least four reasons. First, households and businesses have made long-term location choices based on continuation of existing transportation services. Utilities - 11/15/04 negative impact on job access, business vitality and real estate values. The proposed changes will immediately put us in the category of a third-class city. Second, we have a huge investment in public transportation infrastructure, especially rail rights of way which should be -- which should have more service than today, not less. Other regions are literally spending billions of dollars to create a fraction of what we currently have. Third, service reductions inevitably result in declining ridership, resulting in a downward spiral of declining fare revenue and the subsequent need for additional service reductions. Fourth, SEPTA, compared with other public transit providers, is relatively efficient, as is shown in the information below. And I'll refer to some of the charts that are -- that are in his testimony. In order to understand the budget crisis, Richard Voight outlines some key considerations. Utilities - 11/15/04 performance. He notes that SEPTA is among the highest in the nation, in terms of covering its costs with fare revenues, a key indicator of operating efficiency. And as the chart of operating ratios indicates, SEPTA and PATCO have operating ratios that are among the highest of the nation's large systems. 8 percent. And SEPTA comes in at 50 percent. The second consideration is sub-city support.
SEPTA's budget problem has evolved and deepened over several years, primarily because federal subsidies are no longer available for operations, which was noted previously. 6 percent annually. And again, there's a chart that indicates that. Utilities - 11/15/04 Dedicated funds for transit capital, public transit assistive funds have not met initial legislative expectations. Transit capital funds have grown even more slowly than the liquid fuels tax fund that supports highways. And the highway fund has grown relatively slowly. C. And as the Council members will note, Philadelphia is at the bottom of those operation subsidies. Finally, transit's role in the regional growth. Public transportation enhances a competitiveness of metropolitan areas, as Mr. Levy indicated in his previous testimony. Surveys indicate that quality public transportation is one of the business attractions for the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Utilities - 11/15/04 And despite current state budget concerns across the nation, most large metropolitan areas are investing in new services, recognizing that tie between economic vitality and public transportation. And indeed, you'll see a map of the United States on the final page of testimony that indicates various locations where states and regional authorities actually making very substantial subsidy -- or investments in public transportation, and mostly in fixed rail operations. Mr. Voight concludes by stating that public transportation is a key ingredient for the larger goals of Philadelphia. Public transportation provides mobility for all residents of the region. It is crucial for the continued vitality of older cities and towns, and essential for limiting the excessive sprawl and congestion which is so rampant in parts of our outer counties. And finally, it does improve the air quality in this region. Thank you. Utilities - 11/15/04
Thank you for adding Mr. Voight's testimony to the record. Now, you each have your own. Let the record note that Ms. B. Miller has relinquished the mike. Tired of speaking. Please identify yourself for the record.
, which is a community development corporation in Northwest Philadelphia. A. is a community-based non-profit that uses real estate development as a vehicle for neighborhood revitalization. And we've developed more than 25,000 square feet of office space along Germantown Avenue in Mount Airy, and have plans for 2005 to develop another 15,000 square feet along the Avenue, and to reach ground floor and upper floor condominiums. I testify today also as the Chair of the Transportation Committee for Philadelphia's Historic Northwest Coalition. Utilities - 11/15/04 And this coalition is a collaborative effort of member organizations from Chestnut 4 Hill, Mount Airy and Germantown. 5 And we are joined in efforts to 6 enhance visitation and tourism in Northwest 7 Philadelphia. And part of meeting that 8 mission includes working on efforts to 9 enhance transit access, and to protect our 10 transit assets, including the northwest's 11 historic Route 23 streetcar line. 12 In my testimony today I join the 13 leadership of SEPTA, the TWU, and my 14 colleagues in calling upon the Governor and 15 the state legislature to commit the necessary 16 resources to ensure the dedicated funding support for Philadelphia's transit system. But today as a community activist and a real estate developer, I also argue for this commitment, not a stopgap funding, for an agency that many of you as charged with simply moving people from point "A" to point "B," but as an investment in an economic development vehicle that has been grossly under utilized in Philadelphia. Utilities - 11/15/04 From the people's perspective -- and this is something, interestingly enough, people haven't spoken to today -- even when it's moving people from point "A" to point "B," transit is an economic development vehicle. And it can be viewed as an important implement in the welfare to work toolbox. According to the Surface Transportation Policy Project, transit-related costs are second... second only to housing as a percentage of the American household budget. The majority of workers spend approximately percent of their income on 17 transportation, mostly auto-related expenses. 18 And that's high. 19 But the lowest wage earners have a 20 more grim story to tell. It is estimated that low income families spend an average of 40 percent of their household budget on transportation costs. Utilities - 11/15/04 Association, 50 percent of transit trips were from households earning less than $20,000. And we heard today that 70 percent of Philadelphia's work force rides transit. Most of these households did not enjoy alternate means of transportation. And without transit, it is estimated that 9 percent of these families would be unable to 10 travel to work or to access important 11 services. 12 Without access to transit we will 13 have a work force that, while ready to work, 14 will not be able to access quality employment 15 opportunities. 16 And the results of this reality will 17 fall heavily on the state and the city, in 18 the form of probably invisible but certainly long-term subsidies. One of the questions that Councilman Clarke had had earlier was regarding how much the city's revenue... how much of the revenue SEPTA generated was a result of city riders. And I don't know -- I don't remember what the numbers are. Utilities - 11/15/04 memory that I understand that the Philadelphia subsidy, in terms of the per rider subsidy, is higher than the suburban ridership. I believe in the suburban -- for the Philadelphia rider it's 50 percent that they pay towards the cost of their ride, while the suburban rider pays closer to 30 percent. And I think it's probably a question that Council should ask more directly of SEPTA and the state, just to show the regional equity that happens with our low income riders and our city riders who are heavily underwriting the cost of our transit system.
From an economic development perspective, Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill and Germantown are some of the luckier neighborhoods. We are currently well served by public transit, with two regional rail lines, the Route streetcar line, and some 23 other cross lines. Utilities - 11/15/04 well served by transit, is that our neighbors are constantly vigilant on all matters of transit. Several months ago, with the first threats of transit cuts, advocates collected thousands of postcards and petition signatures in protest to what were prepared to be cuts to level of service for our regional rail, and the exclusion of one regional rail line altogether. The Historic Northwest Coalition is organizing efforts to protect our transit assets and have volunteers and staff engaged in related efforts. Of course, the other reason that we are well served may be due in part to our community's understanding and dedication to our origins as a streetcar suburb. The Northwest was first home to summer estates for the wealthy, and the community later evolved into a city suburb with the advent of private rail companies, and the real estate development owners. Utilities - 11/15/04 the connection between transit access and increased home values. During the last threat to reduce service to the Northwest regional rail lines, private developers that were poised to spend several million dollars building luxury housing along a rail stop, halted their development project. This transit-oriented development project was viewed as risky without the selling point of its proximity to an active rail line. And most recently an abandoned brick factory sold to a developer intending to build several homes, mainly because of its proximity to a regional rail line. The Mount Airy, Upsal and Gowan Stations have all been rehabbed and converted to retail, providing riders with coffee, food, and in one instance housing options near transit. Utilities - 11/15/04 streetcar line, where Mount Airy has concentrated all of its commercial real estate development efforts. You should note that the regional -- that Route street car line alone in the 7 Northwest carries 23,000 riders daily. 8 Over the past five years more than 9 $20 million in private investment has come to 10 the Avenue, with another $7 million planned 11 for the next year. And we've attracted more 12 than 24 new businesses in the last two years, 13 with another six scheduled to open by mid 14 2005. 15 Clearly, the Mount Airy renaissance 16 is afoot, but so much of it is dependent and 17 predicated on the strengthening of the Avenue 18 and the return of its active streetcar line. 19 In the Mount Airy Neighborhood Plan 20 recently developed by the Delaware Valley 21 Regional Planning Commission and the City 22 Planning Commission, circulation issues, 23 including the preservation of the regional rail and the restoration of the Route 23 line are considered project priorities. Utilities - 11/15/04 And with the state's dedicated funding, we certainly hope for increased investment in these types of initiatives that will ensure transit continues to be an element of the city's economic development agenda, and that we in the northwest will see millions of dollars, of the like that are being seen in Girard Avenue with the return of its Route streetcar line. 11 Finally, while I didn't include this 12 in my testimony, I have a strong suspicion 13 that part of the problem with a lot of us who 14 are testifying is that we feel very strongly 15 about how important it is to bring resources to our transit agency. But there's a lot of ill-will between community groups and the agency as it's currently constructed. Utilities - 11/15/04 them together with SEPTA to start thinking about transit beyond moving riders, to think of it more as an economic development engine for Philadelphia.
Good afternoon, Councilwomen and men, and Councilwoman. I am Andy Toy, and I'm here to testify in support of additional public dedication of funding for the SEPTA system. I'm here representing the Local Initiative Support Corporation which is a nationwide funder and supporter of community development, that helps non-profit community development corporations or CDC's transform distressed neighborhoods into healthy communities of choice and opportunity, good places to work, do business and raise children. While understanding that no system is perfect, we must also understand that public transportation in the densely populated cities such as Philadelphia has an enormous community and neighborhood economic development impact. Utilities - 11/15/04 LISC's experience in Philadelphia, and in many other cities, clearly demonstrates that investments and support for public transit reap tremendous benefits. In Oakland, California, for example, LISC worked with the community and transit agency, BART, to support the construction of a mixed use, quote unquote, transit village as part of a BART station, instead of a stand-alone parking garage. What was created is a vibrant mixture of housing shops, offices, a library, a child care facility, a pedestrian plaza, and other community services all around the BART station. The project is expected to reduce traffic and pollution in and around Fruitvale, the community, because community residents will have access to a range of goods and services within easy walking distance of the transit station. This project has been hailed as a model for other predominantly minority communities across the country. Utilities - 11/15/04 In Chicago nine years ago, the transit authority planned the demolition of the elevated Green Line, citing under utilization. However, community opposition helped to change the decision in support of $350 million repair program that would clean up the elevated and make it user friendly. A local non-profit, Bethel Newlife, was able to capitalize on the investment with its own investment in a new 23,000 square foot commercial property that connects directly to the renovated station. Ridership at this station continues to increase at over 3,000 per day, and the first 50 of 250 new houses have already been built nearby to capitalize on this investment. Studies and surveys clearly show demographic changes and tastes are driving, no pun intended, more people to live in communities with good transit options. S. and that regions with extensive transit systems like Philadelphia will reap the greatest benefit. In Philadelphia LISC has joined a partnership with 50 other stakeholders and 7 diverse neighborhoods, the Girard Coalition, 8 tied together through SEPTA's reinstitution 9 of the historic Route 15 trolley. 10 The Empowerment Zone, Girard 11 College, North Philadelphia Health Systems, the Zoo, our elected officials, and others, recognized that the trolley would play a key role in bringing neighborhoods and organizations closer together, and that this investment would attract many new riders and investment. How did we know that? Well, the experience in San Francisco was that both residents and tourists loved our historic trolleys that were sold to them for $10,000 each some years ago. Utilities - 11/15/04 communities and the economy more competitive, not to mention making a cleaner environment, fewer auto accidents, and less wasted time due to congestion. And that's why the Route is where it is today or coming to where it 7 is today, where we hope it will be. 8 A look at what kinds of private, 9 public and non-profit leveraging the Route 10 15, $56 million investment, has already 11 helped to stimulate includes well over half a 12 million dollars in funding and in kind 13 services from the Delaware Valley Regional 14 Planning Commission, the William Penn 15 Foundation, Empowerment Zone, and LISC beginning with the community planning and envisioning procession.
2 million to begin making the Avenue more pedestrian friendly to match the trolley ambiance. And the state has pledged an additional $4 million match to extend the improvements further along Girard Avenue. million as well, to upgrade traffic signals along Girard Avenue. The real proof of faith, though, is that the public investment taking place along the Avenue, in part due to the trolley investment, has increased greatly. 500 units planned near 33rd and Girard, 32 new loft condos on 4th Street off of Girard, the rebirth of the Schmidt site into a mixed use vibrant part of the Avenue, an effort underway to attract a supermarket to 27th and Girard, a great connection to the zoo and its million visitors per year. These are just a few of some of the big investments that are taking place on Girard Avenue. And we can safely say that there's a tie-in to the trolley being reintroduced. And the glue that binds this all together is the investment and commitment to public transportation. Utilities - 11/15/04 in, public transportation plays a major role. We need to find more stable funding, not less, for this extremely valuable asset to our communities. Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of Council, and especially our Councilwoman, Donna Reed-Miller, who represents Chestnut Hill neighborhood.
My name is Susan B. Miller, and I'm the Executive Director of the Chestnut Hill Business Association, and the Chestnut Hill District, a newly formed neighborhood improvement district. The CHBA is an umbrella organization for more than 200 retailers, restaurants and corporations doing business in or near Chestnut Hill. While Farrah and Andy have spoken 97 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 today about transit-oriented development kind of prospectively, I thought it would be helpful to describe for you how fixed rail transportation built Chestnut Hill in the 19th and early 20th century. Just as was reported in last week's Philadelphia Business Journal -- and I have a copy of that article here -- that the new $1.1 billion river line is on track to leverage up to $4.4 billion in private investment, so, too, did 19th century investments in fixed rail lead to privately financed developments in the neighborhoods of Northwest Philadelphia. Indeed, the Chestnut Hill neighborhood exists as it is today because of three 19th century developers, who all had the vision to understand the important connection between fixed rail service and economic development. In 1854, the Chestnut Hill Railroad, which later became the Reading, and is now the R-7 regional SEPTA line, began operations. And almost immediately two men, 98 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Samuel Austin and Charles Taylor, built and sold magnificent homes near the train station. Wealthy individuals loved the village-like setting of Chestnut Hill, and the convenience of commuting by train to center city. And as a result, the east side of the Hill rapidly developed, increasing its population from only 255 residents. In 1884, Henry Houston brought another train line to Chestnut Hill, the Pennsylvania Railroad. Houston, too, built houses along the route of what is now the R-8 line and the west side of the hill was soon populated. Needless to say, Houston understood what SEPTA today seems to not, namely, that the east sides and west sides of the Northwest neighborhoods cannot be served by only one rail line. Equally important to developing these neighborhoods was the Germantown Avenue trolley which ran right through the heart of Northwest Philadelphia. 99 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 This trolley started running in 1859 as the Germantown Passenger Railroad with horse cars running on iron rails. These were replaced by electric trolleys starting in 1894. And as it was pointed out to me by Jim Jordan of SEPTA earlier, Chestnut Hill protested that change. So, we're on track. The Chestnut Hill Business District grew up around this trolley line and flourished as a result. Access to public transportation -- and by this I mean fixed rail systems -- continues to play just as important a role today in sustaining the viability of neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Germantown and East Falls. People move to the Northwest because of access to the regional rail lines and the convenience those lines provide. Many residents choose to ride -- to use the R-8 or the R-7 for their daily commutes. They could opt to drive, but they prefer to ride. According to our report issued last year by the Central Philadelphia Development 100 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Corporation, the residents of these communities of the communities served by the R-8 collectively earned $197 million per year working in center city's office district. Do you want to...
Yeah. Just one piece of housekeeping. I need to note for the record the presence of Councilman David Cohen. Thank you.
For these mostly white-collar, higher-than-average-income riders, public transportation is not a ride of last resort. And if service declines, they can vote with their cars, as it were. Although SEPTA did not choose to follow through with its threat last year to shut down the R-8 line, it did elect to cut service dramatically. SEPTA eliminated morning and evening rush hour trains, reducing service to every half hour. Utilities - 11/15/04 center city and Northwest Philadelphia during off-peak hours. If you miss the train, you'll have to wait an hour until the next one. On the weekends, it's even worse, with 90 minutes between trains. These service cuts create inconveniences for daily commuters. And I personally know more than one -- more than a few downtown workers in Northwest who choose to drive now instead of take SEPTA, creating burdens on the roads, not only in the neighborhoods, but also Lincoln Drive and the Schuylkill Drive. The cuts not only create these inconveniences; however, they place tremendous burdens on shift employees at places like the Chestnut Hill Hospital, these employees who work around the clock and on weekends. And the burdens also are on school children who use the R-8 during off-peak hours to travel to and from the many public, magnet, charter and private schools in Northwest Philadelphia and center city. Utilities - 11/15/04 SEPTA's currents threats to eliminate all weekend service would present an overwhelming problem for employers like the hospital which have many employees who use public transportation to get to and from work. The result of the schedule changes and threatened service cuts, of course, is that fewer people in the Northwest will choose to travel by SEPTA. Just as when SEPTA turned the Germantown Avenue trolley into a bus, and ridership decreased by nearly 9,000 passengers a day, ridership almost certainly will decrease on the regional rails because of SEPTA's continued service cuts. And frankly, the roads of Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, Germantown and East Falls were not designed to accommodate all the traffic that has already resulted and will continue to be created. Utilities - 11/15/04 because of the increased vehicular traffic tearing through residential neighborhoods during morning and evening commutes. With additional service cuts, that traffic will only get worse, harming the ambiance of our pedestrian-oriented shopping district and tree-lined neighborhoods. Reducing service on the very rail lines that helped to create these beautiful residential neighborhoods in the late 1800s is shortsighted and could destroy the fabric of the northwest. SEPTA needs additional funding from the state, and that funding needs to be sustainable. We as a region cannot afford to go through these exercises every single year. And I support SEPTA's efforts to obtain this needed money, as I hope Council will. But I would be extremely disappointed if SEPTA, with money in hand, continued business as usual. Utilities - 11/15/04 want and need those rail systems. If the state provides SEPTA with additional funding, then SEPTA must restore service on the R-8 and the R-7 to every to 6 20 minutes during peak hours, and every half 7 hour during off peak. 8 SEPTA must remove the buses that 9 damage historic Germantown Avenue's 10 character, not to mention the road itself, 11 and to return the Route 23 trolley to 12 service. 13 Neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill and 14 Mount Airy and Germantown developed and 15 thrived because of decisions made by men who understood the link between fixed rail transportation and economic vitality. Let us not permit Northwest Philadelphia, nor the region, to decline because of decisions made by officials who fail to understand that fixed rail is just as important and necessary to those neighborhoods today as it was 150 years ago. Thank you.
Councilwoman 105 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Miller.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Just want to thank my constituents for coming in and supporting economic stability here in this city. And I also like to thank you too, Mr. Toy. I don't want to leave you out. But we -- But we realize the value of SEPTA and the maintaining of good schedules and weekend schedules and the impact. We already have a problem in Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill, and that's the fact that the Cresham Valley Drive is closed, which has already put the need for more four-way stops, for additional cars we don't need, and traffic jams. We don't need any more with an elimination of service. So, again, I just want to thank you. Thank you for your interest, and thank you for coming in.
I just have one 106 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 question. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. That Route 23, was that a trolley when it first -- when they first originated?
It's a bus now. Has the ridership been increased or decreased since the conversion to a bus route?
In 1992, SEPTA decided that it needed to fix the infrastructure on three streetcar lines: The Route 15, the Route 23, and the Route 56, 56 being the northeast, Krajewski's District. The Route 15 was reactivated, and the Route 23, which is still in question. It is still in the SEPTA books listed as a streetcar or a trolley line which is temporarily being operated by buses. The agreement that SEPTA made with SEPTA -- SEPTA made with the city and the 107 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Mayor in 1992 was that they would take five years to improve the infrastructure, and within that five years after 1997, at least, they would be restoring all those lines back as streetcars. We are now in 2004. And it is my understanding that we are in the budget, and you'd have to confirm this with SEPTA, for 2012.
They were supposed to do it in 1997 at the latest. It was a five-year agreement. And there is -- and I can share with you testimony in a hearing --
Well, they've repaved Torresdale Avenue, I believe, so I don't know how they could do that.
Yes. That district 108 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 has -- SEPTA's spent $1 million to remove all the rail --
-- and the overhead wire. The Route 23, the reason this coalition, the Historic Northwest Coalition exists is, we're organized around transit as an economic development tool. And we recognize that Toronto and San Francisco, and even the new museum in Allentown have all taken our old PCC cars, restored them, and have made them historical assets. In Allentown what they did is, they used it as a matching grant for federal dollars to create their streetcar museum, a community that didn't really have a streetcar history. And instead, in Philadelphia we've given them away free or at nominal dollars, with the exception of the few that have been restored for the Route 15. It's a real story of the fact that 109 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 rail lines and fixed rail are viewed as valuable assets, so long as they serve to take people out on the Schuylkill Valley Metro. But here where we have an existing infrastructure, we undervalue that, and we chose to run buses. When SEPTA changed it from street -- street car lines to bus routes, we now have 23,000 riders. We used to have closer to 32,000 riders.
Big decrease. And I can also provide you with actual figures from the American Public Transportation Association, that shows that riders that have options, which tend to be those that are not locked into taking public transit, tend to choose rail transit at a higher percentage. So that... I think it was something like 80 percent or maybe 90 percent of the bus riders tend to be low-income wage 110 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 earners, while only percent of families making over $80,000 choose that, while there is a greater percentage of rail transit riders when they're higher income. So, we're also losing them as a population of riders.
Thank you. Just to mention, Miss Jiminez, your comments and recommendations with regard to a task, force. Excellent recommendations, and I will follow up on those. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next panel will talk about public transit and its ridership. Jennifer DePaul and Raoul Acosta. Pedro Rodriguez, Peter Javsicas and Aeriel Ben-Amos. And we do have testimony from Jennifer DePaul and Raoul Acosta from the United Spinal Association. That testimony will be added to the record in its entirety. Gentlemen, please identify 111 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 yourselves for the record and proceed.
My name is Pedro Rodriguez, P-e-d-r-o; Rodriguez, R-o-d-r-i-g-u-e-z. I'm the Executive Director of the Action Alliance of Senior Citizens of Greater Philadelphia.
My name is Peter Javsicas, J-a-v-s-i-c-a-s. And I am the Director of PennTranS, that's the Pennsylvanians for Transportation Solutions, Incorporated. And I'm also a member of the Philadelphia Transit Campaign.
My name is Ariel Ben-Amos, B-e-n hyphen A-m-o-s. And I serve on the board of Young Involved Philadelphia.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to address City Council on the matter of SEPTA. Philadelphia is home to approximately 260,000 people over the age of 60, those making the City of Philadelphia the largest city in the country with the largest percentage of people over 60 who reside in it. Utilities - 11/15/04 Philadelphia seniors live in every community around the city, including center city, with the largest concentration being in the Northeast part of the city. Philadelphia seniors are more likely to depend on public transportation to get to the doctor's appointment, for shopping, for entertainment, and to visit friends and relatives. Many of them use public transportation to attend senior centers and participate in the life of the city. As a whole, they add a tremendous wealth to the fabric of Philadelphia, not only with their spending on health care related products, but also by volunteering in hundreds of organizations, and by being symbols of history and wisdom in our communities. As evidence of the senior's dependence on public transit, when SEPTA faced a similar budgetary situation, as they do today, and SEPTA proposed the elimination of the C Bus line along Broad Street, thousands of seniors mobilized to oppose it. Utilities - 11/15/04 The stakes this time are a lot greater. We believe that SEPTA's financial situation is truly a calamity, and that only dedicated funding from the state will solve the long-term financial situation of the transit agency. Action Alliance believes that we need to reorder our priorities in the state. SEPTA, we believe, is extracting the maximum that it can from its riders. Proposals that ask for additional contribution from riders by raising fares or eliminating services will only undermine the ability of the agency to operate efficiently in the long run, by deepening a vicious cycle of higher fares and less services, until it becomes irrelevant to the transportation needs of the community at large. Philadelphia elected officials have an obligation to address the situation in a united front, that asks of the state to come up to the plate and meet its obligation. Utilities - 11/15/04 such. I wanted to add that we have had long-standing differences with SEPTA's operation or the paratransit, or the share-a-ride program in the past. And we continue to be critical of how the services are offered to our seniors and disabled individuals in the City of Philadelphia. But we, however, remain committed to the existence of mass transit in Philadelphia and to the good health of SEPTA. Action Alliance has joined with SEPTA and other organizations to make sure we have a viable transit system in the region for now and for generations to come. And let me add that City Council has an additional obligation to come up with a number of ideas to help SEPTA. For example, we believe that City Council should be able to initiate a discussion on helping SEPTA save money on its health care program. Utilities - 11/15/04 prescription drugs imported from Canada. This is an idea that will save hundreds of thousands of dollars to the SEPTA Health and Welfare Fund, and at the same time relieve some pressures on one of the most principal elements, with the rising costs of health care for workers and for people in general in the United States and in Philadelphia in particular. In addition to that, I think City Council has been a little bit way behind the curve in leading the fight for mass transit in Philadelphia in making the case on the state level. The Philadelphia delegation to Harrisburg has not heard sufficiently and has not heard vigorously for elected officials of the city about this crisis. I think mass transit is in crisis in Philadelphia, and I believe that elected officials here in the city have an obligation to speak up and speak with one voice. Thank you.
Thank you. 116 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Please proceed.
I am a SEPTA rider. And as the SEPTA crisis looms over us, I am here today among the many who are looking to City Council for leadership. And thank you, Councilman Nutter and Council members, for holding these hearings. I am the Director of PennTranS. org. And for more than two years this group, made up mostly of engineers, architects and construction contractors, has worked statewide for increased dedicated public transportation funding in Pennsylvania. Why are they doing it? Because their experience working on transit around the world tells them that it's the right thing to do, because they're good at it, at what they do, and because they can make money doing it. And they deserve it. They help create jobs and boost the economy of Pennsylvania. But we at PennTranS have always known that we can't do it alone. Utilities - 11/15/04 current SEPTA crisis has brought together the broad spectrum of stakeholders represented here today. I think everyone here wants to save our transit, save our jobs, save our economy, save our environment, and save our quality of life. I said SEPTA crisis. This is no 10 SEPTA crisis. It's a Philadelphia crisis, it's a Montgomery County crisis, a Chester County crisis, a Delaware County, Bucks County, New Jersey and Delaware crisis. It's also a Southeastern Pennsylvania and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania crisis. If you only drive a car, if you only walk, if you never leave your house, you still depend on the public transportation that keeps our cities and towns going, helps keep the roads open for the cars and trucks, cuts down on air pollution, and provides mobility for people who can't drive. Does public transportation pay for itself? No, it doesn't, not anywhere in the world. Utilities - 11/15/04 transportation, even if we don't use it? Yes, we have to, just like we pay for schools, streetlights, sidewalks and sewers. No one says, gee, the streetlights aren't bringing in enough money. Let's turn them off. You just know that you simply have to have them so that everything else can go on. With still another threat of service cuts and fare increases, more and more of the public is waking up to this understanding, and we need not just the PennTranS group, but all these individuals, all these stakeholders, all these advocates. com. Utilities - 11/15/04 workers, seniors, school children and teachers. Did I leave anyone out? Yes. Everybody else. Whether you are a member or not, everybody else is represented by the Philly Transit Campaign, because the life of this city and all the surrounding counties depends on reliable, accessible, affordable, user-friendly public transportation. In June of this year, the Philadelphia Transit Campaign sponsored its first public rally here in town at the state office building. About 40 people came, including the TWU 234. In October, the Philadelphia Transit Campaign staged its first Harrisburg rally. 100 Philadelphians got on the buses and came to Harrisburg. Utilities - 11/15/04 and union members from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh filled the Capitol Rotunda with the biggest pro transit rally Harrisburg has ever seen. Organizations who helped with the November 10th rally include the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition; the Transport Workers Union, Local 234; the Save Transit Coalition; the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association; Project HOME; PennTranS; Action Alliance of Senior Citizens; IBE Local 98; the Philadelphia Black Clergy; Young Involved Philadelphia; Brother Rob on WURD AM 900; the Hero Program; the City Lights Network; and other individuals and smaller organizations. So, I'm proud to say that in addition to being part of PennTranS I'm an active member of the Philadelphia Transit Campaign. And from that group, I would like to particularly thank Greg McKinley, who has helped involve many critically important community and church groups. Utilities - 11/15/04 The Philadelphia Transit Campaign mailing list has grown from a few hundred to over 3,000 names.
The rallies and other activities have stimulated thousands of letters, phone calls and e-mails to our political leaders here and in Harrisburg. These people are mobilizing. These people are sending a message to SEPTA, to members of City Council, to Mayor Street, Governor Rendell, Representative Perzel, and to all our Southeastern Region Senators and Representatives in Harrisburg. Please encourage your colleagues who are trying to address this problem once and for all. Listen to Senator Stewart Greenleaf. Listen to Representative John Taylor, and their many co-sponsors, both Republican and Democratic, who have signed on to legislation that would provide adequate, reliable and dedicated funding for public transportation. Utilities - 11/15/04 testified here today. We don't need to just save public transportation. We need to make it better. Is SEPTA good enough the way it is? I don't think so. Do you? Public transportation needs to be a first choice, not a last resort. Riding a bus should not be your punishment for not driving. The proposed new funding should not be the end but the beginning of better service, better management, better governance, better accountability, and real engagement of the ridership in the SEPTA policy-making process. For the economic, social, cultural and environmental health of Philadelphia and all of Pennsylvania, we need a new pass, a new pass for public transportation. So, funding or no funding, stopgap, band-aid or permanent funding, groups like the Philadelphia Transit Campaign and PennTranS are going to keep working for better public transportation. Utilities - 11/15/04 We urge all here to join with us in the effort. org. But right now I say to City Council, please help us get the money. The riders need it. The transit agencies, and the unions need it. The business community needs it, and everyone in Pennsylvania needs it, whether they realize it yet or not. Get Philadelphia and Pennsylvania that ticket to ride into a better future. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Please proceed with your testimony.
Thank you. My name is Ariel Ben-Amos. I am a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, a transportation planning consultant. And I serve on the Board of Young Involved Philadelphia. And I just want to thank you, Councilman Nutter, for inviting us.
You're welcome. 124 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04
Earlier this year, Young Involved Philadelphia rallied to save the Real World Philadelphia, popular MTV TV show, and has hosted public forums to educate our citizens on issues ranging from public health to what was in July a public forum on today's SEPTA budget crisis. For four years Young Involved Philadelphia has worked to act as a voice of the new generation of Philadelphia citizens. And I am here today because our membership recognizes that the long-term health of the city rests on that of SEPTA. We at Young Involved Philadelphia believe that if the Governor and the legislator do not work together to provide dedicated funding for this crucial resource, then it will do serious harm to the city's recent commendable efforts to reverse the brain drain. Courting young professionals is not simply a matter of creating one big campus, but is ensuring that our city, which pulses with excitement and is accessible at all 125 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 hours of the night. The city's flourishing restaurant scene, its diverse artistic and cultural offerings and vibrant nightlife all contribute to Philadelphia's top ranking 7 in Forbes Best Cities for Singles, and could 8 not flourish if SEPTA is forced to carry out 9 its proposed cuts, eliminating nights and 10 weekend services. 11 But whether or not stopgap funding 12 is provided to prevent SEPTA from initiating 13 these harrowing cuts, it is a fact that 14 cities that are the most successful at luring 15 young professionals provide significant 16 dedicated funding. 17 Boston, which according to urban 18 economic -- urban economist Richard Florida's 19 landmark study, the Rise of the Creative 20 Class, has the country's third-largest population of young creative professionals, and has a transit system that receives almost one-half of its operating budget from dedicated sources. Similarly, San Francisco, fifth on 126 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Florida's list, receives nearly one-half of its funding from dedicated sources. And Minneapolis, which is sixth on the list, receives a third of its operating budget from dedicated funding sources. These cities recognize that transit is fundamental to a dynamic lifestyle which appeals to the young professional. Creative cities, as Richard Florida would call them, are exciting, accessible and inviting. But it does not matter how exciting Philadelphia is, if we do not have a transit system that is struggling to maintain capacity. We cannot pretend to be accessible when routes are cut, and we cannot pretend to be inviting if our fares grow ever more prohibitive. Dedicated funding removes the budgetary burden of financing the transit system from the consumer, and makes it easier to get on the bus and head downtown. A stable SEPTA is crucial to young and old Philadelphians alike, and I urge 127 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Council to work both with the transit authority and its colleagues in Harrisburg to assure that SEPTA has the dedicated funding that it desperately needs to provide quality service to strengthen the city and the region.
Thank you very much for your testimony, and for taking the time to come out and speak on such and important issue. And I appreciate the perspectives that you have shared with us. Thank you very very much. Thank you. Our consumer advocate, Lance Haver.
Thank you very much, Councilman. It's been a long day for you, and I have with me all of the numbers that your staff -- Miss Chapman asked me to supply. I'm not going to read them into the record. You've heard enough words. The fundamental question is, what do we do? This is -- In some ways what's happening is almost beyond words. SEPTA has a proposal that will eliminate service for 128 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 the overwhelming majority of Philadelphians. We have to recognize, I believe, that the City of Philadelphia is going to be under attack for the next four years. And if we don't use this as an opportunity to learn, to build, to fight back, to get the things that we need, we will be constantly in the same position. I don't want to belabor the point. I know that you are doing the right thing. I know that your heart is in the right place. But simply adding to all of the other words that have been said this afternoon isn't going to change the fundamental fact. Until we can get committeepeople, ward leaders, Council people, the Mayor, everyone involved, we're going to really be suffering.
Let the record note I don't think Mr. Haver ever delivered such a short message. I don't even know what to do at this point. You've been clear. You've made sense. You didn't read your testimony, so I can't attack it. I mean, you 129 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 have completely disarmed me here. I may need to call a recess just to get myself together. (Laughter.)
But in any event.. No. Seriously, I appreciate your testimony. You know that while today's hearing was primarily focused on the need for dedicated funding, and an avoidance of many of the drastic situations that you've laid out, I would certainly like to suggest the opportunity to work closer with your office -- and we have our City Planning Commission Director coming up in a second -- to work on long-term issues about transit, standards of service, many of the things that were mentioned earlier by Miss Jiminez and Miss B. Miller. And I think a more than appropriate role, of course, for the consumer advocate is to be an advocate for consumers. And consumers in Philadelphia are certainly a significant portion of what goes on with 130 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 SEPTA. We utilize the service. And so, I think that the brevity of your comments, I think, bring to clarity the importance of what's going on. And you've had the benefit of listening to all the other -- all the other comments. But I look forward to working with you on long-term issues.
Thank you. If I may be so bold, would it be possible to ask --
Perhaps you could ask each of the Council people, especially the Republican-at-large Council people, to send letters to their ward leaders, to make sure that they understand how horrible this will be for the average SEPTA rider, that -- I only wish there were some words because you've heard them all. You understand it, I 131 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 know. And it's somewhat foolish for me to be addressing it to you. But it's just beyond belief that this is what we're faced with: No weekend service, no evening service, fare increase that's in such large proportions that it will be the end of SEPTA, and we're not mobilized to fight back. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Haver. Our City Planning Commission Director, Maxine Griffith.
I assume you have my 100 pages of remarks which I'm going to read in total.
Absolutely. I will insist that you read it all into the record. (Laughter.)
Good afternoon, Councilman Nutter, and members of the City Council. Utilities - 11/15/04 Director of the City Planning Commission and Secretary of Strategic Planning. Thank you for the invitation to present testimony on the importance of public transit to the city and the region, and to provide information on the administration's involvement in public transit planning issues. As I'm sure you know, the Office of Strategic Planning presently incorporates many of the functions of the former Mayor's Office of Transportation. In addition, the Planning Commission's policy staff undertakes numerous transportation plans and studies. We coordinate our work at both the staff and cabinet level, and with the full range of city agencies and offices, most especially with the Commerce Director, Housing Secretary and Managing Director. The City Planning Commission and the City's Office of Strategic Planning are actively engaged in both local and regional transit planning. Utilities - 11/15/04 We represent the Mayor on the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and as the area's Metropolitan Planning Organization, must review and approve all federal transportation funding for the Philadelphia region. We also take part in a number of DVRPC transit-related subcommittees and working groups. For instance, we serve along with the Streets Department as members of the DVRPC's Regional Transportation Committee. This committee reviews and makes technical recommendations regarding the use of federal, state and local funding for transportation projects in the nine-county Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey region. We have also been awarded several federally-funded transit planning grants for studies over the past several years. And what you see in italics -- And Mr. Councilman I suggest that due to the lateness of the hour, perhaps I won't enumerate. Utilities - 11/15/04 SEPTA's bi-monthly city-county committee meetings, at which a variety of transit-related issues and targets are discussed. The Central Philadelphia Transportation Management Association, and the Mayor's Commission for People with Disabilities both have transportation committees in which city staff participates. We also are members of the steering or advisory committees for numerous public transportation studies sponsored by other entities. At present we are involved in an advisory role on the Delaware River Port Authority's Routes 55 to Philadelphia Corridor Transit Study, and on SEPTA's 52nd Street City Branch Connector Study which is just getting under way. Now I would like to focus on the specific critical transit issue at hand. Utilities - 11/15/04 effective and comprehensive transportation system that can move people and goods quickly and efficiently. Our current transit infrastructure provides the basis for what could be a significant competitive advantage for our city. However, a fiscally sound and operationally effective regional transit system is critical to secure this advantage and to promote a healthy economic future for the city and the region. 2 million operating budget deficit by increasing fares up to percent 19 and reducing transit services across the 20 board by 20 percent. 21 Furthermore, it is our understanding 22 that these cutbacks would include the 23 suspension of all weekend transit, regional 24 rail and paratransit services. Utilities - 11/15/04 our city and for the regional economy, and the negative consequences would reverberate statewide. In addition to the benefits of a healthy and efficient transit system, we must also consider the negative impact of an ailing one. With a high proportion of transit-dependent households, the City of Philadelphia accounts for 30 percent of SEPTA's regional rail division ridership. In West Philadelphia, workers who transfer daily at 54th Street and City Line Avenue between suburban lines and SEPTA's Number 52 and 65 Bus would suffer. Students and faculty who travel to and from St.
Joseph's University to area restaurants and retail stores would suffer, and so would the businesses they frequent. If there are cutbacks on the C Bus or the Broad Street Line, how would elderly patients gets to the Philadelphia Geriatric Center? Utilities - 11/15/04 indirectly by limiting this service. And what would happen to the students of Olney High School if service is cut on the Bus? 6 Transit infrastructure provides a 7 lifeline to the young, the poor, and the 8 elderly. And although we are here to consider a dollars and cents issue, the negative impacts of draconian cuts in transit service would be felt in human terms. Service cuts are also harmful to long-term ridership patterns, thus reducing revenue. History shows us that steep fare increases, like the proposed percent 16 increase, will cause many individuals to 17 abandon public transit altogether, 18 exacerbating a negative spiral of decline. 19 This administration, therefore, 20 joins with civic and business leadership and 21 with the residents of Philadelphia in the 22 belief that what is needed is adequate and 23 predictable state operating assistance for 24 public transit in Pennsylvania. Utilities - 11/15/04 States of Massachusetts, New York and Illinois all provide substantial assistance to public transit in their major cites. Their contributions to transit authority budgets from dedicated state funds range from to as much as 50 percent. 8 Pennsylvania currently does not 9 provide any dedicated funding for transit. 10 Rather, annual appropriations for this 11 purpose are made by the General Assembly. 12 This lack of predictability requires 13 Pennsylvania transit authorities to engage in 14 an annual crisis management effort to close 15 budget gaps. 16 Clearly, a permanent, dedicated 17 funding source is needed. This 18 administration will continue to advocate for 19 affordable and efficient transit, operating 20 for the benefit of residents and in support 21 of commerce. Utilities - 11/15/04 the Commonwealth forge ahead into the 21st century. Thank you, and I would be happy to respond to any questions you have. I'm also accompanied by Gary Jasib, our Director for Strategic Planning and Policy. And he also coordinates our transit and transportation activities.
Thank you very much for your testimony. I only have one issue I'd like to raise which is kind of a bit of reconciling between some statements. In your testimony you made reference to... In the sentences, Pennsylvania currently does not provide any dedicated funding for transit. And in Miss Moore's testimony she makes reference to a number of other cities. And then says, by comparison SEPTA only receives 13.75 percent of its subsidy from dedicated funding. Can you maybe reconcile those two statements?
Maybe Gary can. 140 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04
I'm Gary Jastrab. I'm Director of the Strategic Planning and Policy Division at the Planning Commission. In talking about dedicated funding, I think what we're referring to is a source of funding that will provide reliable, predictable -- and a predictable source of funding for transit agencies across the state. Currently I believe that there are some state acts that had been passed in years past, primarily for capital purposes. Some of the funding for those acts have been used for operating purposes. And the need to close this budget deficit, this operating budget deficit, is clearly an operating budget related issue. Sources of funding for assisting the operating budget of SEPTA are clearly needed and what we are attempting to address in this testimony.
Okay. Well, I 141 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 mean, I heard your response, but I'm just trying to make sure I understand. Are you saying that there's no 5 dedicated funding for operating, and that the SEPTA testimony with regard to 13 and three-quarter percent of its subsidy is on the capital side? I just want to make sure that the record is clear on the issue.
I think it may have to do with the definition of the word dedicated. But since the speaker is here, perhaps...
Yeah. There's always a SEPTA person around when you need one.
Do you still have that saying we're getting there, SEPTA? Oh, you're there already. Okay. All right.
Good afternoon, Councilman Nutter. My name is Richard 142 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Burnfield. I'm Budget Director at SEPTA.
I'm speculating on the difference here. There was dedicated funding that was passed back in 1991 by the state.
The intent of that dedicated funding was to use that for the capital budget.
SEPTA, at its option, can use some of those funds for the operating budget. We do so. And that's the 13 percent that is used for -- of dedicated funding that's used for the operating budget. But it means that we could have used it for capital dollars which was the initial intent.
And so we don't really consider that to be dedicated funding, since it was dedicated with regard to capital, rather than operating. And I think that's what Gary was saying in perhaps more 143 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 words.
Okay. So, just so I'm clear, SEPTA receives certain dollars for capital purposes. And it has the authority, as given by the state, to dedicate a portion of that to operating. And you have taken the position... And is 13.75 the percentage that you always take or utilize?
The percent is 12 the current portion of our operating budget 13 that is used for balancing the budget. The dollars that we have used have been part of the one-time fixes to help balance the budget. Two years ago we transferred $37 million of dedicated funds from the capital budget to the operating budget to help balance the budget. So, we use it -- We have been using it for the last couple of years.
Okay. And so, therefore, the statement that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does not have presently a dedicated source of regular and 144 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 renewing funding solely for operating costs of the transit system; is that correct?
If I can add, Councilman, with my capital program and budget hat on, it also means that --
Are we going to have another capital program hearing? I mean, is that where we're going, Miss Griffith?
Yes, I see. You seem to not to want to get away from it.
It means that the city's contribution to capital could indeed be lessened, if the state capital funding could be used for what it was originally intended for.
Okay. You know, I mean, so, therefore, we wouldn't have had that fight at the last capital budget hearing because they'd have their money and we could 145 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 have done our thing.
We have engaging discussions, yes. Okay. That was the only... I just wanted to make sure. And I appreciate the clarity on the issue. I think it's educational. And even when we think we're using the same term for the same reason, sometimes that might not be the case. Thank you very much...
...Secretary Griffith, for your testimony and your concern about public transit. Thank you. Okay. The last individuals I have are Mary Abrams and Ann Washington. UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Yes, we're here. Wonderful.
Need you to be over there. UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: Good afternoon. 146 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04
Excuse me for standing, but I need to stand for a few minutes. Those of you that are still here, thank you so much for staying here.
And thank you, Councilman. My name is Mary A. Abrams, A-b-r-a-m-s. Please remember to use the middle initial. I'm here this afternoon requesting... Thank you so much. I'm here this afternoon requesting, pleading and begging for your assistance, for your help, for humanitarian help. I've been hearing this afternoon about SEPTA not having ample funds. One of the reasons why SEPTA does not have ample funds, because SEPTA has a history, a long history of misappropriating funds or not taking care of some of the most important people that are in their system, and that is the bus operators and the mechanics. I've been hearing a lot about the 147 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 people, the professional people, but I didn't -- I've heard very little about the professional bus operators and the professional mechanics. Without us, there's nothing. You can have all the people at the top. You need the people on the bottom also.
Part of the reason why I'm asking for humanitarian assistance because I'm a SEPTA bus operator. I was hired in 1980. 1984 I was driving a RTS bus that had no brakes and no steering. Because of that, you have standing here before you a broke woman, broke in body and spirit, and broke financially. When I went to SEPTA, I was not a broke woman. I was not broke mentally, physically, spiritually or financially. Now I am. I was involved in a bus accident on August the 3rd, 1984. As I said, the bus had no brakes. I was driving the 55 Bus, Doylestown Bus, coming out of Doylestown, coming down Main Street, down a hill. 148 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 I went to apply the brakes to pick up a passenger. I found out I had no brakes. I skid -- The bus skidded 146 feet downhill head on into a utility pole. The new RTS buses were made of fiberglass. Thank God I wasn't a heavy woman because I was doing everything I could humanly possible to keep the steering column and the front of that bus from killing me. Because of that, I messed up my back. I have severe back injuries, which has caused me to be deemed totally and permanently disabled by SEPTA's own medical department medical director. After that happened, to make a long story short, I have been treated like anything other than a human being. This is something that is very common for SEPTA, for SEPTA's Medical Department, for SEPTA's Medical Director, for SEPTA's people who are in the high places. Now, you people obviously don't understand what's going on. And they've taken this, and its part of a -- I call it a 149 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 Ponzi scheme, meaning they hire female bus operators who are primarily black. And you know what I'm talking about because you see the women that are driving those buses. They are black females. You don't see any Hispanics. You don't see any whites. You don't see anybody else but mostly us. And what we have in common is that not only are we females, but we have dependent children and we're single, the majority of us. Why? Because they know that we make excellent employees. We go to work every day. We don't get sick. Our children don't get sick. We don't beg. They give us the worst runs there. We work the jobs. Our male counterparts -- They give us the worst runs. They work us like dogs on the line. We don't complain. We work. We don't cry. We work. Then they turn around. Part of our reward is --
I hate to 150 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 interrupt you. I do need to ask you, just for the purpose of this hearing -- And I appreciate the depth and seriousness of your testimony. What I need to know, because of the type of hearing that we're having -- and there are SEPTA representatives here who can address the issues that you have raised. And I appreciate you putting some of this information on the record. But do you have a position on the issue of dedicated funding? That's what this hearing is for.
The reason why SEPTA is not receiving any money is because I myself personally, among other people, sent letters of complaint and letters of requesting of help and assistance, and of us receiving our disability benefit to the President. And whenever the President gets a -- Well, a lot of people don't understand and are not aware of: Whenever any citizen of 151 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 these United States of America sends the -- sends a package of that nature and of that seriousness, because I am in fear for the health and safety of myself and my family, and I can prove it. This is a situation that's been going on for years, my fight to get my 9 disability benefits. 10 And when the letter was sent, that 11 automatically will stop, put a freeze on 12 SEPTA's finances, any other transportation 13 finances. Not only SEPTA. Even the 14 educational system. 15 So you see, we little people, we do 16 have a recourse. We do have a voice, and we 17 can be listened to. And the pen is mightier 18 than the sword. 19 So now, if SEPTA -- And one part of 20 that investigation was my own investigation which I sent to the President, President George Bush, is this: I've discovered, sir, that SEPTA's supposed to be self insured. Well, if SEPTA is self insured, why am I sitting -- standing 152 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 here with all of these different insurance companies in my presence?
Ma'am, it is impossible for me to respond to the issues you raise.
Sir, I'm not asking you to respond to it yet. First, I have to make you aware of it.
Well, you have made me aware of it. But there's nothing I can do about it in my capacity. Your issue is, in fact, with SEPTA.
And there's nothing I can do in this hearing to assist you.
It now affects the people of Philadelphia, as well as the people in Trenton in the state of New Jersey.
Well, I appreciate that. 153 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04
Because the funding is being held up because of this Ponzi scheme that is being used.
So, what you're telling me and the committee is that SEPTA's funding situation and its need for dedicated funds has been held up because of your claim against SEPTA? Is that what you're telling me, ma'am?
Partially, just to give you an example. We have cases -- My case here? I'm in two separate courts at the same time.
And then we're 154 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 going to go to the lady, and then we're going to recess. That's what's going to happen. Okay?
My situation is this, sir: I want to have my benefits, all of my benefits restored.
And I would like -- I'm asking the Council to investigate SEPTA with all of these different insurances that they have. They have more -- They're supposed to be self insured, and I have documentation to prove that they are not self insured. And since they are not self insured, this is where a lot of the money is going. Plus, they're not paying the -- I'm not receiving my disability. So, now, where is 155 040821 - Transportation/Pub.Utilities - 11/15/04 my money that I'm supposed to be receiving going?
My name is Ann R. Washington. At this present time I did not bring any documentations with me to support my allegation, so I would like to come back at another date.
And state mine with facts, and stick to the point that I'm here for.
Thank you very much. There being no other testimony, this hearing is adjourned. (Hearing concluded at 4:46 p.m.) 156 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the public hearing of The Philadelphia City Council, taken on November 15, 2004, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. _____________________________ DAVID A. DEIK, RPR and Commissioner of Deeds (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)