The time is now! Call and E-mail Governor Shapiro and YOUR State Legislators – Fund PA Transit!
THANK YOU for taking action for transit in Pennsylvania, whether taking part in our letter-writing campaign or signing our platform – now its time to pick up the phone and call your legislators to include $282 million for PA. transit in this year’s budget.
SEPTA, PRT, and other transit agencies across the commonwealth are facing an operating crisis, and the state government can solve it by including money in this year’s budget for transit. Since last summer, we have been advocating for an increase in the percentage of the state sales tax allocated for the Public Transportation Trust Fund. The time to act is NOW! Without increased operations funding, we face service cuts and fare increases for large systems like SEPTA, and an inability to keep up with service needs in rural systems like Westmoreland County Transit Authority. Click here for background on the issue.
The legislature has officially missed the June 30 deadline and negotiations are ongoing, but word is that transit may be left behind, yet again. At a time like this, we can’t afford a penny less: anything less than the governor’s proposed 1.75% allocation increase will trigger service cuts and fare increases.
Here are the steps to make your call and turn up the heat for transit that serves our communities
- Find your Pennsylvania state Representative and Senator and the numbers of their districts via this link.
- Call their phone number and ask to speak to a staffer about a legislative issue. Or, if it goes to voicemail, leave a message. Remember to leave your name, ZIP code and city, and a call back number if you are leaving a voicemail.
- Follow the script below.
- If you’d like, pass along any notes or information from the call to connor@transitforwardphilly.org. We’ll log it as we continue to advocate.
CALL SCRIPT for transit and our communities
“Hi, I’d like to leave a message for Representative/Senator [ LAST NAME].
“My name is [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME], and I am a resident of [YOUR CITY/TOWN/TOWNSHIP + ZIP CODE] in your District. I’m calling to ask Representative/Senator [LAST NAME] to support public transportation operations funding, and increase its allocation from the state sales tax by 1.75% to avoid service cuts and fare increases before summer recess begins. At a time like this, we can’t afford a penny less: anything less than the 1.75% increase will trigger service cuts and fare increases. This is not a tax increase – taking this tiny step will stabilize our agency and ensure [YOUR TRANSIT SYSTEM] can make good on improvements to safety and cleanliness, while improving staffing which will improve service reliability.
“Public transportation is essential to Pennsylvania’s economic competitiveness and overall success: [CHOOSE ONE OR MORE FROM THE BELOW]
- It eases traffic, lowers pollution, and creates and sustains living wage jobs.
- It attracts major employers and events, and most crucially it connects the elderly and people with disabilities in our district to family, culture, healthcare, and jobs.
- Without more money from the Commonwealth for transit, service will get worse, ridership will decline, and fares will increase – our district can’t afford for that to happen.
“[ADD PERSONAL ONE-SENTENCE REASON YOU RIDE TRANSIT HERE]
“I’m excited that making this change doesn’t even require a tax increase – we just need more money from the current collection of state sales tax. Can we count on Representative/Senator [LAST NAME] for their support in final budget negotiations for increased funding for public transportation?”
**Allow the staff person to take any information, and respond**
“Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my voice. We need our buses, trains, and trolleys to be frequent and reliable – our district depends on it.”