Call Your Pennsylvania State Senator: Support HB 1219 & Fund PA Transit!
October 9, 2023
THANK YOU for taking part in our letter-writing campaign, and telling your state legislators to FUND PA TRANSIT. Late on Tuesday, October 3, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed HB 1219, which included our request to increase the percentage of the state sales tax for the Public Transportation Trust Fund from 4.4% to 6.4%. Now, we need your help to ensure the Pennsylvania Senate takes up this provision in its own budget code bill.
We need your help to fund the operation of transit systems big and small across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since the onset of COVID-19, bus and train service has yet to fully return, and travel patterns have changed permanently. Federal pandemic relief funds are ending as we speak, and without increased money from the legislature, agencies like SEPTA and Pittsburgh Regional Transit face major cuts to service and increased fares.
Call your Senator and tell them we need to Fund PA Transit!
TAKE ACTION AND CALL YOUR SENATOR
- Find your Pennsylvania state Senator and the number of their district. Use this link to find your Senator’s number.
- Call their phone number and ask to speak to a staffer. Or, if it goes to voicemail, leave a message. Remember to leave your name, where you live in the district, and a callback 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 strategize next steps
CALL SCRIPT
“Hi, I’d like to leave a message for Senator [SENATOR’S LAST NAME].
“My name is [FIRST NAME] [LAST NAME], and I am a resident of [YOUR CITY/TOWN/TOWNSHIP] in your District. I’m calling to ask Senator [LAST NAME] to support HB 1219 and increase the allocation of the state sales tax for public transportation.
“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 Senator [LAST NAME] for their support of increased funding for public transportation?”
**Allow the staffperson 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.”