Funding transit is essential to the justice system

Imagine a trial where nearly half of the jury pool fails to show up for court because they cannot access transportation.

Imagine being a parent trying to gain custody of your child and being unable to make it to court to file the petition because your bus route just got eliminated. 

Imagine being a defendant in a criminal trial unable to get to and from your court-mandated diversion program because there is no public transit available. 

Imagine being an attorney and missing a critical deposition or hearing for your client because you are stuck in traffic. 

All of these scenarios could quickly become a daily reality if the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and other transit agencies in the commonwealth are forced to implement the severe service cuts proposed to eliminate significant budget deficits. SEPTA’s board recently approved a budget with fare increases and a 45% service cut in the event that a solution is not found to eliminate the current $213 million budget deficit. The Pittsburgh Regional Transit Authority has similarly proposed fare hikes and a 40% service cut if a solution isn’t found for its $100 million budget deficit. While service is less expansive in more rural parts of the state, all 50 Pennsylvania Senate districts include some sort of state-subsidized public transit – and all would suffer if a new state funding source is not identified. 

The SEPTA cuts, which include eliminating 50 bus routes and five regional rail lines, would have significant economic impacts not only on the City of Philadelphia but also on the surrounding counties. Equally significant is how they would impact the administration of justice in and around the City of Philadelphia. 

While technology and the COVID-19 pandemic have enabled some court proceedings to be conducted remotely, much of the justice system’s work remains in-person. For people who are low-income, elderly or disabled, traveling by car is often not an option. Rather, they rely on SEPTA to get to court appearances, attorney meetings or other court-mandated appointments. 

Even for those with access to cars, SEPTA is often the quicker and more efficient option. Moreover, a reduced footprint for SEPTA means a drastic increase in cars on the roads – an estimated 275,000 more, according to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. 

At the request of the Philadelphia Bar Association, the First Judicial District surveyed jurors reporting for duty at Philadelphia courts over a five-day period in May 2025. They found that 40% of those jurors used SEPTA to travel to the courts. Without SEPTA as an option, it would be more difficult for jurors to report, and some may choose not to do so at all, which would dilute the pool of jurors and directly affect the right to a fair and representative jury. 

Most jurors only report for a few days. For those who must interact with the court system as litigants, transportation is not a “one and done” challenge, but one that persists over the course of several months – or even years. 

If a person becomes involved in a criminal case, for example, they may have to appear in court more than a half-dozen times over a period of six months or more, even if the case ultimately does not go to trial. Failure to appear can result in fines, a harsher sentence, a warrant being issued for arrest, additional charges and other outcomes. Even witnesses who fail to appear in court if required may face consequences such as a bench warrant.  

Circumstances are similar on the civil side. Parents or caregivers who wish to file or modify a custody order in Philadelphia, for example, must submit the petition in person or by regular mail. They also may have to travel to Family Court in Center City to visit the Intake Unit or Help Center for assistance, to request a subpoena or to attend a hearing before a judge or custody hearing officer. 

SEPTA is not just helping people get to and from court; diversion programs and other court-mandated conditions require litigants to attend meetings and appointments across the City. A national survey of pretrial diversion programs found that 77% involved community service, 69% involved substance use education, 59% involved substance abuse treatment and 42% involved individual therapy. According to the study, 52% of those programs lasted 10 months or more – meaning that to avoid conviction or prison, people had to find reliable transportation for almost a year. 

Fighting for equal access to justice and the legal profession has been part of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s mission since it was founded in 1802. We recently activated our Legislative Action Center, urging our 9,000 members to write to their legislators to advocate for SEPTA funding. We are also working with our lobbyist in Harrisburg to further emphasize the importance of SEPTA funding. We did so because the severe cuts being proposed by SEPTA would have real human impacts on our clients, the community in and around the city, and our profession.

Every day, the Philadelphia courts and legal professionals handle cases where lives and livelihoods are literally at stake. Severe cuts to SEPTA will widen the equity gap between litigants with means and those without, and make it harder for those working in the legal profession to effectively serve their clients. Troubles related to transit have the potential to create a domino effect that could cause the wheels of justice to turn more slowly, with the burden disparately falling on those who are already suffering.