Democrats look to the state Senate again after passing transit funding out of the House

The transit talk isn’t turning back after Tuesday. 

A day after the Democrat-led state House passed a transportation funding bill that would boost public transit as well as road and bridge funding, officials were once again joined by transit riders and advocates at a rally to shine a spotlight on the significance of transit, particularly in the Southeast. 

On Tuesday, state Rep. Ed Neilson’s House Bill 1364 passed by a margin of 107-96. The public transit proposal would mirror Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan to support mass transit in all 67 counties by increasing the percentage of sales tax revenue allocated to the Public Transportation Trust Fund from 4.4% to 6.15%. If passed through the Republican-controlled Senate, the plan would result in an increase of $292.5 million in funding next year and $1.5 billion over the next five years, Neilson said.

On Wednesday, state Sen. Maria Collett, alongside state Rep. Steve Malagari and local officials, held a rally in Lansdale to continue Democrats’ calls for the Republican-controlled state Senate to finally pass the transit legislation from the House. 

“Not far from here we have several Republicans who represent Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia (counties) in the state Senate,” Collett said Wednesday, urging individuals to “call on Senate Republicans to use their majority for good – to help the people of Pennsylvania for a change.” 

Following House passage on Tuesday, Shapiro said the proposal “injects critical dollars into public transit across Pennsylvania and adds new funding to repair roads and bridges – because folks rely on both to get where they need to go. 

“It’s time for the Senate to get this funding done in this year’s budget,” Shapiro added in a statement. 

Senate Republicans have continually pushed for road and bridge funding alongside any public transit spending plan, but have been hesitant to commit to the Democrats’ funding solutions, arguing transit systems need to prove their efficiency to be deserving of additional taxpayer dollars. 

“There are competing priorities from both chambers and I think we have a duty to invest all taxpayer dollars wisely,” State Sen. Judy Ward, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, told City & State in an interview. “It's a real balancing act.”

Now, in the wake of the Democrat-controlled House’s fourth time passing a form of public transit funding, legislators argue it’s up to the Senate to bring a plan up for a vote. 

In Southeast Pennsylvania, the bill’s passage was met with optimism from lawmakers making the economic case for funding transit. 

State Rep. Morgan Cephas, chair of the Philadelphia delegation, said her chamber has put forward “good-faith efforts to address transportation projects in every community.”

“Our delegation knows that Philly doesn’t move without SEPTA and Pennsylvania’s economy doesn’t move without a significant investment in our infrastructure,” Cephas said in a statement.