The Pennsylvania budget is, once again, late. Budget negotiations have come to a standstill over one issue: bailing out the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).

So, who is derailing negotiations? Who is to blame for this political stalemate? Unfortunately, we have several culprits.

First and foremost, the budget impasse started with Gov. Josh Shapiro. Last year, Shapiro diverted $153 million in federal highway funding to SEPTA, forcing millions of Pennsylvanians to subsidize trains and buses they’ll never ride. And though the governor claimed that this would be a one-time payment, everybody knew that SEPTA would be back again the following year, demanding more money.

And that’s exactly what happened. Now, SEPTA claims to have a $300 million deficit, and it wants Pennsylvania taxpayers to pay for its mismanagement.

During his February budget address, Shapiro promised to funnel even more funding–nearly $300 million–to mass transit. His $51.5 billion budget, however, was a nonstarter, considering that it proposed about $5 billion in deficit spending. Moreover, Shapiro has still not identified what taxes he will raise to pay for his plan. Ironically, the governor, during his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, had the guts to claim, “I live in the real world, where we have to balance budgets.”

The Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania House also deserves blame. In July, the lower chamber passed House Bill (HB) 1330–its version of a state budget. HB 1330 also proposed to pay about $300 million in statewide funding for transit. However, just like Shapiro’s reckless spending plan, the House’s wildly unserious proposal proposed spending $5.3 billion more than its projected revenue.

In response, the Pennsylvania Senate passed a short-term, fiscally sound budget, which included $419 million proposal in existing funds–all without raising taxes. Pennsylvania’s Public Transportation Trust Fund has more than $2.4 billion in reserves–$1 billion of which the state hasn’t earmarked for specific projects. Also, the Senate added transparency stipulations to hold transit agencies accountable. Predictably, the House Dems voted down the Senate’s counterproposal despite Shapiro proposing to use these funds in his own budget proposal back in February.

But Shapiro and the House Democrats are merely enablers; SEPTA deserves the bulk of the blame. Rather than putting in the work to better its services, the agency has resorted to scare tactics, threatening to cut services and raise fares.

But the threats are transparently political.

SEPTA’s “doomsday” date has been a moving target. Initially, SEPTA announced that the service cuts would begin July 1–the day after the state budget is due. Then, when lawmakers failed to pass a budget, the date magically changed to Aug. 24–the day before Philadelphia public school students return from summer vacation. The Pennsylvania Senate’s proposal arrived well before this arbitrary deadline. Regardless, SEPTA opted to still move forward with its service cuts.

SEPTA’s alarmism purposefully targets Philadelphia’s most vulnerable, and the agency is not even pretending to hide its underhanded intentions.

But SEPTA is its own worst enemy. The agency’s failings are based on years of mismanagement. The agency’s poor financial decisions–all of which are well-documented–brought us to this moment.

In 2017, SEPTA ordered 45 cars from a company owned by the Chinese government, costing the agency $185 million. Four years later, SEPTA never received the vehicles. By the time it canceled the contract, SEPTA had already spent $50 million that it will never recoup.

In 2019, SEPTA spent more than $24 million on 25 electric buses. But this fleet proved to be–in true Philly fashion–buses to nowhere. SEPTA hasn’t used any of the buses due to design flaws. One bus even burst into flames while collecting dust.

In 2025, SEPTA announced a new $230 million electronic fare-collection system. This new system comes after the agency had already spent $285 million on another dysfunctional system.

All the while, SEPTA still pays millions of dollars in retainer fees for lobbyists. Yes, SEPTA, in true circular fashion, uses taxpayer funds to lobby for more taxpayer funds.

To make matters worse, SEPTA already has the money it demands. During a July board meeting, SEPTA disclosed the existence of a $396 million “stabilization fund.” The agency reserves these funds to cover unexpected expenses so that it, according to one of its board members, “doesn’t borrow money or end up with no money to pay for things.”

Beggars can’t be choosers.

SEPTA cannot place the financial burden of its mismanagement on taxpayers. Now, thanks to SEPTA’s brinksmanship, Pennsylvania’s state budget fight rages on, threatening funding delays for Pennsylvania education and essential services.

SEPTA is off the rails, and it’s long overdue for some serious reform. But this cannot happen if the governor and House Democrats also keep this political theater in motion.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvanians don’t have time for this nonsense. Between kids stuck in failing schools and an ever-increasing cost of living (caused primarily by high taxes and costly utility bills), Pennsylvanians have more urgent issues than bailing out poorly managed transit agencies.

Kevin Kane is the director of legislative strategy at the Commonwealth Foundation.