SEPTA’s Transit Collapse: How Did We Get Here?
Philly’s mass transit system has been upended. The first wave of SEPTA service cuts went into effect yesterday, but there will be more soon and fares will increase on September 1. While Harrisburg continues to be at odds over how to fund mass transit in the Commonwealth, the way hundreds of thousands of people travel in our city and region has been decimated. So how did things get so bad? Host Trenae Nuri talks with Alan Fisher, transit, urban planning, and railroad advocate and host of “The Armchair Urbanist,” about the relationship between SEPTA and the state.
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