SEPTA cuts will affect not only Bucks County’s rail and bus riders but also increase traffic, likely worsening congestion across the region, writes Chris Ullery for the Bucks County Courier Times.
The large-scale cutbacks could end up adding over 275,000 more vehicles daily throughout the Philadelphia area, according to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
“It is almost as if everyone living in Pittsburgh drove alone on our region’s roadways,” stated a presentation at the commission’s website.
SEPTA’s plan includes the elimination of five regional rail lines and 50 bus stations, a hiring freeze, 9 PM curfew for metro and regional rail services, closing 66 stations, removing service for special events and a 20 percent cut in service on all remaining routes by the start of next year.
As a result, Philadelphia’s suburbs could see an additional 1 million vehicle miles traveled each day, including 103,000 in Bucks County alone. About 22 percent of those miles will occur on arterial, collector and local roads rather than major highways.
Bucks County delays along I-95 and I-295 are expected to rise by roughly 30 percent, adding to congestion already building further south on the interstate.
Read more about how SEPTA’s proposed service cuts could ripple across Bucks County, impacting not only transit riders but traffic congestion for all, in the Bucks County Courier Times.
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