Program offering free SEPTA rides to low-income Philadelphians on chopping block
A program benefiting 25,000 low-income residents in Philadelphia could soon come to an end.
Zero Fare is a two-year pilot program that gives free SEPTA bus, train, trolley and Regional Rail rides to people who live near the poverty line.
But it appears the city is not planning to renew the program when it runs out of funds in June, based on Mayor Cherelle Parker's proposed budget for 2026.
"I think that's really disastrous," SEPTA rider Jenny Hourihan from Fairmount said. "These are people who need to get around."
Philadelphia Councilmember Nicolas O'Rourke is fighting to keep the program, which he said costs about $30 million a year.
"It is being zeroed out this year," O'Rourke said. "That is troubling to myself and those of us who are committed to pushing forward on actual programs that attack poverty."
Zero Fare participants have recorded more than 6.6 million trips on SEPTA as of mid-March 2025, with an average of 100,000 trips per week, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said.
"I understand [Parker] is trying to move money around to help the epidemic that's in Philadelphia, but I also feel as though it's doing people of low-income housing injustice," SEPTA rider Eric Towles from Northeast Philadelphia said.
So far more than 200 people have signed a petition urging Parker and City Council to save the program.
"Other cities such as L.A., Seattle, Boston, New York have similar programs to this and have done it for a longer time," Nicholas Crosbie, transit organizer for Transit Forward Philly, said. "Especially if you're a low-income earner, it's entirely unfair to pay even more out of your income."
The threat comes as SEPTA faces a $240 million budget shortfall.
"SEPTA will continue to work in close coordination with the city of Philadelphia on the Zero Fare pilot program," the transit agency said in a statement. "We look forward to seeing the results of the city's formal evaluation of this initiative."
A spokesperson for the city said the Zero Fare pilot is not funded in the new budget and is set to end in June.
"However, we are committed to collaborating with SEPTA to talk about options," the spokesperson said in an email. "In addition, we are committed to ensuring the pilot's outside evaluation is completed, with funding support from the William Penn Foundation, and will be shared in the spring of 2026."
