In order for every Pennsylvania community to thrive – whether rural or urban – transportation access is essential. But right now, PA’s shared-ride and paratransit system is broken. Nearly every transit agency in PA is robbing its fixed-route budgets to keep shared-ride and paratransit service running – making fixed-route service at-risk in the process. Our most vulnerable residents, in the most rural corners of the state, are on the brink of losing access to healthcare, food, jobs, and community.

At the same time, LANTA is cutting service and raising fares in the Lehigh Valley, and Red Rose Transit and BARTA in Lancaster and Berks counties could see the same fate within the year without a change. And systems like SEPTA and PRT are further delaying safety and accessibility upgrades due to required “flexes” of their capital budgets – money that isn’t even available to our small transit agencies.

THIS YEAR, Pennsylvanians need urgent funding for our shared-ride and paratransit services – the public transportation that serves every county, no matter how rural. By stabilizing these essential trips, small transit systems can stall potential service cuts for years longer, and riders and workers can push for service restoration and expansion.