SEPTA Youth Advisory Council

On Monday, YAC member Mark joined Councilmembers Landau and O'Rourke and student fare advocates around the coalition to speak at a rally to preserve and expand student fares in Philadelphia.

Mark Laywhyee was born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia, and was a Philly school student before graduating a few years ago. He was heavily involved in extracurriculars, like sports and music, and when his parents couldn't drive him around, "what [they] did have was the Student Pass Program to fill in the gaps."

Mark used his student pass to travel the City, which ultimately inspired him to achieve higher and advocate for the transit system that still supports him today—as is the case for many students from Philly.

Join the Transit Affordability Town Hall with Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke and Senator Nikil Saval for a discussion panel on SEPTA’s funding crisis, access to transit, and opportunities with local and state transit campaigns!

📍Thursday, November 20th from 5:30pm-7:00pm
📍Friends Center at 1501 Cherry Street

Happy Halloween!

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The YAC's Special Committee to Save SEPTA today released this memo on the recent request from SEPTA to PennDOT. Read on SEPTAYAC.org. The memo reads:

"The SEPTA Youth Advisory Council's Special Committee to Save SEPTA rejects Governor Josh Shapiro's call to end transit funding negotiations in lieu of SEPTA's receipt of ~$400m from Pennsylvania's Public Transportation Trust Fund, which effectively cannibalizes SEPTA's capital budget to fund its operations.
Between stalled conversations between republicans and democrats in the State Legislature, Governor Shapiro's ineffective mass public transit advocacy, and a lawsuit that threatened the financial stability of SEPTA, SEPTA had no choice but to draw from this fund. While the Commonwealth let SEPTA slide into a death spiral, fingers were pointed across the aisle and even at SEPTA for its financial woes.
Decision-makers frequently cite the safety and stability of SEPTA's system. They argue that SEPTA should be cleaner, more efficient, safer, and have more accountability. They do not take into account the improvements to customer satisfaction, new end station cleaning practices, higher transit police headcounts, lower crime rates, fare evasion reduction and persecution, and many other improvements that SEPTA has made over the past few years in its case for more funding from the State Legislature.
The senate, under majority leader Joe Pittman, has attempted to legislate additional fare hikes and reallocations of transit dollars towards roads and bridges, all without the promise of a sustainable funding solution that allocates the dollars needed to ensure our transit agencies don’t once more face this crisis. While we urge Senate republicans to support equitable statewide mass transit funding that uplifts all Pennsylvanians, we must recognize that
the responsibility is on the house, the senate, and the Governor to continue to advocate for mass public transit funding in Southeastern Pennsylvania and across our Commonwealth."

The fight still continues for equitable, bountiful transit funding here in Southeast PA and across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This advocacy is for the working poor of Pennsylvania, for those who can't afford to lose their jobs or sacrifice their children's education. This is for students in middle school, high school, college, and university across Philly and the surrounding counties to get to school and class each day. More importantly, for a future where transit is more available and accessible than ever to everyone. If you see sorrow in SEPTA's uncertainty, join the fight to stop it.

Last night, the YAC held annual elections for the Executive Committee and the results are in. We are happy to announce the new Executive Team and can’t wait to see what they can accomplish in the next year! Want to join the YAC? Apply at the link in our bio!

Join us!

The SEPTA Youth Advisory Council is seeking new passionate young members to help us advocate for our peers in Southeastern PA. If you're 18-25, live/learn in the SEPTA service area, and can commit to joining us at meetings and events, use the link in our bio to apply. Applications close September 30th!

Join the YAC to advocate for a better SEPTA for students and everyone! We are accepting applications for all four of our committees: Online Outreach, SEPTA Affairs, Government Affairs, and Student Outreach. DM us here for questions! Website in bio🚊🧡

Join us next Wednesday at Philadelphia's City Hall for a rally to save SEPTA at 11a!

pa state senators trying to defund transit when we're literally just standing here like this