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A packed 18 bus pulls up near Girls High at Broad and Olney Streets on Aug. 25, 2025 in Philadelphia. A new lawsuit claims that SEPTA's deep service cuts harm communities of color and low-income riders.
A packed 18 bus pulls up near Girls High at Broad and Olney Streets on Aug. 25, 2025 in Philadelphia. A new lawsuit claims that SEPTA’s deep service cuts harm communities of color and low-income riders. Photo credit: Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer


By Thomas Fitzgerald, Philadelphia Inquirer

Consumer advocates and two SEPTA riders sued the transit agency on Wednesday seeking to stop service reductions, arguing that the cuts unlawfully place a greater burden on people of color and low-income communities.

Philadelphia lawyer George Bochetto filed the complaint in Common Pleas Court on behalf of consumer advocate Lance Haver and two Black SEPTA users in Philadelphia who say they have been harmed.

The plaintiffs are asking for the court to order SEPTA to reverse the service cuts, which began Aug. 24.

The transit agency projects a $213 million deficit in its operations budget this fiscal year, which began July 1, and says the shortfall will continue each year without a stable source of state funding.

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