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In a letter to the state Department of Transportation, SEPTA's general manager, Scott Sauer, asked for permission to use up to $394 million in state-provided capital funds to restore services and avoid other planned cuts for the next two years.

Sauer wrote that SEPTA believes diverting the cash and deferring capital projects won't jeopardize the safety of riders.

SEPTA had described the cuts as more drastic than any undertaken by a major transit agency in the U.S., but necessary to deal with a deficit of more than $200 million. In the state Capitol, Democrats have been unable for the past two years to persuade enough Republican lawmakers to approve hundreds of millions more dollars in new transit aid to help fill deficits at SEPTA and other transit agencies around the state.

SEPTA has said its cuts amounted to a 20% across-the-board service reduction. That included eliminating bus routes with lower ridership and reducing the frequency of bus, trolley and rail services across the region.

After the cuts took effect, students and commuters had talked of needing to get up much earlier to make time for longer commutes, unusually crowded buses and skipped stops.

The same judge also had ordered SEPTA to halt planned fare increases of 21.5% that had been set to take effect earlier this week for the system’s approximately 800,000 daily riders, increasing a weekday ride from $2.50 to $2.90 on a bus, train or trolley.

The struggles in the nation’s sixth-most populous city reflect similar dilemmas at major transit agencies around the U.S. as they navigate rising costs and lagging ridership after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted commutes.

All told, SEPTA had warned that it will cut half its services by Jan. 1 and wouldn't provide enhanced service for major tourist events next year. Those include FIFA matches in Philadelphia, events surrounding the celebration of the , Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, the PGA Championship and NCAA March Madness games.

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