The Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers (DVARP) believes that the Philadelphia region's public transportation system needs significant structural reform as well as increased and predictable funding. DVARP has prepared the report, The System is Broken -- A Case for Reforming SEPTA, making a case for such reform at SEPTA. We address issues that have been of great concern to us and to bring light to what we see as fundamental problems at SEPTA. We hope this document will be used as fuel for bringing change to the authority. While DVARP is hopeful that the Commonwealth will come up with a predictable and adequate source of funding for public transit, we believe that now also would be a good time to take a hard look hard at SEPTA to see what changes would make the authority more efficient in providing its service and a more responsible fiduciary of the public funds it receives.

The report is broken out into sections. The first is a synopsis of the state of SEPTA, and our interpretation of why SEPTA is in its current state. The strengths and weaknesses of SEPTA are also enumerated. After that is a series of illustrative cases, each raising one or more disturbing points about SEPTA and how it has been managed. We review possible courses of action for restructuring SEPTA; we also provide an Appendix that includes news articles with relevant quotes and other supporting documents

For more than thirty years, DVARP has been the independent and largest organized representative of rail and public transit users in the greater Philadelphia area. We are a member-based organization. Our mission is to advocate cost-effective continuation, improvement and expansion of rail service for present and potential rail passengers of southeastern Pennsylvania and nearby areas. DVARP has been on the front-lines of transit issues, particularly those involving SEPTA, for its more than 30 years. DVARP members attend hearings, serve on committees, and, overall, provide a voice for the riding public.

Because of the importance of the upcoming determinations on transit funding, we invite decision makers to call on us for answers or for a check on other information or analysis they receive.