Dear Members of the Temple Community, 

As you are aware, SEPTA is experiencing a significant budget shortfall and plans to cut services and raise fares unless a permanent funding solution is identified.  

Should these cuts materialize, they are expected to substantially impact the Temple University community. Based on the 2022 Transportation Survey, approximately 12,000 students, faculty and staff commute to and from campus by SEPTA bus, Regional Rail or Metro lines. 

To prepare for these potential changes, we ask all students, faculty and staff to start exploring alternative transportation options for your travel to and from campus—whether identifying alternative rail or bus lines near you or considering carpools with classmates or colleagues in your area. 

SEPTA’s planned cuts would be implemented in two phases. The first phase would start on August 24 just as our fall semester begins and include service reductions and the elimination of some bus routes. The second phase would begin on January 1, 2026, and would include further service reductions, including the elimination of the widely used regional rail lines Chestnut Hill West, Paoli/Thorndale, Trenton and Wilmington/Newark.  

Also, effective January 2026, SEPTA will impose a 9:00 p.m. curfew on remaining rail services. These cuts, along with the curfew, would drastically impact the Broad Street Line, Regional Rail and buses for our students, faculty and staff. Our expectation is these cuts would result in an additional 2,000 people driving to campus each day, further limiting parking on and around campus. We encourage students, faculty and staff to familiarize themselves with the Office of Parking Services and the available parking on campus. Parking for the fall semester will go on sale beginning Monday, July 21, and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. We know that parking may represent an unexpected expense for some members of our community, and we are exploring ways to help manage these costs until the situation with SEPTA and the permanent impact of these cuts are clear. 

We understand the uncertainty caused by the proposed service cuts, and we encourage you to stay informed on this issue by checking the SEPTA website and following SEPTA on social media. As always, we will continue to keep the Temple community apprised as the situation evolves. 

Sincerely, 

David Marino 
Vice President and Interim Chief Operating Officer 

David Boardman 
Interim Provost and Dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication