In a new op-ed for Pennsylvania Capital-Star, veteran bus driver and union member Lionel Randolph lays out the growing stakes of Pennsylvania’s public transit funding crisis, drawing on over two decades of experience behind the wheel and a lifetime as a local transit rider. Randolph underscores that for millions of Pennsylvanians—including essential workers, students, seniors, and people with disabilities—public transit isn’t a convenience, but a necessity. 

As budget negotiations move forward and lawmakers weigh a potential transportation funding package, Randolph highlights the urgent need for long-term investment in Pennsylvania’s transit systems. With service cuts already taking effect and more on the horizon, he warns that entire communities are being cut off from jobs, health care, and education. Reliable transit is essential to economic mobility, public health, and job security—and saving it will require more than short-term fixes. 

Pennsylvania Capital-Star: After two decades of driving buses, I know public transit is no luxury

By: Lionel Randolph
July 16, 2025

Key Points:

• I’ve been a bus driver for 21 years, and a public transit rider my whole life. For me and my fellow union members, public transit isn’t optional. It’s how we get to work, pick up groceries, and visit our loved ones.
  
  
• SEPTA recently adopted a budget that will slash nearly half its transit service — proof that this crisis isn’t coming, it’s already here. If lawmakers don’t act, communities big and small will face the same consequences.
  
  
• After years of underinvestment and short-term fixes, the 53 different public transit systems serving all 67 Pennsylvania counties are reaching a breaking point. Without a fix to funding needs, service cuts will begin as soon as next month — jeopardizing everything from daily commutes to once-in-a-lifetime events.
  
  
• On hot summer weekends, there’s no longer a Route 322 bus to take families to Hershey Park. Limiting that route to weekdays also means patients, medical workers, and even people facing medical emergencies can’t reach Penn State Hershey Medical Center by bus. As one of the largest emergency centers in central Pennsylvania, it needs reliable transit access. But cuts have already made care harder to reach.
  
  
• Workers will lose jobs they can no longer reach. Students will struggle to get to class. Families will be cut off from health and child care. And more cars will flood our streets, worsening traffic, increasing pollution, and driving up asthma rates in already overburdened communities.
  
  
• In Philly, more than one in three households lack car access. In Pittsburgh, nearly 60 percent of riders commute by transit. In smaller towns and rural counties, where a single bus route may be the only connection to a hospital or college campus, transit agencies provide over 45,000 rides every day. When service disappears, it’s not just mobility that’s lost—it’s opportunity.
  
  
• Investing in transit also means investing in good, family-sustaining jobs. Mechanics, electricians, dispatchers, maintenance workers, and operators like me keep systems running. A robust transit system would support thousands of union jobs with good benefits.
  
  
• Despite all this, Pennsylvania still hasn’t committed to long-term funding. The governor’s plan is a strong start, but a one-time boost won’t save the system. Agencies need stable, sustained funding. Riders deserve reliable service. Workers deserve job security. And our economy depends on both.
  
  
• Because if we let public transit fail, we’re not just stopping buses—we’re closing off entire pathways to opportunity and economic growth.