Authorizing the Council Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to hold hearings on the importance of public transportation to the Philadelphia and the Southeastern Pennsylvania region, to evaluate the need for increased dedicated state funding for public transit, and to review strategies to enhance coordinated and comprehensive transportation policy and planning.

WHEREAS, SEPTA is one of only two multi-modal transit entities in the country providing bus, subway, trolley and rail services to a five-county region that encompasses 2200 square miles and contains 3.9 million people; and

WHEREAS, SEPTA has a combined FY 2005 Operating and Capital Budget of $1.347 billion and employs 9000 people; and

WHEREAS, Every year, SEPTA spends in excess of $670 million for products and services, many of which are purchased within the five-county region; and

WHEREAS, Seventy percent of the people employed by businesses in Philadelphia's Central Business District ride SEPTA; 65,000 middle and high school and college students rely on SEPTA; and, senior citizens take more than 95,000 daily trips on the fixed route system; and

WHEREAS, For every dollar invested in public transportation, up to six dollars is returned in economic benefits to the region; and

WHEREAS, Studies show that real estate values are significantly higher in areas convenient to rail lines and many jurisdictions are promoting transit-oriented development; and

WHEREAS, Public transit vehicles produce 95% less carbon monoxide as cars and use half the fuel of private autos; and

WHEREAS, Transit systems in other major cities receive a significant portion of their budget from dedicated sources with Denver at 76.6%, Los Angeles at 52.5%, Boston at 36.5%, and New York City at 30.8% versus Philadelphia at 13.75%; and

WHEREAS, SEPTA is a key economic asset to the region as an employer and a purchaser of goods and services, as a transporter of thousands of workers, students, tourists and senior citizens to daily destinations, and as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization and economic growth; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Council Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities is hereby authorized to hold hearings on the importance of public transportation to the Philadelphia and the Southeastern Pennsylvania region, to evaluate the need for increased dedicated state funding for public transit, and to review strategies to enhance coordinated and comprehensive transportation policy and planning.

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