Comment from Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation AuthorityOpposeGovernment
Summary: The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) opposes the proposed policy statement because it could make contracting with Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) for paratransit and on-demand services more costly and impractical. They argue that the regulatory re-interpretation would reverse a decade of transit policy and strip away a vital tool for addressing current labor and staffing shortages.
SEPTA shares the concerns of peer transit agencies that this regulatory re-interpretation could make future opportunities to leverage different on demand service models more costly and impractical. We submit the attached comments and join transit agencies and riders in urging FTA to withdraw the Proposed Policy Statement and perform a holistic assessment – in consultation with transit industry stakeholders – of current operating demands and the impact of such a proposed change.