House. Select Committee to Investigate the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) (HR 118)
Dates
- Existence: 1979
biographical statement
On July 11, 1979, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Resolution 118, which provided for the formation of a Select Committee to Investigate the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). SEPTA had been experiencing serious problems which affected the company’s ability to provide adequate and safe transportation to Pennsylvania residents. In addition to this, the company did not feel that they could handle a large increase in passengers, which was a problem at that time due to severe gasoline shortages. More citizens were choosing to use public transportation than their personal vehicles. The committee was to concentrate their study on the operations, administration, management, and financial condition of the company. The members of this committee included Joseph Pitts (chairman), Samuel Rappaport, M. Joseph Rocks, Joseph M. Hoeffel, Nicholas A. Micozzie, Charles F. Nahill, and John F. White, Jr. The committee held fourteen public hearings around the Commonwealth, toured SEPTA sites in southeastern Pennsylvania, and gathered information through the mail. During its investigation, the committee found that it was difficult for SEPTA to operate because no single governmental unit was willing to accept responsibility for fully funding the company. Therefore, it had to report to seven different areas, including the federal government, the state government, and five individual counties in the Commonwealth. They also realized that there was a serious issue with funding for public transportation in the Philadelphia area, and that the SEPTA Board needed to be reworked. The Board was very broad-based and had been widely criticized for excessive use of outside legal counsel, its lack of policies and long-range planning, and its interference with improvement projects. The Subcommittee to Investigate SEPTA submitted its final report to the House of Representatives on January 22, 1980. Their recommendations included a reorganization of the SEPTA Board structure along population lines, more state and local accountability for SEPTA, and the development of a Citizen’s Advisory Board. They also recommended that an emergency allocation fund be allowed for the company that would be used for maintenance and other pressing problems.