SEPTA general manager and CEO Leslie Richards will leave her job at the end of November in the midst of the public transportation system's push for more state funding as it faces a projected $240 million budget deficit in the coming fiscal year.
Richards, who joined SEPTA in 2019, said Thursday she plans to expand her role teaching at the University of Pennsylvania and pursue other opportunities to serve the region. In May, she and SEPTA's board agreed to a new contract that would have kept Richards as general manager and CEO for four more years and included a 21% raise, increasing her salary from $350,000 to $425,000. SEPTA officials did not say whether the authority's budget issues played a role in the unexpected change in leadership.
SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer will serve as interim general manager during a nationwide search to hire Richards' replacement.
"Leslie has been a dedicated public servant for nearly 20 years, and at SEPTA she has been a true champion for public transit and for our region as a whole," SEPTA board chair Kenneth Lawrence said. "She faced extraordinary challenges over the last five years, and we deeply appreciate her service to the cause of public transit."
Richards came to SEPTA after serving as secretary of PennDOT for former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. Within months of stepping into the role, the COVID-19 pandemic upended public transportation systems nationwide. Ridership plummeted, revenue declined and SEPTA saw an uptick in violent crime.
SEPTA became reliant on federal pandemic relief funding for its budget, and since that assistance has ended, it has warned state lawmakers that the annual budget deficits it faces could result in service cuts and fare increases as soon as next year. In the absence of new funding for the coming years, SEPTA might need to slash up to 20% of its service and hike fares by as much as 30%, SEPTA officials said earlier this year.
In the state budget passed in August, SEPTA received $51 million in one-time additional funding, an amount that falls far short of what's needed to maintain service, officials said. Gov. Josh Shapiro had proposed a five-year plan that would have boosted statewide public transportation funding by $1.5 billion, largely using revenue from taxes on skill game terminals that are abundant in businesses across the state.
City Council sent a letter signed by all its members to Shapiro in August, urging him to push for another plan to allocate an additional $282 million for public transit in Pennsylvania, including $161 million for SEPTA. Negotiations in Harrisburg did not produce a deal before the end of the legislative session this month.
Republican lawmakers have questioned whether there is a stable funding source for the public transit package. Debate over Shapiro's proposal broke down because of disagreements about how to regulate and tax skill games, which could be revisited next year and remains one of the most likely revenue sources for an eventual deal.
SEPTA has taken a series of interim steps to shore up revenue and chip away at the deficit. Parking fees are being reinstated at all Regional Rail lots and a proposal is under consideration to end fare discounts for riders who use SEPTA Key cards and other contactless payment methods on buses, subways, trolleys and Regional Rail trains. SEPTA also plans to install more fare gates designed to prevent fare evasion at more subway stations next year.
SEPTA also has enacted a partial hiring freeze and ended non-essential employee travel, in addition to shutting down ticket offices at 10 Regional Rail stations.
During Richards' tenure with SEPTA, her key initiatives have included redesigning the system's bus routes, modernizing trolley operations and revamping Regional Rail schedules to better serve riders.
SEPTA also has had its safety record fall under scrutiny. After multiple crashes involving SEPTA buses and trolleys last year, the Federal Transit Administration ordered SEPTA in July to undertake steps to address safety issues. A review of SEPTA's operations found that it had "a deteriorating safety record" and a persistent shortage of transit workers, leading to fatigue among its operators.
SEPTA's ridership has returned to about 75% of pre-pandemic levels as of October. The authority also reported Thursday that there has been a 34% decrease in serious crimes on the system through the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same period last year.