SEPTA is moving forward with a 21.5% fare increase on Sept. 14 and will aim to restore full service across the transit system by the same date as part of a funding proposal submitted to PennDOT on Friday afternoon, officials said.

With the state budget overdue and no long-term funding solution in place for transportation agencies, SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said he has made a request to PennDOT to use nearly $400 million of SEPTA's annual capital funding to cover operational costs for the next two years.

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If the one-time request is approved by PennDOT, SEPTA will avoid all of the drastic service cuts it had planned as a way to close the annual $213 million deficit in its operating budget. Sauer said he is o

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