“Let the Riders Speak”: Transit Activism in North Philadelphia, 1970s–80s

Transit issues in postindustrial Philadelphia were highly politicized. This paper draws upon community organization records, newspapers, and government documents to examine transit activism in an era of declining government funding and continuing concern about the cost of energy. Philadelphia’s mass transportation priorities were influenced by the race and class of the populations being served. On the one hand, local transit suffered service cuts and fare hikes, as policymakers strongly resisted further subsidization of the SEPTA system’s operation. The retrenchment of bus and subway service met vocal opposition from lower-income riders, who were predominantly black and depended on the system for daily transportation.  Meanwhile, the city pushed ahead with construction of a major rail tunnel under Center City that would benefit suburban commuters and tourists, who were predominantly middle-class and white. Rail tunnel construction provoked vehement protests from resident groups who felt neighborhood services should take precedence over downtown development. At stake in these decisions were not only transportation services themselves, but also competing visions of economic development and the role of government. North Philadelphia activists aired their concerns over uneven urban disinvestment, mobilizing as consumers to preserve transit accessibility. Their partial successes in defeating proposed fare increases and blocking service reductions demonstrate how neighborhood residents negotiated the local pressures of neoliberalization.