Philadelphia sports fans are already thinking of backup plans when it comes to getting to and from South Philadelphia.
Come Sunday, Aug. 24, SEPTA will implement a 20% service reduction across the city because of a budget deficit that Pennsylvania lawmakers have been unable to help resolve.
This will include the game day Sports Express trains on the Broad Street line that carry passengers to and from NRG Station right in front of the stadiums.
“That’ll make it very difficult. I mean we really appreciate the fact that through SEPTA we can get right down here,” said Paul Mamolou of Abington.
“I mean, it just seems like it’s going to be a problem, especially like logistically for the parks,” said Billy Rotella of Fairmount.
Unless something changes with its funding, SEPTA is also planning to enact a 9 p.m. curfew on all rail lines starting Jan. 1.
Fans say this will impact how they get home from sports games at night.
“I think it’s going to get very hard to get back home after the games. I rely on the subway to get back. It’s very easy, it’s very convenient,” said Jeff Clendening of Fairmount.
Some fans say they always took SEPTA because navigating around the Sports Complex isn’t easy.
“I would never come down here and park. I much rather take the subway. Leaves you right here, and you don’t have to worry about the cost of the parking or the getting out into traffic after the game,” Mamolou said.
Many people who spoke to CBS News Philadelphia Monday before the Phillies game said this is going to take some time to get used to. They say it’s going to be an inconvenience, but nothing will stop them from getting to home games.
“I’m not going to stop seeing the Phillies, it’s just going to make it a lot harder,” Mamolou said.
Fans even worried as they look at the bigger picture across the city.
“It’s just going to be really hard for a lot of my friends who commute to work, I mean, a lot of my patients who take SEPTA aren’t going to be able to arrive as easily, people take it at night sometimes coming to the emergency room, they won’t be able to get there. Things like that are a little bit concerning for me,” Rotella said.
They’re hoping something can be done moving forward.
“I think SEPTA is the one thing about the city that allows it to be accessible to a lot of people, and losing that accessibility is going to be really detrimental to the experience of being a Philadelphian,” Rotella said.
