By Rep. Manuel Guzman
127th Legislative District
Every weekday, BARTA buses roll down Penn Street in Reading, stopping at the Intermodal Transportation Center and carrying workers to warehouses across Berks County, students to Reading Area Community College and seniors to doctors’ appointments. My district office sits right on Penn Street, and I see firsthand people hustling to catch their buses every day. These rides aren’t just transportation — they’re lifelines. Without them, daily life in Berks simply breaks down.
Pennsylvania must fund public transit — period. But it’s not just about funding; it’s about equity. Supporting Philadelphia and Pittsburgh is crucial, but so is supporting Reading, Berks County, and every community that depends on reliable transit. Public transit is essential infrastructure that cannot be put at risk or treated as optional.
Hundreds of hardworking individuals and vulnerable residents depend on BARTA for work, education, and health care. For many, there’s no alternative transportation. Cutting routes isn’t just an inconvenience — it jeopardizes their livelihoods and dignity.
Our local economy relies on people being able to get where they need to go — on time and without barriers. When transit fails, it disrupts not just individual lives but the entire network of businesses and services that keep our community and surrounding areas thriving.
Berks County isn’t asking for special treatment; we’re asking for equity. Our residents work just as hard, our businesses contribute just as much, and our potential is just as great as Pennsylvania’s largest cities.
Public transit is essential infrastructure: like a bridge — it connects people to opportunity, to jobs, to schools, to a better future.
When transit disappears or falls into disrepair, the damage echoes through the community. Businesses can’t grow if workers can’t get there. Hospitals can’t serve patients who can’t reach them. Schools can’t teach students who can’t attend.
This week, the Pennsylvania House passed bipartisan legislation to fund our state’s transit systems. Now, the state Senate must act to protect transit across Pennsylvania. If the Republican-led Senate ignores this, they’re turning their backs on the people who rely on transit every day. Enacting this budget is a critical step — but only the beginning.
This impasse is a clear reason why we urgently need a new approach to transit — one that is fair, reliable, and sustainable. At the state level, transit funding must be stable and protected from budget battles and political games. At the federal level, Congress must treat transit as a national priority, not an afterthought. That means consistent investment, flexibility for smaller systems, and recognition that transit isn’t just for big cities.
We’ve heard the same tired excuses over and over—that ridership is too low, costs are too high, people should just drive. Meanwhile, Reading has been waiting for more than 40 years to restore passenger rail service connecting it to Philadelphia — a vital link that ended in 1981 and remains unmet despite numerous proposals.
I never had the chance to ride the train myself; all that remains are stories passed down within the community. This is a prime example of transit inequity in action.
If we can find billions to rebuild an interstate highway, we can certainly find resources to keep a bus running in Reading. If we can prioritize a crumbling bridge in a big city, we can prioritize the daily bridge transit provides here in Reading and the rest of Berks County.
The people of Berks deserve a state and federal government that value our mobility, economic growth, and dignity as much as those in the largest cities. Let’s not wait until BARTA is facing cuts to act. The crisis is already here.
Rep. Manuel Guzman, a Democrat, represents the 127th Legislative District, which includes Reading and Kenhorst.
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment