Commuters and students in Philadelphia woke up earlier on Monday and scrambled to avoid being late as they navigated service reductions that the region's public transit agency has called more drastic than any undertaken by a major transit agency in the United States.

Commuters and students in Philadelphia braced for longer travel times and more crowded trains and buses on Monday, as the city entered its first workday following heavy cuts in transit service. The region’s mass transit agency,

SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, warned us for two years. Some people stopped listening because impoverishment has been the perpetual soundtrack of the transit system, and salvation always seemed to arrive at the last minute.