SEPTA: Legal Disagreement “Had Nothing To Do” With Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Last week, we reported that a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that SEPTA was not subject to Philadelphia’s ordinance that protects against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. This obviously raised quite a few questions from LGBTQ riders, especially whether or not SEPTA would reinstate the contested gendered labels on bus passes.

According to SEPTA’s Director of Media Relations, “Absolutely not.”

We reached out to Ms. Jerri Williams this morning and asked what impact the court’s ruling would have on LGBTQ patrons of SEPTA, and she provided the following response:

“Our legal disagreement regarding this matter had nothing to do with discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity, only whether the Philadelphia had jurisdiction over SEPTA.”

Williams added that she will be meeting with SEPTA’s General Counsel later today and will provide additional details. Stay tuned to G Philly for further updates.