Editing SEPTA (section)

===20th century===
SEPTA's 50-year history has often been tumultuous because the agency is governed at a county level rather than state level.<ref name="crisis" /> ''Railpace Newsmagazine'' contributor Gerry Williams observed that SEPTA regularly staggers from crisis to crisis, with little support or oversight originating at the [[Pennsylvania State Capitol|state level]] in [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]].<ref name="crisis" /> It has a long history of being at odds with the riding public and both county and state officials.<ref name="crisis" /> SEPTA has had more labor strikes than any other transit agency in the U.S., occurring in 1977, 1981, [[1983 SEPTA Regional Rail strike|1983]], 1986, 1995, 1998, 2005, 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Meg Favreau |title=SEPTA Strike History and What to Do During a SEPTA Strike |url=http://philadelphia.about.com/od/transportation/a/SEPTA_strikes.htm |website=About.com Travel |access-date=June 9, 2014 |archive-date=July 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704230630/http://philadelphia.about.com/od/transportation/a/SEPTA_strikes.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> 2014,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mulvihill |first=Geoff |date=June 14, 2014 |title=SEPTA Commuter Rail Union on Strike |url=http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/SEPTA-Commuter-Rail-Union-Preparing-to-Strike-263121161.html |journal=[[WCAU]] |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |publisher=NBC10.com |access-date=June 14, 2014}}</ref> and 2016.

Williams commented that there is a notable lack of "any group... influential enough to bring shame on SEPTA,"<ref name="crisis">{{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=Gerry |date=September 2004 |title=SEPTA Scene |url=http://www.railpace.com/ |journal=Railpace Newsmagazine |location=Piscataway, New Jersey |publisher=Railpace Company, Inc. |volume=4 |issue=9 |pages=16–18}}</ref> adding that SEPTA's chronic ills "merely reflect the broader problems of local provincialism and petty political squabbles which are so rampant within the ([[Delaware Valley]]) region."<ref name="crisis" /> The five counties it serves regularly have various hidden agendas working in the background, often at cross purposes with one another than as a unified region, a problem that has resulted in many services being severed mid-route without regard to the affected counties.<ref name="crisis" /> This factor is regularly influenced by the changing political winds at the state capital in [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]].<ref name="crisis" />