FRANKLIN COUNTY FIASCO If you thought that there were a lot of problems at SEPTA, you are in for a shock. The problems of the Chambersburg Transit Authority in Franklin County (about 55 miles southwest of Harrisburg) make SEPTA's problems seem minor by comparison. According to the Public Opinion newspaper in Chambersburg, the CTA has encountered major financial problems. Among other things:

• Service which had operated more or less hourly Monday through Saturday along three lines within Chambersburg and one line within Waynesboro has been reduced to a single loop operating every 3 hours Monday through Friday only;
  
• In October 2002, CTA was forced to suspend operations for a day due to the non-payment of it's vehicle insurance;
  
• The CTA is facing a $47,000 tax lien from the Internal Revenue Service due to unpaid payroll taxes for 2002, even after encountering a similar situation in 2001;
  
• The CTA reportedly only has enough money remaining to meet this week's payroll - $10,000; and
  
• The Chambersburg Borough Council is expected to determine whether or not to continue funding the service; all signs indicate that Borough funding will no longer be available to CTA.

For all the cricitism of SEPTA - most of it justified - what's happening in Chambersburg is horrendous. It's amazing that PennDOT hasn't been aware of what was happening, to say the very least.