HARRISBURG, Pa. — 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.

The cuts that took effect on the first day of the school year in the nation's sixth-most populous city could herald a wave of similar moves by major transit agencies around the U.S. as they struggle with rising costs and lagging ridership. Cutbacks are also on the table at transit agencies in Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco and Pittsburgh.

In many places, funding has not kept up with inflationary increases while ridership is still lagging pre-pandemic levels after many people had their routines disrupted by

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