ARCHIVES - 06/03/02

Listed below are the major highlights for the City and Red Arrow schedule changes. CTD schedules change on Sunday, Red Arrow on the 10th, and subway/elevated schedules change on the 16th (as noted above, full details of the timetable changes are listed on a separate page):

• ROUTE 1: Seasonal schedule adjustments to reflect reduced service needs to the IRS Building; mid-day service will continue
• ROUTE 8: Seasonal adjustments to reflect the end of the academic year for the School District of Philadelphia
• ROUTE 14: Added early AM service to Oxford Valley; other weekday peak hour adjustments, mainly IRS related
• ROUTE 26: Route now operates out of Midvale
• ROUTE 27: Select weekday trips will only stop at Metroplex on request
• ROUTE 33: Sunday base service reduced from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes
• ROUTES 47 & 57: Some trips moved from Midvale to Southern
• ROUTE 52: AM & PM peak hour trip time changes; short-turn trippers to Parkside Loop ended for summer
• ROUTE 54: All trips now assigned to Midvale
• ROUTE 73: Service now operated out of Comly
• ROUTE 77: Run times adjusted to accomodate detour in Cheltenham and Abington Twps and for Limited Stop service along Cottman
• ROUTE 76 (SPREE): New routing and service hours (see related item below)
• ROUTES H/XH: Peak headway adjustments; express service eliminated
• ROUTE 100: Peak headways reduced to every 15 minutes, with 2 car trains on all Norristown Express trips; weekend run time adjustments
• ROUTE 101: Daily 1:25am round trip to Media added, mainly to accomodate overnight shift at Drexelbrook; Saturday service levels reduced from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes; Sunday service doubled from 60 minute headways to 30 minute headways
• ROUTE 102: Saturday service levels reduced from every 20 minutes to every 30 minutes; Sunday service doubled from 60 minute headways to 30 minute headways
• ROUTE 105: Run time adjustments due to Lancaster Av construction in Tredyffrin and Easttown
• ROUTE 108: New Sunday 6:30am trip to Philadelphia International Airport
• ROUTE 109: Saturday base service operates every 20 minutes between 9:00am and 7:00pm (depending on time of day, service increases or decreases)
• ROUTE 112: Minor weekday time adjustments
• ROUTE 123: Revised weekday and weekend run times, mainly due to I-76/US 202 interchange construction
• ROUTE 305: Sunday schedule now matches Saturday schedule, primarily due to increased service on the 102 trolley

In a seemingly futile attempt to increase ridership, SEPTA is restructuring the 76 Center City loop. Service will originate at the Penn's Landing loop, then operate via 2 St, Walnut, 18 St, Market, 15 St, S Penn Sq, Juniper, Market, Front and Chestnut. Hours of operation will also be extended until 6:00pm, however Saturday service will be eliminated starting July 8. An all-day pass on the Spree will be available for $2.00, eliminating the $1.00 per trip fare. Of course, this is virtually the same routing as the 21/42, but what does it matter to SEPTA? As long as the gullible fools at the Center City District are willing to foot the bill for this folly, then taxpayers should have nothing to worry about.

It appears that Midvale will get the lion's share of 5600 series New Flyers when they arrive next year. Tentatively 85 of the 100 buses in this batch will go to Midvale with the remaining 15 going to Frontier.

The misadventures of 6019 block - the ever controversial 92/133 run from hell - continued today, as the bus assigned to that run reportedly had equipment problems. The 7:20pm trip to Exton Square Mall never even made it into West Chester. And SEPTA wonders why ridership is abysmal on that line?