WITLESS PROTECTION PROGRAM Someone at Callowhill must have forgotten the first rule of buses. Make sure the vehicle number is visible from the outside. NABI 5004 now sports a full wrap for the Franklin Institute's Fels Planetarium. The problem is that nowhere on the wrap is the fleet number visible. Perhaps 5004 is a very unlucky number at SEPTA...

VETERAN'S DAY DETOURS On Sunday, the 104 will be taken off of Gay St in West Chester between Montgomery Av and High St due to the borough's annual Veteran's Day parade. On Monday, the 101 will be busing between Bowling Green and Orange St in Media due to Media's Veteran's Day parade.

FOR YOUR DINING PLEASURE... Trolley fans may be interested in visiting a new diner located at 43 St and Baltimore Av in University City. Accoring to the Daily Pennsylvanian, the newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania, the Green Line Cafe will open its doors early next month. No, SEPTA's not running it, but rather the diner is named after to unofficial name for the subway-surface lines (which were, as far as SEPTA is concerned, called the Green Lines, but that name is no longer in official use). There's no truth to the rumors that your order will be free if it's more than 15 minutes late...

PROBLEM SOLVED ... WE HOPE The union representing Red Arrow operators is expected to approve what is referred to as an "AM/PM" list, in which operators (presumably spare operators) would report to the depot every 15 minutes until a certain hour. This would eliminate the "draft" process, in which management forces operators to work on off days or risk disciplinary action. Predictably, members of UTU 1594 are expected to overwhelmingly approve the plan.

FLYING HIGH? In a recent press release, SEPTA reported an increase of nearly 11,000 fans have been using the Broad Street Line over the first four Eagles regular season games (35,000 this year compared to 24,000 at the same point last year). This would explain why more Broad Street Express trains have become crowded like sardines. It would appear that SEPTA has been slow to react to this massive increase in ridership. Well, hopefully, the ridership increases sends a message to "Fearless Leader" and the folks who plan the Broad Street Line service for Eagles games.

IF A TRAIN RUNS IN THE WOODS, WILL ANYONE RIDE IT? On a side note, SEPTA is planning to operate two extra Sports Express trains on Friday night to accomodate fans attending the Sixers and Phantoms games, as well as added service on Saturday night between 6:30pm and 7:00pm to accomodate fans attending the World Wrestling Entertainment event at the First Union Center. Somehow, considering how far WWE business has dropped off, it would appear that they'd be lucky if they drew 5,000-6,000 to the Center on Saturday night. The bright side is that we're no longer subjected to weekly cover stories in various magazines about Vince McMahon and his third-rate, one-ring circus that is professional wrestling.