THE 10 THINGS I THINK I THINK...

With apologies to Sports Illustrated's Peter King (the NFL beat columnist whose Monday Morning Quarterback is the inspiration for this post), here are 10 things that I think I think:

1. I think there is a major bus shortage at Red Arrow ... again. Either that, or there's a management or accountability problem. In any case, departing 69 St Terminal on-time seems to be a foreign concept for some operators out of that particular depot. To wit:

• The 5:45am 104 local to West Chester (3380/4220 block) - which is a pull-out for the first 119 from West Chester to Chester - did not pull into the center island platforms at 69 St until 5:55am. By that time, the 6:05am 104 express to West Chester (3265/4222 block) had already pulled into the terminal and was waiting to depart. Meanwhile, the 5:55am 104 Newtown Square local (5372/4215 block) had departed on-time. 4220 block did not depart 69 St Terminal until 5:57am - 12 minutes behind schedule.
  
• The 2:50pm 104 Newtown Square local (5589/4238 block) pulled out of the depot late and departed 69 St Terminal at 2:57pm; this operator is usually pretty good about leaving on-time.
  
• The 3:05pm 104 West Chester local (3450/4239 block) pulled out of 69 St Terminal 6 minutes late. A few minutes earlier, 3450 had pulled-in from the 118 (4631 block) before being sent right back out to cover the 104.

This leads me to my next point...

2. I think that Red Arrow management consider the 104 a low priority line. It seems that despite a shortage of buses, every other line start their respective runs on time during peak hours. Not the 104. It's almost a running joke that people are now starting to take over/under bets as to how late the 104 will be when departing 69 St Terminal during peak hours. Yet, with the way certain lines have their runs cut, no other route seems to have problems with buses departing terminals on time (ie. the 108, 109, 113, etc). Maybe I missed something, but didn't the 104 - or at least the West Chester Pike corridor - used to be one of the highest priority lines in Red Arrow? The 104 used to be the first line to get newer buses when Red Arrow was still run by the Taylor family. Now, we're lucky to see maybe 1 or 2 New Flyers during peak hours and a steady diet of slow running Neos during the rest of the day. And, despite bulletin orders that specifically prohibit using Neoplans on Sundays out of Red Arrow, the 4217 block on Sunday always gets a Neoplan. No other route can claim that distinction on Sundays; not even the 305.

3. I think there needs to be a few minor routing and major schedule changes to the 104:

• For starters, eliminate the loop through the Bull Center parking lot. Most operators already blow that part of the routing off, so why not make it official. It just adds about 2-3 minutes to the running time.
  
• Re-route the 104 off of West Chester Pike between US 202/322 and Bolmar St and operate it via Paoli Pike and US 202/322 (similar to the present 119 routing between West Chester and PA 352) to allow daily service to West Goshen Shopping Center. The present combination of the 119 and 314 (both of which only operate on weekdays) just isn't cutting it.
  
• All West Chester trips (save for peak hour expresses) would operate directly into the Edgmont Square Shopping Center complex. When SEPTA re-routed all trips after 7:00pm via Edgmont Square, the rationale was safety. Well, it's still pretty unsafe to cross West Chester Pike at Edgmont even during daylight hours.
  
• All peak hour Newtown Square Corporate Campus trips would be extended to Edgmont Square as follows: AM PEAK - Outbound from 69 St Terminal to West Chester Pike/Bishop Hollow Rd, then via Bishop Hollow Rd, Campus Blvd, and West Chester Pike to Edgmont, layover, depart from Edgmont directly to 69 St Terminal via West Chester Pike; PM PEAK - Outbound from 69 St Terminal direct to Edgmont Square, then inbound via Edgmont Square, West Chester Pike, Campus Blvd, Bishop Hollow Rd, and West Chester Pike.
  
• Some AM peak trips from Broomall to 69 St Terminal should be eliminated; and finally
  
• Give some of these West Chester to 69 St operators more than 4 minutes to recover at 69 St Terminal before heading right back out to West Chester.

Of course, hell has a better chance of freezing over before SEPTA makes any changes to the 104 that actually make sense, but that's just me...

4. I think there needs to be a supervisor assigned to Parkway Shopping Center during the PM peak period. More often than not, the 92 buses arriving from Exton have been getting in about 5-10 minutes late, then, instead of turning around and returning to Exton on time, are apparently taking their sweet time either at the McDonalds or Wawa along S High St. It has screwed me over big time when that happens on a couple of occasions. About 2 weeks ago, the 4:25pm departure (2055/6019 block) made it to West Chester a few minutes before it was supposed to leave Parkway Shopping Center. It didn't get to High St/Linden St until 4:37pm. As a result, it got to Exton Rail Station late, and I missed the R5 as a result. It's not fun to spend an hour in near arctic conditions at a station with no real amenities (ie. restrooms or heated shelters).

5. I think SEPTA should conduct a major inquiry into how poorly the ElDorados have been handling the recent cold snap. There are rumors through the grapevine, particularly at Frontier, that most of the ElDorados had been breaking down in recent weeks due to the cold weather. One theory, according to one operator, was that SEPTA recently purchased a less expensive fluid which is supposed to protect certain engine lines from freezing. Obviously, if these rumors are correct, it didn't work. This might explain why some 40-ft Neoplans had been showing up on the 92/133 on Saturdays. It also might explain why 40-ft buses are showing up on some of the lower volume Red Arrow routes on Saturdays and Sundays.

6. I think whomever designed the present 127 routing must have had a few screws loose. Instead of providing a relatively straight trip from Oxford Valley to Trenton via Morrisville, the 127 features one of the most bizarre routings of any bus route that I've ever seen (and yes, that includes the fact that the 98 has to serve Blue Bell before going to Plymouth Meeting Mall). After taking a straight shot up Lincoln Hwy from Neshaminy to Oxford Valley, the route zig-zags all over Lower Bucks to the point where it's very easy to become disoriented. After looping around Oxford Valley Mall and it's various office parks and Sesame Place, it heads down Oxford Valley Rd to the former Levittown Shopping Center, but not before diverting onto Hood Blvd and serving Pennsbury High School, then heads north on the 13 Freeway before exiting onto Mill Creek Rd and serving industrial centers and trailer parks along Bristol Pike before heading south on the 13 Freeway to Fallsington. Then, instead of staying straight on Tyburn Rd to W Trenton Av, it diverts yet again to serve Kings Plaza en route to Morrisville and Trenton. If you're not dizzy after reading that description, congratulations. In any case, the operator I rode with on the 127 told me that a lot of Frontier operators are avoiding working any of the Lower Bucks routes since they were restructured three years ago. After a dizzying ride on the 127, I can't say that I blame them...

7. I think NJ Transit owes the people of South Jersey a major apology. First, the River Line (aka the $1 billion boondoggle that was poorly planned from the start) was supposed to being operations in late 2002. Then, it was pushed back to last summer ... then to last fall ... then to Febuary 15 ... then to March 14 (hey, what's another month or two between friends, right?). By the time this line actually begins operation, Gov. James E. McGreedy (D-N.J.) will probably be out of office. To make matters worse, bus commuters in South Jersey have been forced to deal with older Flxible Metro B buses being imported from North Jersey on routes such as the 400, 403, 404, 405, 406, and other lines out of the Newton Av and Washington Twp garages. Haven't the people of South Jersey suffered enough?

8. I think someone from the City of Trenton needs to take a real hard look at the way traffic flows - or more accurately, doesn't flow - along State St during the mid-day hours. Yesterday, while riding on the 608 bus from the train station to the State House complex, it seemed to take forever to get from Clinton St to Warren St. And that was after the city re-opened the State St Commons, which had been closed to vehicular traffic for a long time. Then again, what do you expect from the State of New Jersey?

9. I think the people responsible for winter related maintenance along the R5 Paoli/Thorndale line should be investigated. This morning, the platforms at Paoli Station, particularly along the edge of the station, were icy. Is it going to take someone slipping, falling, and striking their head against a rail car before someone decides that it might be a good idea to lay some salt down on the edge of the platforms before the start of service? Or is that asking too much...

10. I think these are my non-transit related items:

• ABC should fire Justin Timberlake from his (ahem) "sideline reporting" job and his commercials promoting the network's NBA coverage after his role in that stunt during the Super Bowl half-time show. I think I speak for a lot of America when I ask, "Who knew that Timberlake was still even remotely relevant?" Does the NFL and CBS/MTV really expect us to believe that they didn't know what the hell was going to happen during the half-time show? Oh, and that excuse Timberlake gave was one of the most ridiculous I've ever heard in my life. "Wardrobe malfunction?" Sure, pal, and I've got a bridge in Tacony for sale. By the way, I missed the infamous "malfunction" in question, since I would rather watch paint dry than a Super Bowl half-time show...
  
• Despite a lot of outrage over Kid Rock's use of the American flag during the same halftime show, the one thing you can say is this: At least he didn't burn it. It wasn't exactly an appropriate use of the flag, but the way I see it, he was showing pride in the United States. Considering the attitudes of a lot of these Hollywood losers who bash this country, that says something...
  
• The only two people in that half-time show who are breathing a sigh of relief are over-rated rappers (then again, they're all over-rated) "Nelly" and Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy). Thanks for pointing out that you do in fact have the proper (ahem) body parts that men are supposed to have. We really didn't need you to point them out to the world...
  
• Bam Margera is an embarassment to West Chester. If you don't know who this loser is, you probably don't watch MTV. Margera was one of the featured (ahem) stars of MTV's "Jackass" and now has his own MTV show "Viva La Bam". The premise of both shows are basically a group of guys performing stunts that no rational human would ever think of trying. As someone who lives in West Chester, I'd rather claim American Idol I loser Justin Guarini as a favorite son (but then again, I'm glad he's from Doylestown, because his music career is basically over; Doylestown deserves to the added humiliation). And to think, some morons in West Chester actually think he's the biggest deal to hit town since the Iggles held training camp at West Chester University. Yipes...
  
• I'll gladly take the nightlife in West Chester over such over-rated snob-infested places such as Ardmore, Manayunk, Delaware Av, and South St any day of the week...
  
• The Sixers will not make the playoffs, but Randy Ayers will probably get one more season before Comcast fires him. It's not really his fault that almost everyone on that team has had some sort of injury over the course of the season, but still, to run the risk of having a worse record than the Cleveland Cavaliers (nee "Cadavers") is pretty embarassing. Then again, we don't have LeBron James...
  
• This will be the year that the Flyers actually make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Assuming they don't have to face New Jersey or Ottawa in the Eastern Conference playoffs...
  
• Andy Reid must have been taking public relations courses from SEPTA's Minister of Mis-Information Richard Maloney. I mean, he still thought that the Iggles wide recievers were as good as anyone in the league? Todd Pinkston and James Thrash couldn't even make the practice squad of an XFL team, let alone an NFL team. And, finally...
  
• Well, Larry Bowa, there's no pressure on you this year. You only have to go deep into the playoffs now that you have a lot of talent and a new (taxpayer-funded) ballpark to open up.