BUSY DAY ON THE SYSTEM

It was a chaotic and hectic day across the system yesterday - a trolley derailment, a robbery, a foot chase, and a suspicious package made for a lot of work for SEPTA's "Transit Police".

* Shortly before 08:00, a westbound trolley derailed in the tunnel just east of 33 St Station, resulting in the evacuation of at least 5 trolleys. Suffice to say that the morning commute on the Subway-Surface lines was a mess.
* At the tail end of the PM Peak, a robbery was reported at the Margaret-Orthodox El Station. The incident occured at around 17:55, when a heavy set, light complected black male reportedly robbed his victim near the cashier's booth; it's unknown whether the victim was an employee or a passenger. Several police units responded to Tioga Station to search for the actor, but were unable to locate him (surprise, surprise). The actor fled with approximately $100.
* At around 20:00, Philadelphia PD officers were involved in a foot pursuit of a subject under unknown circumstances in the area of Broad and Lehigh. The actor fled onto the system at the North Philadelphia subway station and was reportedly apprehended at Susquehanna-Dauphin.
* At around 22:30, a report of a suspicious package at the North Terminal at 69 St came in to police. The situation was cleared a short time later, however details are very sketchy.
* At around 02:50 this morning, a SEPTA "Transit Police" car was involved in an accident at 11-Market. One officer was transported to Jefferson Hospital with non life threatening injuries (this was initially reported as a bus accident; we apologize for the incorrect report).

But, other than that, it was a safe and secure day on the SEPTA system...

GAMBLERS EXPRESS READY TO ROLL ... SORT OF

Today marks the first day of SEPTA's service between the Franklin Mills Mall and Philadelphia Park racetrack in Bensalem Twp, Bucks County. The "Route 20 Shuttle" will operate hourly between Franklin Mills and Philadelphia Park via Knights Rd and PA 132 (Street Rd) to accomodate passengers en route to the new slots parlor at the venerable racetrack. (And yes, I'm sure many people out there find it ironic that Franklin Mills was, back in the day, the site of a harness racing track.) This shuttle will depart Franklin Mills hourly between 07:30 and 00:30 and from Philadelphia Park between 07:10 and 01:10 between now and February 10, 2007. The next day (February 11), SEPTA will introduce the new Route 50 between Bridge-Pratt and Philadelphia Park.

A FEW CHANGES TO THE LOOK OF THIS BLOG

I realize that I haven't posted as much as I had been when I first started this blog nearly 5 years ago. That has not, however, stopped me from giving the site a much needed upgrade in appearance.

Once the holidays are over, I hope to post more frequently than I have been over the past 2 years, but rest assured, I will continue to be as blunt and honest as I've always been as far as SEPTA is concerned.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS...

If the preliminary agenda for next month's "rubber stamp session" of the SEPTA Board is to be believed - but then again, when is anything that eminates from 1234 Market to believed - SEPTA's plans to close it's $36 million plus operating budget gap will come courtesy of the capital budget. Among the projects that would be deffered, according to the draft resolution, would be renovations to some Broad Street Line stations, bus replacements, and the fare collection upgrades that have been dormant since Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa./Comcast SportsNet) was mayor of Philadelphia. The good news, if it means anything, is that there does not appear to be a fare increase in the works. However:

* Some of the 1996 NABIs - which were slated for retirement as early as 2008 - may be forced to remain in service for another year. These buses are clearly starting show their age, not that they were particularly good buses to begin with...
* Stations along the Broad Street Line which were planned to get rehabbed - Girard among them - will remain dumps...
* SEPTA's fare collection system and policies - which were considered state-of-the-art when delpoyed in the 1990's - will continue to remain obsolete compared to peer agencies across the country, and quite possibly even within the state.

Now, apparently, the ball is in Harrisburg's court. Assuming they can find time to draw attention away from Rendell's attempts to override the will of school districts across the state who soundly rejected his "Act 72" schemes to force property tax relief by mandating the same flawed program that same school boards rejected.