GOING OUT OF SERVICE...

You may have noticed that I haven't posted anything new on this blog in the past five months. Well, after years of commenting on the sad state of affairs of the Sorry Excuse of a Public Transit Agency that is SEPTA, I've pretty much become bored with it. To be perfectly candid, I neither have the time nor the energy to deal with SEPTA anymore. It seems that as long as "Fearless Leader" and the rest of the "Rotating Resumes" at 1234 Market are still running the show and ruining the system, what point is there for me to waste my time commenting? It seems to be the same shit that hits the fan at 1234 Market, whether it's a rogue "Transit Police" officer getting charged with domestic assault in Upper Darby or a railroad fiasco that management sweeps under the rug, it's apparent that even with the borderline excessive gift from the taxpayers of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (ie. the $150 million that SEPTA is getting) after years of whining like an immature teenager, SEPTA will continue to remain the same laughable joke of a system that it has been since Jack Leary left (and for all of the bad feelings from the unions over Leary's management style, at least there was some level of accountability and some semblance of change in the management culture).

Faye Moore can't say the same thing about her tenure at General Mis-Manger of SEPTA...

For starters, attempting to raise an issue with Moore is almost like trying to get an audience with the Pope. Moore refuses to even acknowlege anyone's complaints when confronted in person. Way to be accountable to the people who pay your salary, oh Fearless Leader...

The Market-Frankford El project has become a financial nightmare for SEPTA, yet Moore is unwilling to behave like a leader and speak out on the issues at hand; instead, her management style is to send out Minister of Mis-Information Richard Maloney, an individual with slightly less credibility than Emperor Street, to lie and lie some more about that SEPTA is - or isn't - doing for the people of West Philadelphia...

The last straw was the recent fare changes, in which:

Those who used to rely on transfers to connect with a second (or, as needed, a third) bus or subway line will now have to pay a full fare for the privilege of riding SEPTA. Unlike Delaware or Baltimore, the elimination of transfers is not in conjunction with any fare collection upgrades, which SEPTA has promised for years.

Meanwhile, the DayPass - which is valid for an unlimited number of rides on the transit system and a one-way trip on Regional Rail - is being replaced at the end of the month with a "Convenience Pass" which (1) has a limit of 8 rides for the entire day, (2) is not valid on Regional Rail, and (3) will likely not be available at sales outlets that failed to sell the DayPass in the first place. Convenience, my ass...

Regional Rail riders who are unfortunate enough not to have a ticket office available to them will now be forced to pay substantially higher fares, not only compared to the old system, but to riders who board at rail stations that do have ticket offices. Hence, riders at stations such as Exton and Downingtown are penalized for not having a ticket office or any other alternate location to purchace tickets, while riders at stations such as Doylestown and Levittown - which have ticket offices and are in the same fare zone as Downingtown - have the ability to purchase tickets in advance at lower rates.

Meanwhile, SEPTA management, hasn't even given a committment to increasing the number of sales outlets in the region where tokens and passes are sold. As it stands right now, the only sales outlets (exlcuding the R5 stations) in Chester County, for example are a lowly check-cashing place on Gay Street in West Chester (where they have indicated they will not sell the new "Convenience Pass"), another check cashing place on West Chester Pike in West Goshen, and a third outlet in Phoenixville (which, incidentially, is listed as being in Montgomery County). And that's it.

No token or pass sales outlets at any Acme or ShopRite in the county (despite the fact that SEPTA sells tokens and passes at Acme's and ShopRite's in other counties and in Philadelphia - there's a ShopRite on West Chester Pike which would make a great sales outlet; ditto the Acme on Paoli Pike)...

No token sales locations in the Exton area...

No plans for SEPTA to add token outlets in the area that I'm aware of.

SEPTA needs to do the following:

Add more sales outlets in Chester County; this is a no-brainer.
Mandate that all outlets that sell tokens must also sell, at a bare minimum, the Convenince Pass.
For Regional Rail stations without a ticket office, enter into contracts with nearby convenience stores or other outlets to sell Regional Rail tickets. The Turkey Hill next to the Downingtown station on Lancaster Avenue and the Wawa across from the Thorndale station on Lincoln Highway would be two perfect locations.

With that rant out of the way, this will likely be the last posting I make on the Frankford Terminal blog for the forseeable future. I simply don't have the time to deal with this anymore, and quite frankly, I don't even go into Philly that much anymore (which should at least add 10-15 years to my life, given the current state of affairs in the city).

For a blog that is updated more frequently than mine, check out "SEPTA Watch" - I haven't had a chance to fully digest the site, but from what little I've seen of it thus far, I encourage you to check them out:

http://septawatch.blogspot.com

Good luck, SEPTA riders. You're gonna need it...

TWO NABS BY TRANSIT POLICE

For all the criticism of SEPTA's "Transit Police" over the years, it's actually refreshing to learn that there are officers out there who are capable of doing actual police work...

At around 18:35, Zone 1 officers were alerted of a disorderly female. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the 17-year-old female was reported as a runaway from the Deveraux Kanner Center in West Whiteland, Chester County. The subject, who has a history of violent behavior and running away, had been reported missing by West Whiteland Police at 17:00 and county police radio had advised the runaway was possibly heading towards 69 St Terminal or Philadelphia. Upon confirmation of the subject's identity, she was transported to PPD 12th District for processing.

While that was unfolding, Zone 6 and 7 officers responded to a report of an assault in progress at the Hunting Park subway station at around 19:15. Upon arrival, about 10-12 black male juveniles had reportedly fled the station. The victim refused medical attention and positively identified 5 of the actors, who were apprehended behind Marcus Foster Stadium at Hunting Park and Germantown.

Let's just say it's pretty rare when you can actually make one positive response about SEPTA's Transit Police considering the past track record. However, two good hits on one day should give the department a reason to be proud.

NEW ROUTES PUSHED BACK FURTHER

For nearly a year, SEPTA has been pushing back the launch date of new bus routes that are part of the US 202/Section 300 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality strategy. Initially slated to start this past summer, it was pushed back to November. A report from SEPTA (scroll to page #9) indicated that the new routes would begin in Fall 2006.

Then, when the February timetables changed, there was no mention of the two new SEPTA services - the 205 between Paoli and Main Line Industrial Park in Charlestown Twp, and the 306 between Great Valley and Brandywine Town Center via West Chester.

Now, according to an e-newsletter from DART First State, the two new SEPTA routes are scheduled to start on March 12. Meanwhile:

* A new TMA of Chester County service between the Coatesville area and the Great Valley area, known as the "Bee-Line", will start operating on February 20 (naturally, since this is a TMACC/Krap(f)'s operation, no SEPTA fare instruments will be honored).
* The extension of an early evening post-peak R5 train from Malvern to Thorndale has already taken place.

The big $64,000 question has to be why has it taken SEPTA nearly a year to make mention of two new routes in Chester County while at the same time a slew of new services - some proposed two years ago (1, 20 and 50), others just coming right out of the blue (the 127 extension and the new 150 route) - serving the Philadelphia Park Race Track/Slots Parlor in Bucks County are virtually fast-tracked.

On a related note, Krap(f)'s will operate both the 205 and 306, and also on March 12 will take over operations of the 314 from Keystone...

NO ANNUAL SERVICE PLAN THIS YEAR...

In a letter that I recieved today from SEPTA, the Annual Service Plan process for this year will not take place. Projects planned for the FY2008 Annual Service Plan have been pushed back to FY 2009, depending on SEPTA's financial status by this time next year. Based on reading the state's new budget from Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa./Comcast SportsNet) in which he's planning to shift increase the sales tax while somehow claiming property tax relief (which almost seems like a big lie, considering Pennsylvania's municipalities get little to no benefit from any sales tax revenues) and other proposals to fund transit, which would not affect SEPTA until next March at the earliest, Philadelphians can prepare for a disasterous recipe of service cuts and fare hikes...

NEW MAPS FOR SALE

For the first time in a few years, SEPTA has re-issued the City and Suburban Transit maps. At a cost of $9.95 each, the maps contain detailed routing for all SEPTA routes, however there's one interesting note about these new maps...

They were initially put out for sale last month, yet the maps read "2006 Edition." Two thoughts here...

1. SEPTA should have waited until the Annual Service Plan routings were confirmed this past fall before putting new maps out to be published to get a more accurate reflection of the route system.

2. Instead of using a wall map format, perhaps SEPTA should consider using a map book format for future publication of all regional maps. It certainly would be more user-friendly as opposed, say, having a tourist carry a bulky fold-out map.

But, of course, that's why I'm just blogging instead of making lots of money working at 1234 Market...

NEW "GAMBLERS EXPRESS"

Among the new routes that SEPTA will start in two weeks are two routes that will offer direct service to the new slots hall at Philadelphia Park Racetrack/Casino in Bensalem Twp, Bucks County.

Route 50 will be separated from the existing Route 20 service, which would terminate at Franklin Mills as it always has, with late evening service extended to Philadelphia Park. Residential neighborhoods off of Academy Rd would be served by the existing 20 bus. The new 50 would operate from Bridge-Pratt to Franklin Mills before continuing on to Philadelphia Park.

That, on top of the existing 130 service and the new extension of the 1 bus from Northeast Philly to Philadelphia Park means that people in route to the slots houses that Fast Eddie built will have several options. That's more than can be said for patron's of the Harrah's race track/slots parlor in Chester City. But wait, there's more...

A new Route 150 will also be introduced, operating between Plymouth Meeting Mall and Philadelphia Park, using the existing deadhead routes between Frontier Depot and existing terminals in Lower Bucks County. A preview of the new schedule on the 150 that was posted on SEPTA's web site indicates a total of 6 weekday trips to Bensalem - departing at 04:15, 05:25, 06:15, 13:20, 14:20, and 16:10 - and 5 weekday trips to Plymouth Meeting - departing at 14:10, 16:10, 19:15, 21:45, and 23:18. On Saturdays, there will be four trips to Bensalem - 04:50, 07:40, 11:10, and 14:45 - with 6 trips to Plymouth Meeting - departing at 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:55, 19:55, and 23:18. Somehow, I doubt these trips will be valuable to anyone other than bus fans or whatever, but I guess there was enough political pressure from Bucks County to add as many routes as possible to the new casino.

And, on top of that, the 127 will also be extended from Neshaminy Mall to Philadelphia Park, a proposal that was never brought up during any of the service standards hearings. More than likely, the 127 extension will duplicate the 130's routing.

FORGET SOMETHING?

I doubt this will be placed in the archives of the greatest moments in SEPTA "Transit Police" history...

At around 15:50 today, two SORT officers had detained a couple of juveniles in the area of the Center City concourse near 15-Market. One of the actors, a student at Mercy Vo-Tech in Nicetown, had been arrested and handcuffed on a narcotics violation. Only one tiny little problem...

The actor fled from the police - still in handcuffs, mind you - and as of 18:00 had not been located. SEPTA "Transit Police" had initially went to an address on the 2100 block of Tasker in South Philadelphia, then to an address on the 200 block of Lecarre Dr in Upper Darby. The investigation is now focusing on the 5600 block of Addison in West Philadelphia.

Yup, just another day for our beloved "Transit Police"...

ONE MORE YEAR OF CRAPPY LEADERSHIP

At yesterday's rubber-stamp session of the SEPTA Board, General Manager Faye "Fearless Leader" Moore was given a 1-year contract extension. Financial terms were not disclosed (and given SEPTA's financial strain, why would they want to), however "Don Pasquale" told the Philadelphia Business Journal:

"With her strong financial and managerial background, Faye has been the right person, in the right place at the right time..."

The preceeding was straight out of the Karl Rove School of Spin. Let's just say that Fearless Leader's "managerial background" leaves a lot to be desired. It would be difficult to recall any SEPTA General Manager who has been as invisible from the public except for certain ceremonial events (such as the rededications of the Melrose Park Rail Station, Suburban Station, and Frankford Terminal - though she was conspicously absent when the West Chester Transportation Center was dedicated) or when begging Harrisburg for more money. And let's not forget the lack of communcation between SEPTA and several West Philadelphia neighborhoods regarding both the El reconstruction and the restoration of streetcar service on the 15. Of course, we could go on and on, but there isn't too much time for that today...

"The solution to the transportation funding crisis facing SEPTA will come to a head in Harrisburg this year, and we are happy to have Faye helping us with that effort."

Hopefully, this effort won't include the threats to jack fares up to unreasonable heights or the massive route eliminations that marred the last financial crisis. When SEPTA attempted a massive fare hike and threatened to eliminate several key bus and rail lines, it burned a lot of bridges in Harrisburg. It wouldn't be too shocking if SEPTA tried to make the same mistake again...

Meanwhile, the only other noteworthy item was that Krapf's will once again be operating the 314 line, taking over the contract from Keystone Quality Transport in mid-March. This, on top of the two new routes that will begin next month will make Krapf's the only third-party operator of fixed route services in the SEPTA system. Of course, the only third-party contracted routes in the suburbs are in Chester County, and of course, SEPTA had to choose an inferior provider for the Chester County services as opposed to operating the service in house...

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER ROBBERY

So far, this really has not been a good year to be a SEPTA cashier...

At around 14:30 on Thursday, SEPTA "Transit Police" reported that a black male approximately 5-ft, 6-in tall took $250.00 in cash from the cashier at the Girard El station, then fled on foot. In a similar incident last month, a subject robbed the cashier at the Margaret-Orthodox El station and left with $100.00 cash. It's highly doubtful that the two incidents are related.

In an unrelated incident on Thursday, SEPTA "Transit Police" repoted an assault at the 63 St El Station at around 21:00. The actor, a black male in his 20's, fled on foot southbound on 63 St. The victim was transported to HUP by PFD Medic 3.

And of course, nobody at SEPTA is willing to release its crime data to the public, but they have no problem filling in the Board about what they're doing to keep us safe - allegedly...

POLICE IN NEED OF DRIVER RE-TRAINING?

For the second time in as many months, a SEPTA "Transit Police" officer was involved in an auto accident. Early Thursday morning, Unit K-5 (a K-9 unit) was involved in what appeared to be a minor traffic accident at 42 St/Baltimore Av in University City. It's probably fortunate that the damage was relatively minor, because it would've been the 2nd patrol car taken out of service that night. "Car 2" - which is assigned to the sector covering the El between 15 St and 46 St - broke down during the middle of its overnight shift. Last month, a "Transit Police" car was severely damaged in an MVA in Center City.

RUMBLE AT 69 ST

At around 18:00 yesterday, SEPTA "Transit Police" were alerted to a report of a fight on board a westbound El train that was pulling into 69 St Terminal. Police reported a white male in his 40s assaulted another passenger then fled in an unknown direction. The victim was transported to Delaware County Memorial Hospital.

EASIER? YEAH RIGHT...

So, SEPTA wants to capitalize on that goodwill generated by those strong ridership increases on the Regional Rail system. What better way to capitalize on said goodwill then by making it slightly more difficult to purchase tickets at Center City stations, Trenton, and the Airport.

Two weeks from today, the ticket vending machines from these stations will be removed and replaced with ... nothing. Granted, the ticket machines were obsolete about 10 years ago, but the inexcusable part about it is that SEPTA hasn't even bothered to consider purchasing replacement TVMs. After all, why be like NJ Transit, who has been using TVM's that (1) accept the newer generation $5, $10, and $20 bills, (2) print out reasonably sized tickets that are not prone to misplacement, (3) in some locations, allow for purchase of PATH tickets and even New York City MetroCards, and (4) accept credit/debit cards. Why bother being like many of the other mass transit agencies in the nation and upgrade the fare collection system?

Easy, because this is SEPTA, whose new motto might as well be "quality customer service through longer ticket lines".

ANOTHER SAFE DAY ON THE SYSTEM

At around 15:40 yesterday, SEPTA "Transit Police" and Philadelphia Fire Department were dispatched to the North Philadelphia Subway Station for the report of a suspicious package. Officers reported hearing a loud pop eminating from a trash can, resulting in the closure of the station for nearly an hour. PFD Haz-Mat responded to the scene to investigate the source of what was later identified over police radio as a "suspicious liquid". At least one SEPTA Police officer was transported to Temple University Hopsital after coming into contact with the liquid.

SEPTA ... A MODEL OF CONVENIENCE

As other transit agencies across the country are upgrading and modernizing their fare systems, SEPTA, in it's zeal to be convenient to it's customers, is taking the following passenger-friendly step to improve service to it's Regional Rail riders...

On January 27, SEPTA will remove all ticket vending machines at the Center City stations, the Airport, and Trenton.

Terriffic. Now, you can expect even longer lines at the ticket offices as SEPTA continues to improve it's system for the benefit of its customers. Granted, the machines are obsolete, but wouldn't it make sense to buy new TVM's before replacing the old ones?

Of course it would ... which is why SEPTA is doing the exact opposite...

JUST UNREAL...

Apparently, people will do just about anything for a buck...

Someone from Delaware County has decided to put an active Zone 2 TrailPass on EBay. Rather than encourage this illegal activity, you're going to have to go to EBay (until Sunday) to see for yourself.

Assuming they're not too busy removing homeless from stations, perhaps this should draw the attention of the "Transit Police" - I doubt it, though...

FIRST STABBING OF THE YEAR...

That didn't take too long...

At around 05:20, "Transit Police", UPenn Police, and PPD 18th District officers responded to what was initially reported as a robbery on the platform at University City Rail Station at South St/Convention Av. PPD later put a flash out on J-Band reporting that this was a founded stabbing committed by two black males, who fled on bike towards the area of 30 St. The victim was transported by UPenn Police to HUP with a laceration to the wrist.

Yup, another great way to start a "safe" day on the SEPTA system...

NOTHING HAS REALLY CHANGED...

At around 00:40 this morning, police were dispatched to a report of an assault on the subway at Fern Rock. Amazingly enough, SEPTA "Transit Police" were able to make an apprehension. This despite the responding officer not responding to dispatch for about a minute, necessitating an officer assist call. Despite some less than professional radio communications between the back-up unit and police radio, it's almost a miracle that an apprehension was made, considering the notoriously mediocre response time by "Transit Police." The victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries; it was also reported that the actor had displayed a simulated firearm and also had previous aggravated assault charges.

Last Thursday, however, a cashier at the Margaret-Orthodox El station wasn't as lucky. At around 17:50, "Transit Police" and PPD were dispatched to the report of a strong arm robbery at the station. The actor fled on a westbound El train with approximately $100. A westbound train was halted at Tioga with several "Transit Police" and PPD officers sweeping the train with negative results.

On Tuesday, "Transit Police" reported that 3 black males wanted for an assault at the Girard Subway station fled on a southbound train. Again, no success in locating the actors.

And, of course, there was the typical "found device" on New Year's Day. At around 16:40, PPD was alerted to a possible device found in the area of the Tasker-Morris subway station, forcing the station to be closed. Broad Street Subway service, however, continued to operate, bypassing Tasker-Morris. The situation was placed under control at around 17:30.

Happy New Year, SEPTA customers...