EL SHUTTLE COMMENTS

Once again, SEPTA attempted to run a resonable facsimile of the El during one of it's 10-day shutdowns. The good news is this time, the service was restored when it was supposed to be. The bad news is that SEPTA seems to take pleasure in sticking it to riders trying (sometimes in vain) to connect to Red Arrow buses at 69 St. Would it really have been that difficult to designate at least 1/3 of the 40+ buses used on the shuttle to run non-stop between 40 St and 69 St to at least give suburban bus riders at least a sliver of hope of making connections in a reasonable amount of time? At least when the Frankford side of the El underwent major shutdowns on weekends, riders connecting from buses at Bridge-Pratt were able to get a close to non-stop ride to Center City (with a stop at Bridge and Torresdale) via I-95.

Of course, there's no limited access highway connecting West Philly with Upper Darby, but traffic flow during most hours along Walnut and Chestnut isn't too bad, so there's no reason why non-stop service couldn't be implemented.

And, of course, SEPTA's Minister of Mis-Information Richard Maloney made an appearance on Monday. After a stop at 69 St, Maloney made his way over to 40 St to "assist" with the operation of the shuttle. So, of course, being a good SEPTA hack, Maloney did ride with the people on the shuttle buses from 69 St to 40 St, right? Ummm, no...

Apparently using status that would nominally be reserved for Fearless Leader or some other high ranking Rotating Resume, Maloney and an unidentified female Hack were given a non-stop ride from 69 St to 40 St ... in the back of a SEPTA "Transit Police" cruiser driven by a high ranking "Transit Police" Lieutenant.

Well, at least someone was able to secure a SEPTA-operated non-stop ride between the two endpoints...

The running of the shuttles also allowed for the largest gathering of SEPTA "Transit Police" seen in Upper Darby since ... well, let me get back to you on that. No fewer than 8 "Transit Police" officers were observed going what they tend to do best - stand around, do very little, and wait for the next call to come in. Now, if only SEPTA's "Transit Police" were only half as vigilant at NJ Transit Police, then perhaps the quote marks around "Transit Police" will be removed. Until then, nothing's going to change...

PASSENGER STRUCK BY TROLLEY

A 51 year old male was struck in the head by a mirror of a trolley at 69 St Terminal. The incident occured at around 08:20 this morning as the AM peak was winding down. The victim was transported to HUP; there is no word on his condition. This comes on the heels of a pedestrian v. bus accident in University City on Tuesday. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that the victim (about whom nothing was known about as of press-time Wednesday AM) was crossing Walnut St when a westbound 30 turning off of 40 St onto Walnut struck the victim.

AFTER THE FACT

It's hard to believe (well, no really it isn't) that people are still flogging SEPTA over their half-a**ed operation during the Live 8 aftermath. In case you need a refresher, the entire system went into chaos as SEPTA seemed unprepared for the massive influx of riders trying to get home after the concert. Well, the Daily News (a fully-paid subsidiary of Michael Moore, Inc.) offered a couple of New Year's resolutions to SEPTA's Board Chairman Don Pasquale and SEPTA's Minister of Mis-information Richard Maloney in yesterday's editions:

SEPTA's chief spokesman resolves to remember that his agency's job is to move people. All of them. And his boss, Pat Deon, vows to consider leasing equipment from New Jersey Transit when facing a holiday crunch.

The crush of people heading home from the July 2 Live8 concert turned Suburban Station into a transit nightmare. Thousands waited for hours in stifling heat for trains because SEPTA didn't have enough cars to handle the load. "This was our best day in SEPTA rail history," Maloney declared in grand "Baghdad Bob" style. "It could not have gone better."

Now, if only Fearless Leader would resolve to resign as SEPTA boss, "Brooksie" would resolve to keep his yap shut for the next 4 years, and the SEPTA "Tranist Police" could resolve to operate like a real police department instead of as glorified rent-a-cops who can't get a job with the Philadelphia Police, then all will be well in SEPTA land...

IT'S ON...

The worst case scenario has come true...

SEPTA's City, Red Arrow, and Frontier divisions are officially on strike. The strike began shortly after 00:01, when TWU 234 and SEPTA couldn't reach an agreement on a new contract. The union claimed it had made progress with SEPTA in agreeing to a sliding scale payment plan for health care, based on a proposal by Philadelphia City Controller Jonathan Saidel, who floated the idea late last week. As of right now, no talks are scheduled...

There are reports at 01:20 that there are still passengers stranded on the subway-surface platforms at 15, 19, 22, and 30 St stations. Also, white-shirts are reporting approximately 40 picketers at the north gate at Midvale.

There will be a lot more to come over the next few days...

SUBWAY-SURFACE TROUBLES...

It hasn't exactly been a good month for riders on the subway-surface lines, particularly in Southwest Philly...

On September 27, 9072, working a westbound 13 trip, was involved in an accident with a tar truck at 48-Chester. The incident occured shortly after 17:00, according to the Inquirer.

Police and a witness said the truck ran through a stop sign at high speed as it headed south on 48th, apparently trying to beat the westbound trolley through the intersection. "He tries to swing around [the trolley], but he couldn't make it," said witness Kalik Lance, 29, who was sitting outside his apartment building at 4725 Chester when the accident happened. The truck scraped the front of the trolley, then flipped, taking the kettle along with it. At that point, hot tar spewed against the front doors of the trolley, leaving a sheen of molten tar on the street.

"Good thing those doors were closed," said a police sergeant coordinating cleanup operations at the scene last night. SEPTA workers using jackhammers had to forcibly cut the hardened tar from the track rails while others using scrappers pried it from the street and from the area between the rails.

Police said 65 passengers were on the trolley. They all walked off the conveyance via the rear door, with the operator the last to leave. Damage to the trolley, which included a broken head lamp, appeared minor. It did not derail. No names were immediately released. It was unclear whether citations would be filed. Inqurier

The day before, a shooting occured on the 36. At around 05:00, the victim boarded an inbound 36 streetcar from Island Road loop to 40-Market. The suspect got up from his seat shortly thereafter, shooting the passenger point blank. The passenger died sometime later. It's unknown as to whether the suspect was apprehended. There wasn't any service on the 36 until 07:00, since the Elmwood Avenue section of the depot was closed off.

A second homicide took place on the 13 on October 6. According to the Inky:

Yeadon police said a man, whom they did not identify, and the assailant boarded a SEPTA trolley at 58th Street and Chester Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. When the trolley stopped at Chester Avenue and Church Lane in Yeadon about 8:40 p.m., the suspect attacked the victim, stabbing him with a knife repeatedly, police said. The suspect fled on foot. The victim died at a local hospital.

The suspect was described as 25 to 30 years old, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-1, with a slim build and a light mustache, wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweatpants, and black sneakers. Anyone with information is asked to call Yeadon police at 610-259-1228. Inquirer

Of course the system is still safe. Maybe once SEPTA finally installs those cameras at its stations, they'll get around to adding cameras to the vehicle fleet. But, that would probably be asking too much...