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.
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
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"...
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"...
Friday, January 26, 2007
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...
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...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
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.
Monday, January 15, 2007
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.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
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...
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...
Friday, December 29, 2006
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...
* 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...
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
YES, SEPTA IS STILL "SAFE"...
It'd be interesting to see how big an increase there has been on SEPTA's system this year, but considering that the Rotating Resumes at 1234 Market seem to consider crime statistics a state secret, one can only speculate that there will be an increase. Case in point:
Within a 15 hour period on Sunday, SEPTA "Transit Police" were involved in a shooting of a robbery suspect and responded to a shooting near City Hall station. The first incident occurred at around 00:30 when the suspect allegedly robbed his victim at an ATM at 44-Market in West Philadelphia. The suspect then fled from officers, firing at police before being shot three times. The suspect was transported to HUP in critical condition. Later on Sunday, at around 15:45, a man was shot in the back by an unknown subject as he exited the Broad Street Line's City Hall station at Dilworth Plaza. No further information was available.
Of course, it would be nice if SEPTA would at least make it's crime statistics available for public review. The Port Authority of Allegheny County does so through the State Police web site; WMATA posts a crime blotter on its web site. SEPTA, for reasons that make no sense, apparently wants to keep this data a secret, just like everything else about this agency...
Within a 15 hour period on Sunday, SEPTA "Transit Police" were involved in a shooting of a robbery suspect and responded to a shooting near City Hall station. The first incident occurred at around 00:30 when the suspect allegedly robbed his victim at an ATM at 44-Market in West Philadelphia. The suspect then fled from officers, firing at police before being shot three times. The suspect was transported to HUP in critical condition. Later on Sunday, at around 15:45, a man was shot in the back by an unknown subject as he exited the Broad Street Line's City Hall station at Dilworth Plaza. No further information was available.
Of course, it would be nice if SEPTA would at least make it's crime statistics available for public review. The Port Authority of Allegheny County does so through the State Police web site; WMATA posts a crime blotter on its web site. SEPTA, for reasons that make no sense, apparently wants to keep this data a secret, just like everything else about this agency...
Thursday, September 07, 2006
STILL UNPREPARED...
While SEPTA can't be held totally at fault for this issue, there still seems to be a Scrooge like mentality when it comes to public safety on the system. Never mind the stabbings, shootings, and violent assaults that seem to have cropped up over the past several years (while other larger urban rail systems such as WMATA have reported relatively few violent crimes, and no murders in at least 2 years on its MetroRail system).
Currently, in the event of a major catastrophy - or for that matter, a BS call - underground, neither Philadelphia Police nor Fire can communicate within the subway or regional rail tunnels due to an obsolete radio system. So, while SEPTA spends money on James Bond-like bomb detection equipment, the underground radio system's shortcomings are glaringly ignored, or, in typical fashion under "Safety Czar" James B. Jordan, pushed to the back burner, as pointed out in today's Ink-waster:
Five years after 9/11, the Philadelphia region has a good grasp of what it must do to make itself safer:
Secure its international airport, patrol its port, guard its power grid, protect its refineries, safeguard its subway and trains, stockpile food and medicine, plan a large-scale evacuation, even prepare for mass cremations.
Knowing all of that is one thing. Doing it is another matter entirely.
Take the problem with SEPTA and its tunnels.
After commuters died in attacks on Madrid and London trains, the danger here is well understood.
If terrorists set off subterranean bombs, responding police and firefighters face a huge problem: Their communications don't work underground.
But rigging the tunnels for communications would cost millions. And SEPTA's security chief says that any fix would likely be obsolete by the time it was installed.
SEPTA's problem is a metaphor for disaster readiness in the region: Key problems have been identified, but solutions remain expensive and elusive.
With the terrorist threat ever-morphing and money tight, the region struggles to prioritize risk and make smart choices for an attack that might never come.
In June, a mayoral task force identified SEPTA's tunnel dilemma as one in a host of regional shortcomings. Should catastrophe strike, its report warned, Philadelphia might be "quickly overwhelmed."
Or, Philadelphia could be overwhelmed by thousands of concert-goers trying to get home after a major event on the Parkway. Oh, wait, I forgot about Live 8...
The task force's report zeroed in on SEPTA's communications troubles as an egregious failing. The FBI, too, has studied mass transit in a classified report shared with local police.
James B. Jordan, SEPTA's security chief, called the issue the agency's "highest threat area."
His explanation why is chilling because it is so matter-of-fact: "The use of an explosion has the greatest impact in an underground environment."
Jordan said it would cost $18 million or more to solve the communication problem, a sum almost as great as the entire regional Homeland Security federal grant for the coming fiscal year.
"Nobody has that kind of money," he said. "Our fear is that it would be obsolete by the time it took to install it."
SEPTA does. Problem is, it's just tied up in garbage projects such as the Cross-County and $chuylkill Valley rail corridors/boondoggles, or for other ridiculous projects requested by the political hacks across the region.
SEPTA has made stopgap fixes. In the last year, it bought a relatively inexpensive transmitter that police or firefighters could lug to an explosion or accident site to permit communication. But it might take up to 30 minutes to deliver and set up, Jordan said.
Here's a concept. How about just purchasing more SEPTA-issued portable radios as reserve and issue them to officers or fire-fighters when responding underground? Or would that make too much sense?
Currently, in the event of a major catastrophy - or for that matter, a BS call - underground, neither Philadelphia Police nor Fire can communicate within the subway or regional rail tunnels due to an obsolete radio system. So, while SEPTA spends money on James Bond-like bomb detection equipment, the underground radio system's shortcomings are glaringly ignored, or, in typical fashion under "Safety Czar" James B. Jordan, pushed to the back burner, as pointed out in today's Ink-waster:
Five years after 9/11, the Philadelphia region has a good grasp of what it must do to make itself safer:
Secure its international airport, patrol its port, guard its power grid, protect its refineries, safeguard its subway and trains, stockpile food and medicine, plan a large-scale evacuation, even prepare for mass cremations.
Knowing all of that is one thing. Doing it is another matter entirely.
Take the problem with SEPTA and its tunnels.
After commuters died in attacks on Madrid and London trains, the danger here is well understood.
If terrorists set off subterranean bombs, responding police and firefighters face a huge problem: Their communications don't work underground.
But rigging the tunnels for communications would cost millions. And SEPTA's security chief says that any fix would likely be obsolete by the time it was installed.
SEPTA's problem is a metaphor for disaster readiness in the region: Key problems have been identified, but solutions remain expensive and elusive.
With the terrorist threat ever-morphing and money tight, the region struggles to prioritize risk and make smart choices for an attack that might never come.
In June, a mayoral task force identified SEPTA's tunnel dilemma as one in a host of regional shortcomings. Should catastrophe strike, its report warned, Philadelphia might be "quickly overwhelmed."
Or, Philadelphia could be overwhelmed by thousands of concert-goers trying to get home after a major event on the Parkway. Oh, wait, I forgot about Live 8...
The task force's report zeroed in on SEPTA's communications troubles as an egregious failing. The FBI, too, has studied mass transit in a classified report shared with local police.
James B. Jordan, SEPTA's security chief, called the issue the agency's "highest threat area."
His explanation why is chilling because it is so matter-of-fact: "The use of an explosion has the greatest impact in an underground environment."
Jordan said it would cost $18 million or more to solve the communication problem, a sum almost as great as the entire regional Homeland Security federal grant for the coming fiscal year.
"Nobody has that kind of money," he said. "Our fear is that it would be obsolete by the time it took to install it."
SEPTA does. Problem is, it's just tied up in garbage projects such as the Cross-County and $chuylkill Valley rail corridors/boondoggles, or for other ridiculous projects requested by the political hacks across the region.
SEPTA has made stopgap fixes. In the last year, it bought a relatively inexpensive transmitter that police or firefighters could lug to an explosion or accident site to permit communication. But it might take up to 30 minutes to deliver and set up, Jordan said.
Here's a concept. How about just purchasing more SEPTA-issued portable radios as reserve and issue them to officers or fire-fighters when responding underground? Or would that make too much sense?
Thursday, August 24, 2006
DRILL AT STRAFFORD
Today's drill at the Strafford Rail Station was essentially nothing more than a major radio test to judge the inter-operability of the various county-wide radio systems along with SEPTA . Tredyffrin Twp Police, Amtrak Police, Radnor Fire Co., Berwyn Fire Co., and Narberth Ambulance were the agencies that were on scene along with Chester County's COMM-1 mobile command post and DelCo's Mobile 3 command post. For the most part, while there was a lot of radio traffic, this wasn't a traditional emergency drill that SEPTA has conducted in the past. R5 service through Strafford was largely unaffected.
Monday, July 24, 2006
OTHER SEPTA NOTES...
There are a couple other things happening at SEPTA other than the El shuttle...
The first interesting observation is that SEPTA "Transit Police" are putting new patrol cars on the street. The new cars are Chevy Impala's, which are (1) less expensive than the current fleet of Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor models and (2) get better fuel mileage (approx. 3 mpg) than the Ford CVPI. I guess all those years imploring SEPTA to become more fuel efficient are slowly starting to pay off. Now, if they could start to phase out those SUV's for the white-shirts and replace them with vehicles that don't guzzle as much gas, then I'd believe there's a committment to cutting costs.
Meanwhile, on the operations front, there's talk that all Southern's portion of the 108 could be moved to Red Arrow by the fall picking. Whether or not that means that all 108 trips would originate and terminate at 69 St instead of seeing buses deadhead from Upper Darby to the Airport or Southwest Philadelphia remains to be seen. There's also no word on how this will affect the school trippers that operate to and from the Pepper Middle School or Bartram High that are based off of the 108.
The first interesting observation is that SEPTA "Transit Police" are putting new patrol cars on the street. The new cars are Chevy Impala's, which are (1) less expensive than the current fleet of Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor models and (2) get better fuel mileage (approx. 3 mpg) than the Ford CVPI. I guess all those years imploring SEPTA to become more fuel efficient are slowly starting to pay off. Now, if they could start to phase out those SUV's for the white-shirts and replace them with vehicles that don't guzzle as much gas, then I'd believe there's a committment to cutting costs.
Meanwhile, on the operations front, there's talk that all Southern's portion of the 108 could be moved to Red Arrow by the fall picking. Whether or not that means that all 108 trips would originate and terminate at 69 St instead of seeing buses deadhead from Upper Darby to the Airport or Southwest Philadelphia remains to be seen. There's also no word on how this will affect the school trippers that operate to and from the Pepper Middle School or Bartram High that are based off of the 108.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE...
A man was stabbed on the El yesterday, reportedly by 4 males. The incident occured last night at around 19:00 as the eastbound train pulled into Spring Garden station. The suspects fled the station after stabbing the victim twice in the ribs. Serivce was delayed as PPD East Detectives were called in to secure the train as a crime scene.
On a related note, Inky reporter Stephanie L Arnold must not be from around here. According to her article in today's editions, there are a couple of errors:
A 25-year-old man was stabbed twice in the ribs on the El last night at the Girard Street stop, according to police.
Police said the man, whose name was not released, was attacked about 7 p.m. by several men. The victim was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. Witnesses said the attackers ran from the station.
SEPTA police held the train until East Detectives could respond to investigate. Inquirer
For starters, I've never heard of Girard Street - I have heard of Girard Avenue. Secondly, there were other reports from other reliable sources that place the incident at Spring Garden rather than Girard.
In any case, there hadn't been too many violent incidents on the system lately, but that's the way it goes... Perhaps we were due...
On a related note, Inky reporter Stephanie L Arnold must not be from around here. According to her article in today's editions, there are a couple of errors:
A 25-year-old man was stabbed twice in the ribs on the El last night at the Girard Street stop, according to police.
Police said the man, whose name was not released, was attacked about 7 p.m. by several men. The victim was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. Witnesses said the attackers ran from the station.
SEPTA police held the train until East Detectives could respond to investigate. Inquirer
For starters, I've never heard of Girard Street - I have heard of Girard Avenue. Secondly, there were other reports from other reliable sources that place the incident at Spring Garden rather than Girard.
In any case, there hadn't been too many violent incidents on the system lately, but that's the way it goes... Perhaps we were due...
Thursday, January 12, 2006
GUN PULLED ON BUS
State Police responded to an incident on board a SEPTA bus earlier this afternoon according to CBS 3:
During a ride into Center City on I-76, two passengers on a SEPTA bus got into a heated confrontation, police said.
Almost a dozen passengers were on the bus during the altercation.
“I’m glad I’m alive, that’s all I got to say,” said Mark Martin. “I heard two guys arguing, then I looked up and this guy had a 9mm in his hand asking him whether this guy had a problem with him. That’s when I ran up to the front.”
According to passengers, the suspect with the handgun approached the driver and asked to be let off.
“That’s when the guy with the gun ran up to the front and asked the bus driver to let him off the bus, he asked him like two or three times because the guy with the gun was trying to avoid the confrontation,” said Martin.
The operator of the 124 bus then pulled over near the Gladwynne on-ramp and waited for State Police/Belmont to arrive. Two Philadelphia men, Sidney Clayton and Sherman Jerome Bush-Knox, were arrested and charged with making terroristic threats.
During a ride into Center City on I-76, two passengers on a SEPTA bus got into a heated confrontation, police said.
Almost a dozen passengers were on the bus during the altercation.
“I’m glad I’m alive, that’s all I got to say,” said Mark Martin. “I heard two guys arguing, then I looked up and this guy had a 9mm in his hand asking him whether this guy had a problem with him. That’s when I ran up to the front.”
According to passengers, the suspect with the handgun approached the driver and asked to be let off.
“That’s when the guy with the gun ran up to the front and asked the bus driver to let him off the bus, he asked him like two or three times because the guy with the gun was trying to avoid the confrontation,” said Martin.
The operator of the 124 bus then pulled over near the Gladwynne on-ramp and waited for State Police/Belmont to arrive. Two Philadelphia men, Sidney Clayton and Sherman Jerome Bush-Knox, were arrested and charged with making terroristic threats.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
ANOTHER BLACK EYE FOR SECURITY
NBC10 ran an investigative report (with video) on Tuesday night regarding security - or lack thereof - at SEPTA rail yards. As expected, and given SEPTA's track record, the results weren't pretty.
The apparent intent of the story was to expose lax security at SEPTA's regional rail yards on the heels of mass transit bombings in Madrid and London. Apparently, SEPTA learned nothing from the Powelton Yard fiasco last year.
The NBC 10 Investigators went to work when some SEPTA employees called them to tell them that they are worried about security.
The SEPTA trains you might be boarding tomorrow are sitting in an unsecured train parking lot tonight.
"We could have a picnic here, technically, and plant anything we want under one of these (trains)," said a SEPTA employee who did not want to be identified.
There are no cameras, no security guards and no fence to stop anyone from getting into the Warminster train yard. No one questioned the NBC 10 Investigators and the SEPTA whistleblower as they climbed onto the train. If The Investigators could get on board the train, anybody could -- even a terrorist.
Or, for that matter, vandals who happen to "accidentally" release brakes and send a train rolling unattended down the tracks.
"Anybody could easily plant something on this train all night and wait until it hits Center City," said the undercover SEPTA source.
"No signs telling you to stay off the property," the source said.
Perhaps at Warminster, that's the case, but at some stations, there are signs warning trespassers to stay off the property.
The SEPTA source took The Investigators to the Doylestown station where, once again, there was no one to see them or question what they were doing.
"You want to put a biochemical agent in that? Piece of cake," the source said.
The British found out how easy it was when terrorist bombs took a deadly toll on the London transit system last summer. SEPTA responded with pamphlets telling riders that security is tighter while you're on board and that employees are trained.
"That's a bold-faced lie. We're not trained in any kind of security for these trains as far as anything like 9/11 or the bombings in London or Spain," the SEPTA source said.
Surprise, surprise, surprise...
The Investigators and the SEPTA source went to Roberts Yard in Philadelphia and found one security camera, but nobody stopped them. The train doors were open. After about 45 minutes, The Investigators finally went into the office to alert security that they were on the premises.
"You're a supervisor?" (NBC 10's Lu Ann) Cahn asks.
"Yeah, stand by," the supervisor said.
While she stood by, Cahn talked to a SEPTA mechanic.
"What's your worst fear?" Cahn asked.
"Someone could come in here, put a bomb on the train, something like that," the mechanic said.
The supervisor makes calls to report the presence of The Investigators, but nothing happens.
Apparently, the "Transit Police" on duty were busy on other high priority calls, or were doing what they normally do - virtually nothing.
The Investigators showed Congressman Curt Weldon the video of their trip to the train yards. Weldon is the vice chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
"That's ridiculous. It's outrageous," Weldon said. "That's just waiting for a disaster to occur."
And if anyone is qualified to make such a statement, it's Congressman Weldon, the former chief of the Marcus Hook fire department.
The Investigators also showed the video to SEPTA.
"So, what are you suggesting?" asked Richard Maloney, SEPTA's spokesman.
How about firing the morons in charge of public safety, starting with Hack Extraordinare James B. Jordan, and "Transit Police Chief" Richard Evans?
"I'm not being sarcastic. I have never heard of any terrorists planning an attack on, essentially, a train parking lot."
One, the Minister of Mis-information probably is being sarcastic; two, I highly doubt the NYPD or FDNY had heard of terrorists hijacking planes and slamming them into buildings either.
"That's a cop out. If you're a terrorist, you're going to plant something separate from the passengers, and you're going to leave a device, especially if it's a remotely-activated device, like they used in London," Weldon said.
And more than likely not get caught doing so...
"Why are train doors just wide open?" Cahn asked Maloney.
"Because we have had no reports of it being a vulnerable area," Maloney said.
Well, a**hole, now you do...
Maloney said that SEPTA has spent $7.5 million federal dollars on beefing up security where passengers come and go. But SEPTA admitted it hasn't spend any money on securing the rail yards.
As far as training is concerned, Maloney said the company spends one day a year on emergency procedures -- some in mock exercises -- that prepares employees for all types of emergencies.
"If I had people in those positions telling me that they had not had the training?" Cahn asks.
"Mistaken," Maloney said.
Does anyone else see Maloney's nose growing with each passing lie?
"I'm going to today ask for SEPTA's homeland security plan," Weldon said.
Good luck, Congressman. You'll have an easier time finding Jimmy Hoffa...
Riders want answers, too.
"It's terrible. It's a disgrace," one rider said.
"I'm shocked. You can walk right in," another rider said.
"This is America. We're supposed to have a free society and people aren't supposed to just wander in where they're not supposed to be on private property. There's a basic honor system here," Maloney said.
Honor, huh? Now there's a foreign concept at 1234 Market...
"If you really want to show these passengers you care about them, protect the yards because I don't think they're very safe," NBC 10's source said.
Local rail systems in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles all told the NBC 10 Investigators that they have taken measures to secure their rail yards. Weldon has fired off a letter to SEPTA demanding to know what the transit system in Philadelphia is going to do to secure their rail yards.
Probably what SEPTA always does... virtually nothing...
In an alternate universe, however, SEPTA should at least reach out to the townships and boroughs that host rail layover yards at terminal points. This would include Warminster and Doylestown Boro in Bucks, Norristown (ha ha ha) and Lansdale boroughs in MontCo, Media (or Nether Providence) in DelCo, and Ewing Twp, New Jersey (for West Trenton station). It might not hurt to have East Whiteland do some supplemental patrols at Frazer Yard, nor for Philadelphia Police to check out the two Chestnut Hill stations and Fox Chase as well.
I remember one semi-regular contributor to the pre-blog site who was a Philadelphia Police officer who occasionally did patrols through SEPTA facilities to supplement any "security" that SEPTA may have. Don't know if SEPTA took too kindly to it, but hey, every extra set of eyes and ears helps. Right?
Meanwhile, rail yards aren't the only facilities that have security issues...
Some of SEPTA's bus facilities are also as vulnerable. In the past, I've personally seen, among other things, buses at Comly Depot parked along a side street adjacent to Bustleton Av. Additionally, one could just as easily walk onto the Frontier bus yard in Plymouth and either tamper with vehicles or even drive a bus off the property without anyone noticing.
In fact, over the past several years, there have been a few buses stolen from the Red Arrow bus yard in Upper Darby, the most recent being October 26, 2000 - five years ago today, as a matter of fact - the account from the pre-blog archives:
Two teens simply walked onto the Red Arrow bus lot in Upper Darby at around 23:30 on Thursday, October 26, and took off with 8859, which was in the fueling lane following that day's runs. Red Arrow operator Julius Major followed the stolen bus down Market St to 63 St, where he flagged down a Philadelphia Police officer. The chase ended at the corner of 62-Walton Sts in West Philadelphia, when 8859 crashed into a PPD cruiser and eventually struck a building. One Philadelphia Police officer was taken to the Hospital of the Univ. of Pennsylvania for minor injuries. 8859 suffered damage to the left windshield, front bumper, side panel, and frame.
This incident brings back memories of a similar incident [in 1997 - ed.] when Allegheny (at the time) #5267 was hijacked on Lehigh Av during a 54 trip early one weekday morning. 5267 - the only NABI to be officially listed as scrapped on the SEPTA roster [at the time - ed.] - crashed into the El structure at Kensington and Lehigh, and is now stored at Berridge, awaiting disposition.
... Maloney said that this was the third SEPTA bus to be stolen [in 2000 - ed.] (the other two buses were taken from Callowhill and Midvale), and that 8859 would be out of service temporarily, however may be scrapped, as a few 8800s have been retired recently. Maloney also told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "If neccesary, we could add more security, but it would come at the expense of ease of operations."
Nearly five years later, the lax mentality of SEPTA as is pertains to security still exists... God help the passengers...
The apparent intent of the story was to expose lax security at SEPTA's regional rail yards on the heels of mass transit bombings in Madrid and London. Apparently, SEPTA learned nothing from the Powelton Yard fiasco last year.
The NBC 10 Investigators went to work when some SEPTA employees called them to tell them that they are worried about security.
The SEPTA trains you might be boarding tomorrow are sitting in an unsecured train parking lot tonight.
"We could have a picnic here, technically, and plant anything we want under one of these (trains)," said a SEPTA employee who did not want to be identified.
There are no cameras, no security guards and no fence to stop anyone from getting into the Warminster train yard. No one questioned the NBC 10 Investigators and the SEPTA whistleblower as they climbed onto the train. If The Investigators could get on board the train, anybody could -- even a terrorist.
Or, for that matter, vandals who happen to "accidentally" release brakes and send a train rolling unattended down the tracks.
"Anybody could easily plant something on this train all night and wait until it hits Center City," said the undercover SEPTA source.
"No signs telling you to stay off the property," the source said.
Perhaps at Warminster, that's the case, but at some stations, there are signs warning trespassers to stay off the property.
The SEPTA source took The Investigators to the Doylestown station where, once again, there was no one to see them or question what they were doing.
"You want to put a biochemical agent in that? Piece of cake," the source said.
The British found out how easy it was when terrorist bombs took a deadly toll on the London transit system last summer. SEPTA responded with pamphlets telling riders that security is tighter while you're on board and that employees are trained.
"That's a bold-faced lie. We're not trained in any kind of security for these trains as far as anything like 9/11 or the bombings in London or Spain," the SEPTA source said.
Surprise, surprise, surprise...
The Investigators and the SEPTA source went to Roberts Yard in Philadelphia and found one security camera, but nobody stopped them. The train doors were open. After about 45 minutes, The Investigators finally went into the office to alert security that they were on the premises.
"You're a supervisor?" (NBC 10's Lu Ann) Cahn asks.
"Yeah, stand by," the supervisor said.
While she stood by, Cahn talked to a SEPTA mechanic.
"What's your worst fear?" Cahn asked.
"Someone could come in here, put a bomb on the train, something like that," the mechanic said.
The supervisor makes calls to report the presence of The Investigators, but nothing happens.
Apparently, the "Transit Police" on duty were busy on other high priority calls, or were doing what they normally do - virtually nothing.
The Investigators showed Congressman Curt Weldon the video of their trip to the train yards. Weldon is the vice chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
"That's ridiculous. It's outrageous," Weldon said. "That's just waiting for a disaster to occur."
And if anyone is qualified to make such a statement, it's Congressman Weldon, the former chief of the Marcus Hook fire department.
The Investigators also showed the video to SEPTA.
"So, what are you suggesting?" asked Richard Maloney, SEPTA's spokesman.
How about firing the morons in charge of public safety, starting with Hack Extraordinare James B. Jordan, and "Transit Police Chief" Richard Evans?
"I'm not being sarcastic. I have never heard of any terrorists planning an attack on, essentially, a train parking lot."
One, the Minister of Mis-information probably is being sarcastic; two, I highly doubt the NYPD or FDNY had heard of terrorists hijacking planes and slamming them into buildings either.
"That's a cop out. If you're a terrorist, you're going to plant something separate from the passengers, and you're going to leave a device, especially if it's a remotely-activated device, like they used in London," Weldon said.
And more than likely not get caught doing so...
"Why are train doors just wide open?" Cahn asked Maloney.
"Because we have had no reports of it being a vulnerable area," Maloney said.
Well, a**hole, now you do...
Maloney said that SEPTA has spent $7.5 million federal dollars on beefing up security where passengers come and go. But SEPTA admitted it hasn't spend any money on securing the rail yards.
As far as training is concerned, Maloney said the company spends one day a year on emergency procedures -- some in mock exercises -- that prepares employees for all types of emergencies.
"If I had people in those positions telling me that they had not had the training?" Cahn asks.
"Mistaken," Maloney said.
Does anyone else see Maloney's nose growing with each passing lie?
"I'm going to today ask for SEPTA's homeland security plan," Weldon said.
Good luck, Congressman. You'll have an easier time finding Jimmy Hoffa...
Riders want answers, too.
"It's terrible. It's a disgrace," one rider said.
"I'm shocked. You can walk right in," another rider said.
"This is America. We're supposed to have a free society and people aren't supposed to just wander in where they're not supposed to be on private property. There's a basic honor system here," Maloney said.
Honor, huh? Now there's a foreign concept at 1234 Market...
"If you really want to show these passengers you care about them, protect the yards because I don't think they're very safe," NBC 10's source said.
Local rail systems in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles all told the NBC 10 Investigators that they have taken measures to secure their rail yards. Weldon has fired off a letter to SEPTA demanding to know what the transit system in Philadelphia is going to do to secure their rail yards.
Probably what SEPTA always does... virtually nothing...
In an alternate universe, however, SEPTA should at least reach out to the townships and boroughs that host rail layover yards at terminal points. This would include Warminster and Doylestown Boro in Bucks, Norristown (ha ha ha) and Lansdale boroughs in MontCo, Media (or Nether Providence) in DelCo, and Ewing Twp, New Jersey (for West Trenton station). It might not hurt to have East Whiteland do some supplemental patrols at Frazer Yard, nor for Philadelphia Police to check out the two Chestnut Hill stations and Fox Chase as well.
I remember one semi-regular contributor to the pre-blog site who was a Philadelphia Police officer who occasionally did patrols through SEPTA facilities to supplement any "security" that SEPTA may have. Don't know if SEPTA took too kindly to it, but hey, every extra set of eyes and ears helps. Right?
Meanwhile, rail yards aren't the only facilities that have security issues...
Some of SEPTA's bus facilities are also as vulnerable. In the past, I've personally seen, among other things, buses at Comly Depot parked along a side street adjacent to Bustleton Av. Additionally, one could just as easily walk onto the Frontier bus yard in Plymouth and either tamper with vehicles or even drive a bus off the property without anyone noticing.
In fact, over the past several years, there have been a few buses stolen from the Red Arrow bus yard in Upper Darby, the most recent being October 26, 2000 - five years ago today, as a matter of fact - the account from the pre-blog archives:
Two teens simply walked onto the Red Arrow bus lot in Upper Darby at around 23:30 on Thursday, October 26, and took off with 8859, which was in the fueling lane following that day's runs. Red Arrow operator Julius Major followed the stolen bus down Market St to 63 St, where he flagged down a Philadelphia Police officer. The chase ended at the corner of 62-Walton Sts in West Philadelphia, when 8859 crashed into a PPD cruiser and eventually struck a building. One Philadelphia Police officer was taken to the Hospital of the Univ. of Pennsylvania for minor injuries. 8859 suffered damage to the left windshield, front bumper, side panel, and frame.
This incident brings back memories of a similar incident [in 1997 - ed.] when Allegheny (at the time) #5267 was hijacked on Lehigh Av during a 54 trip early one weekday morning. 5267 - the only NABI to be officially listed as scrapped on the SEPTA roster [at the time - ed.] - crashed into the El structure at Kensington and Lehigh, and is now stored at Berridge, awaiting disposition.
... Maloney said that this was the third SEPTA bus to be stolen [in 2000 - ed.] (the other two buses were taken from Callowhill and Midvale), and that 8859 would be out of service temporarily, however may be scrapped, as a few 8800s have been retired recently. Maloney also told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "If neccesary, we could add more security, but it would come at the expense of ease of operations."
Nearly five years later, the lax mentality of SEPTA as is pertains to security still exists... God help the passengers...
Monday, August 01, 2005
FINALLY, SEPTA DOES SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR SECURITY
For all the criticism directed at Assistant General Manager for Public Safety James B. Jordan, and for that matter the SEPTA Transit "Police" Department over recent assaults and other violent incidents on the system, not to mention the seemingly inability to ramp up security when virtually every other transit agency on the east coast goes to Code Orange, Dan Geringer of the Philadelphia Daily News (a fully-paid subsidiary of "move-on-dot-org") reports in today's editions SEPTA's plans to have all subway and el stations equipped with digital surveillance cameras.
The days of blurry, black-and-white, first-man-on-the-moon images from SEPTA security cameras designed to catch turnstile jumpers are giving way to digital recorders focused on life-and-death crimes in these terrorist-scarred times.
In a federally funded pilot project, SEPTA has installed 16 digital recording cameras throughout its Cecil B. Moore [Temple University] subway station on Broad Street that relay the kind of crisply detailed color images to its Center City control room that enabled London police to identify suspects soon after the transit-system bombings there.
There will be 21 more "Smart Stations" here by 2007, and all 60 SEPTA stations will have full digital surveillance by 2010, said James Jordan, SEPTA's assistant general manager for public safety. The federally funded price tag is $80 million to $100 million.
"This is not something you can just go out and buy at Radio Shack," Jordan said. "We need to build a fiber-optic network in 25 miles of tunnel and bring 21st- century high-tech engineering into 19th-century architecture."
SEPTA's police and operations personnel in the central control room can see a continuous rotation of real-time images from station platforms, turnstiles, escalators, elevators and tunnels.
"I have three cases now where we were able to make arrests because of the digital cameras," said SEPTA Police Detective William B. Saunders Jr.
"We coordinate with Temple University, which has cameras focused on the street outside the station. We ask, 'Which way did he go after he left the station?' and they can tell us.
"We help them, too. If there's a retail theft and the suspect runs into the station, we've got him on camera and we work with Temple police to apprehend him."
Digital cameras also are running and recording at the Susquehanna-Dauphin, Allegheny and Erie stations.
These stations are in the particularly heavy crime areas of North Philadelphia along the Broad Street Line.
Images are stored on CD for a week to 10 days.
David Scott, SEPTA's deputy chief of police, said that the strength of Smart Stations is their ability to coordinate all security functions.
"If a fire alarm goes off, a red light on a diagram of the station pinpoints the location and a camera zooms in on the fire," he said.
"Intrusion alarms in the tunnels tell us if security is breached.
"We have 360-degree pan-tilt-zoom cameras that we can maneuver from central control.
"We are looking into cameras so smart that if someone leaves a briefcase for 10 seconds and walks away, there will be an audible alarm in the control room while the camera focuses on the briefcase."
SEPTA's Smart Stations compare favorably with new surveillance systems in other major East Coast cities.
That is almost hard to believe. In fact, that would almost be a first for SEPTA...
At Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Jeffrey Parker, director of subway operations, said a similar conversion to digital images transmitted by fiber optics was under way, hand-in-hand with the city's rebuilding of its 65 ancient stations.
Boston's unique twist is that images are monitored inside glass-enclosed booths at its major "hub" stations, allowing riders to survey the surveillance.
"Instead of putting the monitors in the basement of our control center so that no one would see them, we put our monitoring in very public places," Parker said.
"We want to be out in front of the public to show that we are keeping an eye on things."
There's a lot of scepticism about that statement, considering that many in Boston consider the T's Police Department almost as disorganized as SEPTA's ... and that's saying a hell of a lot.
Steven Taubenkibel, spokesperson for the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said that all its 86 stations have digital video-recording cameras that transmit both to a central control and to a manager's kiosk at every station entrance.
Unlike SEPTA, Washington's Metro also has digital video cameras in 100 buses and has just allocated part of a $49 million federal grant to install them in 125 more.
Recently, Taubenkibel said, a camera installed above a driver's head captured footage of an assailant hurling a brick through the open bus door and hitting the driver in the face.
"We showed images from the tape to the public and were able to apprehend the suspect," Taubenkibel said.
"We rely on the eyes and ears of our riders, but those cameras really help."
Recall that SEPTA reportedly had a similar bus surveillance project on the Neoplan artic fleet a couple of years ago. There were stickers on several of the Allegheny artics that indicated that cameras were in place. Haven't heard much about that in recent years, particularly since the VOH program went into effect.
DART First State and LANTA in the Lehigh Valley both have or are in the process of installing video cameras on their respective bus fleets. The DART buses have both interior and exterior cameras - at least on the NABI fleet (I haven't had a chance to look at their Gilligs that closely), while LANTA installed cameras on their New Flyers but not the soon to be retired 8900 series Orion Is (and yes there are still a few of those active).
As far as stations go, I can't speak as to whether or not similar technology would be implemented at key Regional Rail stations (ie. Suburban, Market East, Glenside, Paoli) or at the surface terminals (Bridge-Pratt, Olney, 69 St, Chester, Norristown), but that would make sense in the long run.
The days of blurry, black-and-white, first-man-on-the-moon images from SEPTA security cameras designed to catch turnstile jumpers are giving way to digital recorders focused on life-and-death crimes in these terrorist-scarred times.
In a federally funded pilot project, SEPTA has installed 16 digital recording cameras throughout its Cecil B. Moore [Temple University] subway station on Broad Street that relay the kind of crisply detailed color images to its Center City control room that enabled London police to identify suspects soon after the transit-system bombings there.
There will be 21 more "Smart Stations" here by 2007, and all 60 SEPTA stations will have full digital surveillance by 2010, said James Jordan, SEPTA's assistant general manager for public safety. The federally funded price tag is $80 million to $100 million.
"This is not something you can just go out and buy at Radio Shack," Jordan said. "We need to build a fiber-optic network in 25 miles of tunnel and bring 21st- century high-tech engineering into 19th-century architecture."
SEPTA's police and operations personnel in the central control room can see a continuous rotation of real-time images from station platforms, turnstiles, escalators, elevators and tunnels.
"I have three cases now where we were able to make arrests because of the digital cameras," said SEPTA Police Detective William B. Saunders Jr.
"We coordinate with Temple University, which has cameras focused on the street outside the station. We ask, 'Which way did he go after he left the station?' and they can tell us.
"We help them, too. If there's a retail theft and the suspect runs into the station, we've got him on camera and we work with Temple police to apprehend him."
Digital cameras also are running and recording at the Susquehanna-Dauphin, Allegheny and Erie stations.
These stations are in the particularly heavy crime areas of North Philadelphia along the Broad Street Line.
Images are stored on CD for a week to 10 days.
David Scott, SEPTA's deputy chief of police, said that the strength of Smart Stations is their ability to coordinate all security functions.
"If a fire alarm goes off, a red light on a diagram of the station pinpoints the location and a camera zooms in on the fire," he said.
"Intrusion alarms in the tunnels tell us if security is breached.
"We have 360-degree pan-tilt-zoom cameras that we can maneuver from central control.
"We are looking into cameras so smart that if someone leaves a briefcase for 10 seconds and walks away, there will be an audible alarm in the control room while the camera focuses on the briefcase."
SEPTA's Smart Stations compare favorably with new surveillance systems in other major East Coast cities.
That is almost hard to believe. In fact, that would almost be a first for SEPTA...
At Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Jeffrey Parker, director of subway operations, said a similar conversion to digital images transmitted by fiber optics was under way, hand-in-hand with the city's rebuilding of its 65 ancient stations.
Boston's unique twist is that images are monitored inside glass-enclosed booths at its major "hub" stations, allowing riders to survey the surveillance.
"Instead of putting the monitors in the basement of our control center so that no one would see them, we put our monitoring in very public places," Parker said.
"We want to be out in front of the public to show that we are keeping an eye on things."
There's a lot of scepticism about that statement, considering that many in Boston consider the T's Police Department almost as disorganized as SEPTA's ... and that's saying a hell of a lot.
Steven Taubenkibel, spokesperson for the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said that all its 86 stations have digital video-recording cameras that transmit both to a central control and to a manager's kiosk at every station entrance.
Unlike SEPTA, Washington's Metro also has digital video cameras in 100 buses and has just allocated part of a $49 million federal grant to install them in 125 more.
Recently, Taubenkibel said, a camera installed above a driver's head captured footage of an assailant hurling a brick through the open bus door and hitting the driver in the face.
"We showed images from the tape to the public and were able to apprehend the suspect," Taubenkibel said.
"We rely on the eyes and ears of our riders, but those cameras really help."
Recall that SEPTA reportedly had a similar bus surveillance project on the Neoplan artic fleet a couple of years ago. There were stickers on several of the Allegheny artics that indicated that cameras were in place. Haven't heard much about that in recent years, particularly since the VOH program went into effect.
DART First State and LANTA in the Lehigh Valley both have or are in the process of installing video cameras on their respective bus fleets. The DART buses have both interior and exterior cameras - at least on the NABI fleet (I haven't had a chance to look at their Gilligs that closely), while LANTA installed cameras on their New Flyers but not the soon to be retired 8900 series Orion Is (and yes there are still a few of those active).
As far as stations go, I can't speak as to whether or not similar technology would be implemented at key Regional Rail stations (ie. Suburban, Market East, Glenside, Paoli) or at the surface terminals (Bridge-Pratt, Olney, 69 St, Chester, Norristown), but that would make sense in the long run.
Monday, July 18, 2005
SEPTA SAFE? UM, OKAY... (AND A LITTLE BACKLOG CLEARING)
In Friday's editions of the Philadelphia Inquirer (a fully-paid subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee), columnist John Grogan - who rarely has anything intelligent to say - offered a follow-up to a previous column in which he absolutely slammed SEPTA's horrible performance on the Regional Rail during the Live 8 event. Here's Grogan's initial take on the Live 8 fiasco from July 11:
Did you know that our regional train-and-bus system, that beloved model of crack public-sector efficiency, operated "flawlessly" during the Live 8 concert?
Not "pretty good." Not "about as well as could be expected." Not even "beyond our expectations." Flawlessly. As in without flaw; perfect; incapable of being improved upon.
SEPTA. Flawless. No kidding.
That would be the same SEPTA that left thousands of tired and frustrated concertgoers waiting for interminable periods. The one that seemed caught off guard by the crush of humanity, as if no one had mentioned the fact that there was going to be a little gathering of, oh, about 700,000 people on the Ben Franklin Parkway July 2 and that city officials were urging everyone to leave their cars behind and take public transit.
Not to mention the same system that routinely botches subway-surface service after the 4th of July fireworks on the Parkway...
Who gave this A-plus assessment? Why, none other than the transit agency's top dog himself, Pasquale T. "Pat" Deon Sr., chairman of SEPTA's board.
He was so thrilled with his system's performance, he wrote a testimonial, which appeared in Wednesday's Inquirer. In it, Deon described a finely tuned people-moving machine rising to the challenge of transporting "people by the tens of thousands."
And who exactly tuned this machine, William Hung?
He praised the "dozens of yellow-vested SEPTA employees" who filled the stations, pleasantly helping tired concertgoers find their way.
Then thecoup de grace: "The rail system operated at its absolute physical capacity and it worked flawlessly."
Only one problem: Many passengers offered a starkly different version of reality. And they did it through gnashing teeth, so disgusted were they with SEPTA's performance during the concert rush.
They obviously have never riden the system during the week...
Chairman Deon, meet satisfied customer Lewis Ostrander, 30, a software engineer, who decided to ride SEPTA to Live 8.
Take it away, Lewis: "We were waiting for the R6 in Manayunk around 9 a.m. We were waiting and waiting for the train." When none arrived, Ostrander and about 50 other commuters walked to a nearby bus station.
"There was a woman at the bus station, whom we all assumed was in charge. She had her uniform on along with her walkie-talkie," he wrote. "The woman had no idea what was going on and why there were so many people waiting for a bus... . There were two buses in the lot behind the transfer station. Both drivers were sitting in the front seat reading the paper."
Finally, another bus pulled up. "Everyone is relieved that we are finally going to get to the event. It is now 10:30 a.m. We have been waiting for a train or bus for 1 1/2 hours," Ostrander recounted. "The bus driver pulls up to the entrance and flips on his 'Out of Service' light. About 50 people were about to go 'postal' on SEPTA. The bus driver refused to take anyone anywhere."
It's called rush hour deluxe...
The return trip was even worse.
"At the end of the day we took the R6 train from Suburban Station," he wrote. "It was jungle hot, no information and mass chaos. I think I saw about three SEPTA employees in the entire station. People were running around like chickens without heads."
...and it worked flawlessly.
Then there was Jan Waldauer, 36, of Media, who kept a minute-by-minute journal of her ill-fated commute home, which began at 11:15 p.m. at the Market Street East station and did not end until 2:30 a.m.
"We could have walked faster," she wrote. "Nice job, SEPTA; you actually made US Airways look good."
Anyone who has ever flown can probably agree with that assessment...
She described waiting with her fellow passengers for more than an hour just to make the hop to Suburban Station, where she continued to wait.
My favorite of her entries: "Suburban Station, 1:40am: Train pulls in going our direction, but doors do not open. Conductor walks through the train, ignoring people as they knock on the doors. Good God, are they going to leave us here?"
Of course they are. It's SEPTA...
Meanwhile, on Friday, Grogan wrote a follow-up column which in effect suggests that anyone who thought SEPTA was so "flawless" should be committed to Norristown State Hospital for a psych eval...
SEPTA is sticking with its story.
It operated "flawlessly" during the July 2 Live 8 concert, and that's all there is to it. No ifs, ands or buts.
I know this because SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney told me so the other day. I had called to ask him, in light of numerous complaints from concertgoers, some of whom waited at stations for hours to get home, whether he thought his description had been just a tad over the top.
And of course, anything that comes out of the mouth of SEPTA's Minister of Mis-Information has to be true. That's just the way it is...
Not at all, Maloney said. "We were able to move a historic number of people in a very short period of time. I am not the least bit apologetic."
Nor, sir, are you sane...
I wondered aloud if perhaps it was that word flawless that rankled so many. Not only had Maloney used it, but so had SEPTA board chairman Pat Deon. A poor choice, perhaps?
"No, it's not, because it was," Maloney said. Flawless, that is.
I am desparately trying to stifle laughter at that statement...
If you were one of the thousands of concertgoers crammed into Suburban Station on July 2, you might wonder from which planet Maloney just arrived.
It sure as hell isn't Earth...
He concedes that many had to wait in hot, crowded conditions, but argues that SEPTA rose to the challenge. "We had every single piece of equipment out there operating, and operating at ultimate capacity," he said. "We couldn't have possibly done more."
I have heard from dozens who asked why SEPTA did not, for example, organize park-and-ride lots with express buses. Or borrow extra trains from New Jersey Transit. Or abandon its normal Saturday schedule. Or spread patrons out among stations.
Because that would've made sense. And, as we all know, common sense doesn't exactly prevail in the alternative universe that is 1234 Market.
Maloney said some of those suggestions are impractical. Traffic was banned in a quarter of Center City, and train capacity is limited by the four-track tunnel running out of 30th Street Station. After the concert, SEPTA dispatchers ran trains as frequently as every six minutes, he said, adding, "We ran it like a subway."
Isn't that the normal mentality of those who run the Regional Rail Division at SEPTA?
Brian Gralnick, 26, of Elkins Park, was typical of the disgruntled commuters I heard from. He said he began his trip out of Center City at 11:15 p.m., was directed to the wrong train by a conductor, and got waylaid at the Fern Rock station in North Philadelphia, where he waited in vain for a train until 1 a.m. He finally gave up and called his parents for a ride.
"And SEPTA says it performed remarkably?" he asked.
No, Brian, they never said that. Flawlessly. That's even better!
Similarly, after spending 3 1/2 hours in SEPTA's clutches, Deborah Ebbert, 35, of North Wales, was forced to call her mother to rescue her, "like a 15-year-old stranded at the mall."
"They have some pretty skewed definitions if that was 'flawless,' " she wrote.
That's not the only skewed definition SEPTA has in it's book, Deb...
Robert Ciervo, director of academic strategies at Drexel University, complained: "Pat Deon is in fantasy land. They were totally unprepared on Saturday morning. Then they had to adjust on the fly and the only thing they did was add more cars to each train."
We haven't confirmed that Don Pasquale was in fact in "fantasy land" as Mr. Civero reports, but there are similarities to "fantasy land" and Lower Bucks. Perhaps Don Pasquale was day dreaming about his annual hack-o-rama fishing trip to Alaska. I'm sure there are more than a few people who wouldn't mind if his ticket to Alaska this year was one-way...
Meanwhile, as Maloney and I talked, I began to realize how he and his SEPTA bosses define flawless. Not as perfect, but rather as, "It sure could have been a whole lot worse."
Maloney pointed out that no trains broke down, no lines went out of service, no tracks had to be closed. That's a little like a brain surgeon bragging that he remembered to wash his hands before operating.
It all raises questions about SEPTA's grounding in reality. And its credibility - not just regarding its Live 8 performance, but its preparation for far more serious contingencies.
Credibility is apparently not in the dictionaries at 1234 Market...
In the wake of the London transit bombings, SEPTA officials have assured the public they are taking all steps possible to protect the public while keeping the system freely running. I want to believe. And yet...
When SEPTA tells lawmakers it has done everything in its power to cut costs and maximize efficiency - and still needs more money, I want to believe. But again...
Leaving people waiting during a post-concert crush is one thing. Preparing for the unthinkable is something else again. On that front, I pray SEPTA and the police who guard it do perform in the truest sense of that much-abused word: flawlessly.
So why do I tie the Live 8 complaints with the safety of the system?
Three days after Grogan's second column bashing SEPTA's Live 8 service (or lack thereof), a serious crime takes place on the Broad-Ridge Spur (from the Inquirer):
Drifting in and out of consciousness, a woman who was beaten and apparently sexually assaulted under a Center City SEPTA platform this morning told police officers around her hospital bed that she was certain of one thing about her attacker: "He tried to kill me."
The victim, whose identity was still unknown, was in stable condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital this afternoon, said Sgt. Dan Bagnell of the Special Victims Unit.
The woman was attacked about 6:30 a.m. in the Chinatown station at Eighth and Race Streets. The station is diagonally across the street from Philadelphia Police Headquarters.
A train operator told officers that he thought he saw two mannequins under the platform as he was pulling into the station and that he tapped his brakes to slow down.
That squeal may have alerted the assailant. Witnesses saw him stand up, pull up his pants, and run, shirtless, from the station. He was later seen running southbound on Seventh Street.
Police will try to interview the woman again this afternoon, Bagnell said. She was passing in and out of consciousness when investigators spoke to her earlier, he said, but she did repeat, "He tried to kill me."
The suspect is described as a thin male about 5-feet-8.
It is unclear why the victim was in the station this morning. Investigators pulled paper bags filled with possible evidence from the area under the platform this morning and afternoon. The victim had also undergone tests to determine if she had been sexually assaulted.
The Broad-Ridge orange line spur was closed during the morning as police searched the crime scene. Service resumed about 1 p.m. SEPTA spokesman Jim Whitaker said commuters had been diverted to parallel buses that run along the same route.
Nicole Whitney, 23, said she usually uses the station to get to her job at the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, which is across the street from the station. Instead, she was rerouted and had to walk from City Hall.
"It just made me late," she shrugged.
She was not worried about increased danger at the station, noting that such a thing could have happened anywhere. But, she said, there are rarely SEPTA workers in the station. One day, she said, she got off the train and found one set of station doors locked.
The logic apparently is that since the Broad-Ridge Spur is lightly used, why bother making access easy?
The station is also across the street from the new Metroclub Condominiums. Resident Ellen Reese, 26, said she and her boyfriend moved from Rittenhouse Square to the luxury condo last month.
Despite the proximity to police headquarters, she said, "This area needs heightened security," such as more foot patrols and better lighting.
"At night, I'm scared to walk alone out here," Reese said. "You don't see the actual police presence."
One can assume Ms. Reese is referring to Philadelphia Police, but you could also make the same arguement for SEPTA Police to be more visible systemwide.
Meanwhile, there's word that Juan Covington, the 43 year old disgruntled former SEPTA driver accused of killing a Montgomery County woman in Center City after getting off a 33 bus, is reportedly the triggerman in the shooting of Odies Bosket at Logan Station on the Broad Street Line, according to the Philadelphia Daily News (a fully paid subsidiary of Moveon-dot-org):
A father of four described by family members as friendly and jovial is expected to be added to the list of people allegedly slain by Juan Covington, a source said yesterday.
Covington, charged last week with fatally shooting hospital worker Trish McDermott and his cousin, the Rev. Thomas Lee Devlin, recently confessed to killing Odies Bosket four months ago at a North Philadelphia SEPTA subway stop, the source said.
Philadelphia police spokesman Cpl. Jim Pauley last night declined to verify Covington's confession and said only that he had not been charged with another murder.
Bosket, 36, was shot once in the head and twice on his side March 7 at about 2 p.m. near the entrance of the Logan Station subway stop on the Broad Street Line. Bosket was on his way to pick up his 4-year-old daughter from preschool, his widow recalled yesterday.
"That was his routine," said Audra Bosket, Odies' wife of 15 years. "He'd drop her off at Broad and Olney in the morning, go to work, then head back up there on the subway in the afternoon."
Covington's alleged motive for killing Bosket, a clerk in the city's Revenue Department for the past three years, remains a mystery to the victim's family.
"It just didn't seem to make sense at all. Odies was a funny guy. Everyone knew him," said Audra Bosket, 34. "I had to walk around looking behind my back, worrying that someone was after our family."
A neighbor familiar with Covington, whom family members said has a history of mental illness, said that a funny facial expression could have set him off. He had been off medication for his illness for more than a decade.
Previous articles in the past few days indicated that Covington had worked for SEPTA as a bus operator out of Allegheny Depot. One article noted that he wasn't particularly well liked by his fellow operators and that his termination was as a result of an alleged assault of a co-worker.
Did you know that our regional train-and-bus system, that beloved model of crack public-sector efficiency, operated "flawlessly" during the Live 8 concert?
Not "pretty good." Not "about as well as could be expected." Not even "beyond our expectations." Flawlessly. As in without flaw; perfect; incapable of being improved upon.
SEPTA. Flawless. No kidding.
That would be the same SEPTA that left thousands of tired and frustrated concertgoers waiting for interminable periods. The one that seemed caught off guard by the crush of humanity, as if no one had mentioned the fact that there was going to be a little gathering of, oh, about 700,000 people on the Ben Franklin Parkway July 2 and that city officials were urging everyone to leave their cars behind and take public transit.
Not to mention the same system that routinely botches subway-surface service after the 4th of July fireworks on the Parkway...
Who gave this A-plus assessment? Why, none other than the transit agency's top dog himself, Pasquale T. "Pat" Deon Sr., chairman of SEPTA's board.
He was so thrilled with his system's performance, he wrote a testimonial, which appeared in Wednesday's Inquirer. In it, Deon described a finely tuned people-moving machine rising to the challenge of transporting "people by the tens of thousands."
And who exactly tuned this machine, William Hung?
He praised the "dozens of yellow-vested SEPTA employees" who filled the stations, pleasantly helping tired concertgoers find their way.
Then thecoup de grace: "The rail system operated at its absolute physical capacity and it worked flawlessly."
Only one problem: Many passengers offered a starkly different version of reality. And they did it through gnashing teeth, so disgusted were they with SEPTA's performance during the concert rush.
They obviously have never riden the system during the week...
Chairman Deon, meet satisfied customer Lewis Ostrander, 30, a software engineer, who decided to ride SEPTA to Live 8.
Take it away, Lewis: "We were waiting for the R6 in Manayunk around 9 a.m. We were waiting and waiting for the train." When none arrived, Ostrander and about 50 other commuters walked to a nearby bus station.
"There was a woman at the bus station, whom we all assumed was in charge. She had her uniform on along with her walkie-talkie," he wrote. "The woman had no idea what was going on and why there were so many people waiting for a bus... . There were two buses in the lot behind the transfer station. Both drivers were sitting in the front seat reading the paper."
Finally, another bus pulled up. "Everyone is relieved that we are finally going to get to the event. It is now 10:30 a.m. We have been waiting for a train or bus for 1 1/2 hours," Ostrander recounted. "The bus driver pulls up to the entrance and flips on his 'Out of Service' light. About 50 people were about to go 'postal' on SEPTA. The bus driver refused to take anyone anywhere."
It's called rush hour deluxe...
The return trip was even worse.
"At the end of the day we took the R6 train from Suburban Station," he wrote. "It was jungle hot, no information and mass chaos. I think I saw about three SEPTA employees in the entire station. People were running around like chickens without heads."
...and it worked flawlessly.
Then there was Jan Waldauer, 36, of Media, who kept a minute-by-minute journal of her ill-fated commute home, which began at 11:15 p.m. at the Market Street East station and did not end until 2:30 a.m.
"We could have walked faster," she wrote. "Nice job, SEPTA; you actually made US Airways look good."
Anyone who has ever flown can probably agree with that assessment...
She described waiting with her fellow passengers for more than an hour just to make the hop to Suburban Station, where she continued to wait.
My favorite of her entries: "Suburban Station, 1:40am: Train pulls in going our direction, but doors do not open. Conductor walks through the train, ignoring people as they knock on the doors. Good God, are they going to leave us here?"
Of course they are. It's SEPTA...
Meanwhile, on Friday, Grogan wrote a follow-up column which in effect suggests that anyone who thought SEPTA was so "flawless" should be committed to Norristown State Hospital for a psych eval...
SEPTA is sticking with its story.
It operated "flawlessly" during the July 2 Live 8 concert, and that's all there is to it. No ifs, ands or buts.
I know this because SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney told me so the other day. I had called to ask him, in light of numerous complaints from concertgoers, some of whom waited at stations for hours to get home, whether he thought his description had been just a tad over the top.
And of course, anything that comes out of the mouth of SEPTA's Minister of Mis-Information has to be true. That's just the way it is...
Not at all, Maloney said. "We were able to move a historic number of people in a very short period of time. I am not the least bit apologetic."
Nor, sir, are you sane...
I wondered aloud if perhaps it was that word flawless that rankled so many. Not only had Maloney used it, but so had SEPTA board chairman Pat Deon. A poor choice, perhaps?
"No, it's not, because it was," Maloney said. Flawless, that is.
I am desparately trying to stifle laughter at that statement...
If you were one of the thousands of concertgoers crammed into Suburban Station on July 2, you might wonder from which planet Maloney just arrived.
It sure as hell isn't Earth...
He concedes that many had to wait in hot, crowded conditions, but argues that SEPTA rose to the challenge. "We had every single piece of equipment out there operating, and operating at ultimate capacity," he said. "We couldn't have possibly done more."
I have heard from dozens who asked why SEPTA did not, for example, organize park-and-ride lots with express buses. Or borrow extra trains from New Jersey Transit. Or abandon its normal Saturday schedule. Or spread patrons out among stations.
Because that would've made sense. And, as we all know, common sense doesn't exactly prevail in the alternative universe that is 1234 Market.
Maloney said some of those suggestions are impractical. Traffic was banned in a quarter of Center City, and train capacity is limited by the four-track tunnel running out of 30th Street Station. After the concert, SEPTA dispatchers ran trains as frequently as every six minutes, he said, adding, "We ran it like a subway."
Isn't that the normal mentality of those who run the Regional Rail Division at SEPTA?
Brian Gralnick, 26, of Elkins Park, was typical of the disgruntled commuters I heard from. He said he began his trip out of Center City at 11:15 p.m., was directed to the wrong train by a conductor, and got waylaid at the Fern Rock station in North Philadelphia, where he waited in vain for a train until 1 a.m. He finally gave up and called his parents for a ride.
"And SEPTA says it performed remarkably?" he asked.
No, Brian, they never said that. Flawlessly. That's even better!
Similarly, after spending 3 1/2 hours in SEPTA's clutches, Deborah Ebbert, 35, of North Wales, was forced to call her mother to rescue her, "like a 15-year-old stranded at the mall."
"They have some pretty skewed definitions if that was 'flawless,' " she wrote.
That's not the only skewed definition SEPTA has in it's book, Deb...
Robert Ciervo, director of academic strategies at Drexel University, complained: "Pat Deon is in fantasy land. They were totally unprepared on Saturday morning. Then they had to adjust on the fly and the only thing they did was add more cars to each train."
We haven't confirmed that Don Pasquale was in fact in "fantasy land" as Mr. Civero reports, but there are similarities to "fantasy land" and Lower Bucks. Perhaps Don Pasquale was day dreaming about his annual hack-o-rama fishing trip to Alaska. I'm sure there are more than a few people who wouldn't mind if his ticket to Alaska this year was one-way...
Meanwhile, as Maloney and I talked, I began to realize how he and his SEPTA bosses define flawless. Not as perfect, but rather as, "It sure could have been a whole lot worse."
Maloney pointed out that no trains broke down, no lines went out of service, no tracks had to be closed. That's a little like a brain surgeon bragging that he remembered to wash his hands before operating.
It all raises questions about SEPTA's grounding in reality. And its credibility - not just regarding its Live 8 performance, but its preparation for far more serious contingencies.
Credibility is apparently not in the dictionaries at 1234 Market...
In the wake of the London transit bombings, SEPTA officials have assured the public they are taking all steps possible to protect the public while keeping the system freely running. I want to believe. And yet...
When SEPTA tells lawmakers it has done everything in its power to cut costs and maximize efficiency - and still needs more money, I want to believe. But again...
Leaving people waiting during a post-concert crush is one thing. Preparing for the unthinkable is something else again. On that front, I pray SEPTA and the police who guard it do perform in the truest sense of that much-abused word: flawlessly.
So why do I tie the Live 8 complaints with the safety of the system?
Three days after Grogan's second column bashing SEPTA's Live 8 service (or lack thereof), a serious crime takes place on the Broad-Ridge Spur (from the Inquirer):
Drifting in and out of consciousness, a woman who was beaten and apparently sexually assaulted under a Center City SEPTA platform this morning told police officers around her hospital bed that she was certain of one thing about her attacker: "He tried to kill me."
The victim, whose identity was still unknown, was in stable condition at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital this afternoon, said Sgt. Dan Bagnell of the Special Victims Unit.
The woman was attacked about 6:30 a.m. in the Chinatown station at Eighth and Race Streets. The station is diagonally across the street from Philadelphia Police Headquarters.
A train operator told officers that he thought he saw two mannequins under the platform as he was pulling into the station and that he tapped his brakes to slow down.
That squeal may have alerted the assailant. Witnesses saw him stand up, pull up his pants, and run, shirtless, from the station. He was later seen running southbound on Seventh Street.
Police will try to interview the woman again this afternoon, Bagnell said. She was passing in and out of consciousness when investigators spoke to her earlier, he said, but she did repeat, "He tried to kill me."
The suspect is described as a thin male about 5-feet-8.
It is unclear why the victim was in the station this morning. Investigators pulled paper bags filled with possible evidence from the area under the platform this morning and afternoon. The victim had also undergone tests to determine if she had been sexually assaulted.
The Broad-Ridge orange line spur was closed during the morning as police searched the crime scene. Service resumed about 1 p.m. SEPTA spokesman Jim Whitaker said commuters had been diverted to parallel buses that run along the same route.
Nicole Whitney, 23, said she usually uses the station to get to her job at the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, which is across the street from the station. Instead, she was rerouted and had to walk from City Hall.
"It just made me late," she shrugged.
She was not worried about increased danger at the station, noting that such a thing could have happened anywhere. But, she said, there are rarely SEPTA workers in the station. One day, she said, she got off the train and found one set of station doors locked.
The logic apparently is that since the Broad-Ridge Spur is lightly used, why bother making access easy?
The station is also across the street from the new Metroclub Condominiums. Resident Ellen Reese, 26, said she and her boyfriend moved from Rittenhouse Square to the luxury condo last month.
Despite the proximity to police headquarters, she said, "This area needs heightened security," such as more foot patrols and better lighting.
"At night, I'm scared to walk alone out here," Reese said. "You don't see the actual police presence."
One can assume Ms. Reese is referring to Philadelphia Police, but you could also make the same arguement for SEPTA Police to be more visible systemwide.
Meanwhile, there's word that Juan Covington, the 43 year old disgruntled former SEPTA driver accused of killing a Montgomery County woman in Center City after getting off a 33 bus, is reportedly the triggerman in the shooting of Odies Bosket at Logan Station on the Broad Street Line, according to the Philadelphia Daily News (a fully paid subsidiary of Moveon-dot-org):
A father of four described by family members as friendly and jovial is expected to be added to the list of people allegedly slain by Juan Covington, a source said yesterday.
Covington, charged last week with fatally shooting hospital worker Trish McDermott and his cousin, the Rev. Thomas Lee Devlin, recently confessed to killing Odies Bosket four months ago at a North Philadelphia SEPTA subway stop, the source said.
Philadelphia police spokesman Cpl. Jim Pauley last night declined to verify Covington's confession and said only that he had not been charged with another murder.
Bosket, 36, was shot once in the head and twice on his side March 7 at about 2 p.m. near the entrance of the Logan Station subway stop on the Broad Street Line. Bosket was on his way to pick up his 4-year-old daughter from preschool, his widow recalled yesterday.
"That was his routine," said Audra Bosket, Odies' wife of 15 years. "He'd drop her off at Broad and Olney in the morning, go to work, then head back up there on the subway in the afternoon."
Covington's alleged motive for killing Bosket, a clerk in the city's Revenue Department for the past three years, remains a mystery to the victim's family.
"It just didn't seem to make sense at all. Odies was a funny guy. Everyone knew him," said Audra Bosket, 34. "I had to walk around looking behind my back, worrying that someone was after our family."
A neighbor familiar with Covington, whom family members said has a history of mental illness, said that a funny facial expression could have set him off. He had been off medication for his illness for more than a decade.
Previous articles in the past few days indicated that Covington had worked for SEPTA as a bus operator out of Allegheny Depot. One article noted that he wasn't particularly well liked by his fellow operators and that his termination was as a result of an alleged assault of a co-worker.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
CODE ORANGE ON THE EL
At around 12:00, police were alerted to a suspicious package in the track area along the El at York-Dauphin Station. A "code orange" was activated as service was suspended between Berks and Huntingdon while an investigation was initiated. The package was reported to be a black backpack, which was later proven to be empty. The station re-opened at around 12:35.
Monday, June 13, 2005
EL PROBLEMS
Earlier this evening, there were reports of busing between Bridge-Pratt and Erie-Torresdale due to "police activity". As of 20:00, it appeared that normal service had resumed. No other details about the incident are available...
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