THIS JUST IN...

In a very dramatic scene at last month's Rubber-stamp Meeting of the SEPTA Board (if you consider reading from a script dramatic), SEPTA Board Chairman/Radio Impresario/Turnpike Commissioner/Land Developer Extraordinaire/Former Convention Center Board Member and all around weasel Pasquale T. Deon, Sr. was (ahem) elected to a seventh term as Chairman and CMO (Chief Micro-Managing Officer) of SEPTA Board. Deon served as Vice Chairman under former Delaware County Council President Tom Hayward in 1998, replacing Richard Voith (and a lot of people who follow SEPTA from the outside still miss Mr. Voith's voice of reason on the board) who had left the board for non-political reasons, before being elected Chairman the following year (and it's no coincidence that the western suburbs have been relegated to second class status compared to Bucks and Montgomery County since Deon has been Chairman).

In an even bigger shock with much drama (yes, that is sarcasm), James C. Schwartzman was re-elected Vice Chairman of the SEPTA Board, also for a seventh term. Schwartzman - a Republican from Radnor who was appointed by the Minority Leader of the Pennsylvania Senate (who is a Democrat) - has served on the SEPTA Board since 1991.

(And, if you haven't noticed, I just cut and pasted the same post that I wrote last year, and the year before that.)

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN...

A public meeting will be held on Friday, March 18 in the Board Room at 1234 Market to discuss the preliminary FY 2006 Annual Service Plan. The meeting will begin at 10:00am. Among the proposed changes that will be discussed:

• Route 1 would be extended to Philadelphia Park in Bensalem Township, Bucks County; in addition, a route revision along Decatur and Red Lion Roads near Northeast Philadelphia Airport, which would eliminate the routing via Grant and Academy in favor of operating via Roosevelt Blvd, Comly Rd, Decatur, Red Lion, and Drummond Rd.
  
• Route 3 would be re-routed to offer direct service to the Temple University Regional Rail station, operating via Berks between 9 and 10 St (pending the city's approval to allow two-way traffic along Berks as far west at 10 St).
• Route 14 would operate direct service into the Horizon Corporate Center in Bensalem Township.
• Route 20 would be split into two routes: the 20 would remain unchanged, with some modifications to the express routing, which would operate via Roosevelt Blvd; new Route 50 would would operate over most of the same route, however it would bypass Keswick (which would still be served by the 20). The apparent goal is to make the 50 the primary route between Bridge-Pratt and Philadelphia Park. Some 20 and 50 trips would be extended from Franklin Mills to Philadelphia Park.
• Route 47 southbound service would be re-routed off of N 8 St onto N 6 St between Susquehanna and Cecil B Moore to offer direct service to the Gateway Plaza retail complex.
• The long discussed split of Route 96 would also take place: the 96 would still operate between Norristown and Lansdale, while new Route 132 would operate between Montgomery Mall and Telford, with new service to Central Montgomery Medical Center via Broad St, Horsham Rd, and N Wales Rd.
• Route 97 would be split into two routes: the 97 would still operate between Norristown and Spring Mill Regional Rail Station, however, service would be extended to the Barren Hill district of Whitemarsh Twp, via Hector St, Cedar Grove Ln, Joshua Rd, Germantown Pk, Church Rd, and Ridge Pk; new Route 90 would operate between Norristown and E Norriton Crossing (nee Penn Square) with a revised routing through Norristown State Hospital.
• Route 98 service through the Blue Bell district of Whitpain Twp would be adjusted; evening westbound service would bypass Blue Bell and operate via Germantown Pike, as would all weekend service in both directions.
• Route 129 would be modified in two locations, which have not been disclosed as of yet (the 129 map was not included in the packet that I recieved).

MAYBE THEY'RE ON TO SOMETHING...

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ran an editorial in today's editions regarding Monday's bailout of SEPTA and other transit agencies by Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa./Comcast SportsNet):

The governor will divert $68 million from federal highway funds to get the Port Authority of Allegheny County and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority through the end of this fiscal year. If the state Legislature doesn't devise a more dedicated funding stream after that, Mr. Rendell says he'll divert millions more in highway dollars to keep both agencies afloat next year.

Oh, the irony: Poorly managed mass transit is saved by its aficionados' bane -- the car.

The operative words as it lreates to SEPTA are "poorly managed" though I don't know enough about Pittsburgh's transit agency to say the same thing about them...

Part of Rendell's deal, though, is the creation of a nine-member state Transportation Funding and Reform Commission. One of its missions is to find ways to cut costs, enhance efficiencies and improve service. There will be an external audit of operations and review by an outside management consultant.

Bravo! As long as the appointees (five by the governor and four by the Legislature) are honest brokers, that is. Too many such boards are rubber stamps for an ever-deeper dive into taxpayer pockets. If this board does not recommend a considerable shake-up of the Port Authority and SEPTA, we'll know it's a sham.

Mass transit is broken in this commonwealth. The opportunity is golden to fix it -- not through more government folly but through the competitive market model. Let's get on with it. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

It should be pointed out that unlike the two far-left-of-center leaning rags in Philadelphia - The Inquirer and Daily News - the Tribune-Review leans further to the right-of-center, hence the "competitive market" suggestion. Which, to be fair, can't be any worse than what exists now...

BUS ACCIDENT IN SOUTHWEST...

A G bus was involved in an accident in Southwest Philadelphia last night. According to overhead footage from CBS 3, 5613 was heading north towards Overbrook when a car struck the vehicle from the street side. Three people were injured - the driver of the car and two passengers on the bus.

FAST EDDIE TO THE RESCUE ... FINALLY

After what seemed like weeks of delaying, Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa./Comcast SportsNet) announced that he would make $68 million in federal flexible funding available to bail SEPTA out, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal:

Rendell proposed that $68 million immediately be made available to SEPTA, which provides service in the Philadelphia area, and the Port Authority of Allegheny County, which serves the Pittsburgh area. Transit agencies will have access to additional funds through Jan. 1, 2007.

"It is welcome news that we are going to keep the system running," SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said.

Not to mention the fact that the Minister of Mis-Information gets to keep his job...

The funding averts SEPTA's planned service cuts and a 25 percent across-the-board fare hike that was to go into effect March 6, Rendell said. But it is only a temporary fix to a long-term problem, said Rendell and SEPTA officials, who held a press conference at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station.

"Although this is a good day in the sense we removed the immediate crisis...It isn't an entirely good day because in my judgment highway funds should be used for highways," Rendell said. "Some of this money will never go back to roads, bridges and highways."

How much of the funding is actually used will depend on how soon legislators act to provide permanent funding through a different source, Rendell said. Additionally, $530 million in new funding will be made available to repair roads and bridges, he said.

Transit agencies will receive the funding from federally provided transportation funds, a large portion of which can be used for either roads or transit. The new funding for roads will come from federal and state sources. Higher than expected revenues from federal and state gasoline taxes will boost funding to $942 million, $276 million of which is a result of the Oil Company Franchise Tax.

At Monday's press conference, Rendell also signed an executive order, creating a nine-member "Transportation Funding and Reform Commission" to study transit and highway funding needs and recommend ways to cut costs, improve efficiency and service, and raise needed funding. The recommendations will result in part from the findings of an external audit and outside management consultant review.

That is, if and when the governor can stop mourning the Iggles colossal choke job in the Super Bowl and actually release the damned report...

"We are always welcome to examinations of our costs and management by
government," said Maloney, who said SEPTA had conducted a number of studies. Philadelphia Business Journal

Sure, SEPTA is open to the idea. If that's the case, why hasn't SEPTA implemented most of the proposals recently recommended in it's recently concluded, in-house audit?

YET ANOTHER VETO...

Philadelphia's two representatives to the SEPTA Board - Chris DiCicco and Jettie Newkirk - once again exercised the city's veto power to delay a fare increase for at least 30 days. This occured at today's "special" board meeting which followed the regularly scheduled "rubber-stamp" session.

This move had been hinted at in Dan Geringer's article in today's Philadelphia Daily News (a fully-paid subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee):

"What we need is a solution, not a destruction of the transit system," said a City Hall source who declined to be identified.

A second City Hall source said that this afternoon's board meeting would be packed with the transit system's most vulnerable captive riders, who need SEPTA to get them to jobs, schools and doctors but who can't afford sky-high fares.

This of course was before the Philadelphia press corps went into "Operation Over-hype" mode in advance of today's snowfall. For the record, only a handful of people were able to make it to today's meeting...

A veto today by city appointees Jettie Newkirk and Christian DiCicco will prevent the 15-member, suburbs-dominated board from passing a 38 percent fare increase for at least a month.

But the veto will not prevent the 25 percent fare hikes and the 20 percent service cuts that were approved in December when the SEPTA board overrode an earlier veto by the same two city appointees.

Those "doomsday" hikes and cuts will go into effect on March 6 unless: (1) The Legislature pays off SEPTA's $49 million deficit, or (2) Gov. Rendell "flexes" (transfers) highway funds to mass transit as a temporary bailout, or (3) The city wins its lawsuit against SEPTA, due to be heard Monday in Common Pleas Court, that argues against fare hikes and service cuts as unnecessary and legally questionable.

Had the veto not been exercised, the SEPTA base fare would've increased from the current $2.00 to $3.00 on March 6. The original plan was to increase the fare from $2.00 to $2.50 last month, then increase from $2.50 to $3.00 on March 6, but the city's pending lawsuit against SEPTA regarding the fare hikes put a crimp in those plans. As it stands now, barring a court order, the base fare will increase to $2.50 on March 6, with the $3.00 base fare on hold pending the expected override of the city's veto next month.

Even so, SEPTA's plan to hike the fares from $2.00 to $3.00 certainly would've ranked as one of the dumbest decisions to come out of 1234 Market in recent memory. And there sure as hell have been a lot of stupid decisions from that place...

TOLD YOU SO...

Less than two months after we recieved a tip from an insider regarding the SEPTA Transit Police department's decision to do away with plainclothes details comes word of an attack at a Broad Street Subway station this past week.

According to WCAU-TV:

A teenager who volunteers his time to help troubled teens was a victim of a gang of teens Monday.

The teen, whose name was not released, was attacked at the Fern Rock SEPTA station.

Police said about a dozen teens attacked the 15-year-old as he was walking to a nearby church where he volunteers.

He was rushed to a hospital for treatment for several cuts and bruises.

The victim's mother believes the attack could have been stopped if police were patrolling the area.

"I'm so upset that this was a pattern we could have prevented from happening had there been plainclothed police officers in the area," said Tanya Haynes.

SEPTA officials said there used to be several plainclothed police officers patrolling the area, but last year those officers were put back into uniform and back on the street.

Police said a 50-year-old man was attacked in the same area [the week of 7 February - ed], apparently by the same group of teens. WCAU-TV

Surprise, surprise, surprise...

Last December, we posted this comment from SEPTA Minister of Mis-Information Richard Maloney, who said this to WCAU-TV after that station aired a report on an increase in pickpocketing incidents on SEPTA vehicles:

"We have a pickpocket patrol at the SEPTA Police Department, and they're undercover police, and they make arrests," SEPTA spokesman Rich Maloney said. WCAU-TV

Along with that lie from Maloney (one of these days, it would be interesting to see a list of lies that Maloney has told in his capacity as SEPTA's Minister of Mis-Information, but that's another posting), we also posted an insider's account that not only reported the lie about the plainclothes details, but also reported that staffing levels during morning peak periods are far less than what they should be.

This raises the question - Was SEPTA lying then, or are they lying now?

For that matter, can you really tell the difference?

FUNDING HELP ON WAY ... WE HOPE

Lost amid the flurry of threats by SEPTA to hike fares and slash service, the Pennsylvania Senate approved a bill (SB 199) sponsored by State Sen. Robert Thompson (R-19th/Chester) that would temporarily suspend the current $75 million cap on the amount of state sales tax that can be dedicated for mass transit statewide retroactive to July 1, 2004 and effective for the current fiscal year. The bill passed the Senate 46-0 and was referred to the House Finance Committee on February 14. The Evening Bulletin reported that SEPTA's take from this would be approximately $14 million.

The problem is that the legislature is in recess until March 14, a week after the first phase of planned fare hikes and 20 percent across-the-board service cuts are supposed to take effect. Kudos are due to Sen. Thompson - a former SEPTA Board Chairman during his stint as a Chester County Commissioner - for getting this bill passed, yet at the same time, it may take at least a month for the House to consider this proposal. By that time, the damage may be done...

YET ANOTHER IDEA FROM HARRISBURG

In yesterday's Philadelphia Daily News (a fully-paid subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee), State Rep. Keith McCall (D-Carbon) laid out his proposal that would benefit both transit and highways, a condition to any possible funding solution for SEPTA:

My proposal will:

• Increase the realty-transfer tax by a half percent [like Fumo's Senate bill], which will give mass transit $200 million in dedicated funding annually, probably more.
• Adjust the formula so that the [smaller]... mass-transit systems get a larger share of state funding. I'm confident that both SEPTA and the Port Authority in Allegheny County will agree to that.
• Make the "floor" of the oil company franchise tax, which increased automatically as of Jan. 1 permanent, which means that an additional $280 million would continue to flow into roads and bridges without the need to raise the gas tax.
• Increase some driver and vehicle fees: passenger-car registrations would rise from $36 to $43, SUVs to $50. Restoring a suspended license would cost $30 instead of $25. That would raise $100 million that would go solely to local governments to repair local bridges and roads. Daily News

According to McCall, his plan "is getting some legs. There's a lot of bipartisan support out there. This is a fluid process. By the time every member gets a chance to look at it, it will have some changes. It's not etched in stone. The important thing is to get this done."

SURE, NOW HE RIDES

In what appears to have been a first, Emperor Street actually rode the Broad Street Subway...

According to the Inquirer, the Emperor joined labor leaders in taking a trip on the subway during Monday's peak hour:

Street, who vowed in a year-end news conference that he and members of his cabinet would ride the cash-strapped transit system weekly in 2005, hopped a Broad Street train from City Hall to Pattison Avenue shortly after 5:30 p.m.

Onboard, he grabbed a seat next to Angie Grant of South Philadelphia, who was in the midst of a 90-minute trip home from her job at a Newtown Square nursing home. Responding to the mayor's questions, Grant said her three-hour daily round-trip aboard the system's buses and trains was crucial to keeping her job.

"It's about work," Street said. "You hike the fares enough and she's going to say, 'Hey, why should I go out there?' "

Street said SEPTA's riders were primarily working people such as Grant, whom he described as "the most deserving people there are to get a subsidy." He called on state legislators to fully fund the transit agency, which has threatened a massive fare hike if Harrisburg cannot solve its financial troubles.

On their journey from City Hall to South Philadelphia's stadium complex, Street and a party that included Lance Haver, Philadelphia director of consumer affairs; Pat Eiding, Philadelphia AFL-CIO president; and Thomas Paine Cronin, leader of the city's white-collar union, witnessed symptoms of SEPTA woes, including graffiti and trash on trains and platforms.

But some aspects of the ride were unique to a mayoral visit, such as a brief delay after a camera crew following Street's party blocked train doors from closing. Later, a subway passenger on a platform loudly banged the car window behind Street's seat.

Perhaps the person banging on the window was not exactly a member of the Emperor's fan club...

Street noted that it was his second public-transit ride of the week. On Friday, he took a bus to work from his North Philadelphia home.

But after reaching the line's Pattison Avenue terminus last night, he rode away in an official vehicle.

Haver said he expected 4,500 Philadelphia advocates to appear at a Feb. 14 transit rally in Harrisburg. Inquirer

It'll be interesting to see if Haver's predictions hold true...

That said, it's really interesting that the Emperor has finally decided to make SEPTA a major issue after years of virtually ignoring transportation issues during his first term...

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Remember last year's Bonny and Clyde couple who had the brilliant idea of taking a SEPTA bus to flee from a robbery scene in Royersford? Apparently, they weren't the first rocket scientists who thought SEPTA would've made a good escape route...

Lou Sessinger, a columnist with the Lansdale-Doylestown Intelligencer related a story about a similar robbery a few years ago in Doylestown Township, Bucks County:

Doylestown Township Police Chief Stephen White remembers an especially dumb crook his department encountered a few years back.

The man held up the M&T Bank in the shopping center at Route 611 and Almshouse Road, which incidentally is a mere stone's throw from the Bucks County Prison.

Maybe that's fitting because the guy apparently was no stranger to the corrections system.

He had written a demand note and gave it to a bank teller, leaving it behind when he fled.

"The note was written on the back of an envelope," White recalled. "On the front of the envelope was the man's name and address. It had been sent to him by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections."

As it turned out, the holdup man had taken a SEPTA bus to Doylestown Township up Route 611 from his home in Elkins Park (the 55 - ed.). He was planning to take another SEPTA bus home after the robbery - I guess you call that a getaway bus - but he had to kill some time before the bus arrived.

For once, the lengthy headways north of Willow Grove Park Mall paid off...

His intention was apparently to get something to eat at a restaurant in the shopping center near the bank until the bus came. However, the restaurant wasn't open, and he couldn't get in.

Police arrested him within minutes. Intelligencer

SOME IDEAS FROM THE "FRINGE"

The Philadelphia City Paper (which makes the Daily News look like National Review, and that may be a little generous) ran a cover story last week in which staffers offered 33 suggestions on how to improve SEPTA. I haven't had a chance to review the full article, but at some point this month, I'll try to offer a commentary related to this article...

GOOD NEWS ... FOR ONCE

And now, we offer a moment when SEPTA can actually pat itself on the back, which has become increasingly rare in recent years...

SEPTA boasted a significant reduction in delays this fall caused by "slippery rail" conditions, which occurs when dead leaves fall onto the tracks and cause delays or trains to reduce speeds or even skip stops. The good news according to a press release issued today:

... [D]espite the abundance of foliage and higher than normal rainfall in the Philadelphia region in 2004, SEPTA accomplished its goal of diminishing service delays attributed to slippery rail from leaves falling onto its tracks.

In 2004 between the months of October and December for six nights a week SEPTA scrubbed, cleaned, washed and rinsed its tracks to remove leaf residue.

The result was a system-wide reduction in the number of trains delayed by slippery rail by more than 930 trains over the previous year.

"Transit systems worldwide spend a considerable amount of time developing strategies to overcome this problem," said Patrick Nowakowski, General Manager for Operations at SEPTA. "We're not any different than the rest of them. We've tried a number tactics over the years and through trial and error seem to be making progress."

Slippery rail conditions occur in the fall when leaves are crushed against the rails by passing trains. The crushed leaves create a slick coating on the rails particularly when moistened by dew or light rain. This leads to reduced friction between the rail and train wheels, with less friction it takes longer distances to brake and accelerate trains, thus causing delays in travel time.

Dead leaves stalled a total of 657 SEPTA trains last year. By comparison, the number of trains held up by slippery rail conditions in 2003 was 1,589. And in 2002, a whopping total of 2,352 trains were delayed by the occurrence.

While all SEPTA regional rail Routes experienced fewer slippery rail train delays in 2004, some of the biggest improvements were noted on Routes R3 West Trenton, R5 Paoli, and R6 Norristown. R5 train delays were reduced from 409 in 2003 to a total of just 168 in 2004. The R6 line experienced 91 fewer train delays from slippery rail conditions, while on the R3 line delays were reduced by a total of 85 trains compared to the previous year.

SEPTA also reduced the duration of delays attributed to slippery rail. For example, in 2004 the number of trains delayed between six and 10 minutes totaled less than 500, while almost 800 trains were delayed between six and 10 minutes in 2003. The duration of delays was reduced in every category SEPTA recorded data for in 2004.

Much of the performance of SEPTA's track-cleansing program and success can be credited to the railroad workers who built SPAX 2104, a flat car specially equipped with a high-pressure washer system.

SPAX 2104 is a beefed up version of two locomotives SEPTA began using for the first time in 2003 with great success. The two previous models worked well by discharging water at 5,000 pounds per square inch but SPAX 2104 blasted away leaves and debris by unloading water onto the tracks at 10,000 pounds per square inch.

"Recently we've relied heavily on the high-pressure washer vehicles and they've had a positive effect," said Nowakowski. "We're pleased with the progress we've made over the last two years during this historically difficult season. Our efforts have been beneficial to our riders."

In addition to the trio of high-pressure rail washing vehicles operated overnight on Regional Rail Lines and the Norristown High Speed, SEPTA reinforced its efforts by operating a vehicle outfitted with rotating brushes along the rails to scrub away any remaining leaves and oily deposits.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE ... SEPTA LIES

File this under "So Much For Those New Year's Resolutions"...

Today's Philadelphia Daily News (a fully-paid subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee) reports that the Philadelphia Police supervisor in charge of traffic control at the Sports Complex following last week's Iggles game all but called SEPTA liars following the post-game fiasco involving overcrowded access to the Pattison subway station:

SEPTA Assistant Operations Manager Pat Nowakowski told the Daily News that police, fearing traffic gridlock if thousands of departing fans walked across Pattison Avenue, closed the two north-of-Pattison-station entrances, forcing 17,000 fans to use the south-of-Pattison turnstiles.

The result was a human cattle drive that inched along, cheek-to- jowl, in the windswept arctic cold.

“I’m not looking to rip SEPTA,” said police Capt. Thomas Helker, who directed post-game traffic operations. “I just want to set the record straight. We did not close any entrances to any SEPTA stations. During the entire season, we have never closed any entrances to SEPTA stations after an Eagles game. Never.”

While I can't attest to that fact for Iggles games, the north head-houses are usually closed after Phillies games. The south head-houses are always open to allow for wheelchair access.

Yesterday, SEPTA stuck to its version of what caused the mess.

Apparently, Minister of Mis-Information Richard Maloney was unavailable to lie, leaving Nowakowski to do the lying for SEPTA.

Once they squeezed through the turnstiles and into mobbed Pattison station, fans saw “Eagles Express” trains stop halfway down the platform, fill up and leave them stranded.

Rider Rick Goldstein writes: “Best line after the game while each side of the tracks was six deep waiting for trains that came every 10-15 minutes: ‘One Team, One Dream, One Train.’”

For some inexpicable reason, SEPTA appears to have not stored trains on the lower level of Pattison as they have been over the course of this past season. In fairness, we don't know exactly how many Broad Street Line operators were able to make it into work last weekend, but still one would think that someone would know what the hell was going on...

SEPTA says it expected the usual 10,000 Eagles fans to take the train, not the 17,000 who showed up to avoid snowstorm-afflicted roads.

“SEPTA’s left-hand doesn’t know what the right-hand is doing,” wrote Steve Lapin of Melrose Park. “They knew how many people took the subway DOWN to the game. Did they not think that those same people will take the train BACK after the game?”

Of course not, Mr. Lapin. Ask anyone who has had to return from a Phillies game at "Da Bank" if the white-shirts at Pattison have a clue, and the answer would likely be "no."

But, wait, it gets better...

“Unfortunately, the mess was not limited to the subway,” wrote season-ticket holder Cynthia Gargano. “I waited with friends and family at Suburban Station for two hours for the R6. My parents waited for the R2, which finally arrived a little past 9, three hours since the last R2.

“An announcement was made that there were 45-50-minute train delays. We asked SEPTA employees what the situation with the R6 was, and no one could tell us. We called [SEPTA] customer service, but it was closed.

That didn't sound like 45-to-50 minute delays to me.

“We finally overheard a conversation with a SEPTA conductor that the R6 had been shut down due to snow in the tracks. I was very upset that SEPTA told no one about this and left us stranded. [It] is not only bad service but it is disrespectful to your customers. What happened on Sunday is inexcusable.”

Unfortunately, Ms. Gargano, what happened on Sunday is almost par for the course when it comes to Sports Express service, though service reportedly had been improving over the course of the Iggles season. As far as the Regional Rail side goes, having to search out a conductor to find out what's going on is about the only way people can figure out what the hell is going on...

By the way, wasn't Customer Dis-Services supposed to be open for extended hours during a snow emergency? Or was that yet another SEPTA lie to cover it's collective backsides?

“The return trip was a disaster,” wrote Richard Hammond. “The Eagles Express was slowed down by frozen switches and other Express trains in front of us. We were stuck between Olney and Fern Rock for 20 minutes.

“We got off the subway and walked over to the R5, which only runs every hour. There were about 100 people who were waiting on the freezing platform [for] 45 minutes. After waiting another 30 minutes, no train came. Finally, an announcement was made that an R5 was leaving Center City and would arrive in approximately 30 minutes.

“Many of us went in search of taxis and alternatives. So on a great day when SEPTA could have convinced a few suburbanites to use it more often, we were turned off by the service and SEPTA missed the opportunity to convert potential riders.” Daily News

Well, stop me if you've heard that one before...

It can't be that surprising that SEPTA's communication to its riders - or lack thereof - essentially scared a lot of potential future riders away. The lack of communication from SEPTA has been a long standing problem even on a clear day during a typical mid-day. How can SEPTA be expected to successfully communicate problems with its passengers during severe conditions when it can't do so under normal conditions?

And you wonder why some suburban and upstate pols are hesistant to fund SEPTA...

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN...

Contract negotiations between SEPTA and TWU 234 are starting, with TWU president Jeff Brooks and Fearless Leader exchanging proposals in Center City yesterday. With SEPTA's ongoing financial crisis, it appears that riders could be looking at the ugliest negotiations since the 1998 labor talks, which resulted in a crippling 40-day strike by City and Frontier workers.

Prior to his sit-down with Fearless Leader, Brooks offered several gripes about SEPTA's management abilities to Dan Geringer of the Philadelphia Daily News (a fully-paid subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee):

“These streets were filled with flourishing businesses,” Brooks said yesterday, looking at the shuttered storefronts and the survivors struggling to make ends meet. “What has happened here is a disaster. This is ridiculous.

“This is SEPTA’s inability to serve the people they’re supposed to serve in this neighborhood,” Brooks said. “Is that based on the racial makeup of this neighborhood or SEPTA’s basic inability to get things done? Do SEPTA project engineers have a time frame for getting this finished, or is it infinite?

“If this was the Northeast, this wouldn’t have happened. The Frankford end of the El was rebuilt in no time compared to this. So why is this happening here?”

Brooks then stood in front of Pyong Kim’s Twin Discount variety store to conduct a press conference about the opening of contract talks with SEPTA.

Kim said he’s had his store on 60th and Market since 1976. Business was fine, he said, until SEPTA’s Market El reconstruction began and killed 75 percent of Kim’s sales.

His wife, who worked in the store, now travels downtown and baby-sits to help make ends meet.

“We are tired of SEPTA pitting the community against us at contract time,” Brooks said, adding that SEPTA management traditionally blames its financial woes on transit workers’ salaries and health benefits.

“We want the public to know that we \[transit workers\] live in these communities. Our mothers and our children stand in the snow waiting for the bus just like the rest of the riding public. We use the same schools, go to the same churches. We are the community, too.”

Brooks said that “united with the riding public,” the TWU would fight for SEPTA reforms such as scheduling enough buses to end overcrowding, safely lit and sheltered bus stands with posted route schedules and emergency call boxes that work, and monitored video cameras on all train platforms. Daily News

JANUARY "RUBBER-STAMP" REPORT: LITTLE TO REPORT

Other than a major change in the delivery date of the 5900-series New Flyers, very little happened at today's "rubber-stamp" session of the SEPTA Board of Directors. The meeting, as is per custom, started 10 minutes late (or 5 minutes early using SEPTA standards). Other than the obigitory reports (or lack thereof) and consent calendar approval, the only noteworthy item was Tom Cooper's comments on the Rendell/Gerlach task force's failure to hold public meetings regarding the future of the $chuylkill Valley rail corridor, which were duly noted by Don Pasquale (who indicated that the project is pretty much out of SEPTA's hands). Other than that, with no reports from either SEPTA's Shyster-in-Chief or from Fearless Leader, the meeting adjourned at 3:17pm. Absent from today's meeting were Chester County representative James Rohn and gubernatorial appointee Denise Smyler; State Sen. Stuart Greenleaf (R-12th), Chester County rep Karen Martynick, and Frank McCartney participated by phone.

The only noteworthy items on the agenda were:

An agreement with PennDOT over the reconstruction of the Lindbergh Blvd bridge in Southwest Philadelphia, which would also replace trackage between 54-Lindbergh and 49-Woodland this summer, resulting in a bus-bridge between Woodland Shop and Penrose Plaza (which should be interesting to see how it will be handled, considering there probably won't be any Neoplans left by that time). The project would bus-titute the 36 between June 19 and September 3. As part of the agreement, PennDOT will reimburse SEPTA a net total in the amount of $215,369.18, which would be applied to the track replacement project.
Several changes to the delivery contract with New Flyer, regarding the 5900-series buses due for delivery in FY 2006. For starters, the 5900s will now sport a Cummins ISL-05 (nee L-10) engine instead of the now discontinued DDC Series 50 engine. Additionally, the 5900s, which were scheduled for delivery starting April 1, 2006 through the end of 2006, will now be delivered starting on August 1, 2005. This will effectively mean the end of the Neoplans as we know it by the end of winter.

DVRPC COMES THROUGH

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's Board of Commissioners voted to transfer nearly $10 million in funding for highway projects to SEPTA, thus reducing the defecit from $62 million to nearly $49 million. Among the projects that would be delayed or impacted by reduced funding, according to the Inquirer:

Reconstruction of the Norristown Rd interchange on the PA 309 freeway in Montgomery County ($4.9 million),
Reconstruction of the Callowhill Rd bridge in Bucks County ($1 million),
Reconstruction of New Rodgers Rd in Bristol Twp ($2.4 million), and
Reconstruction of Oxford Valley Rd in Middletown (Bucks) ($1.4 million)

Do you think it's any coincidence that most of the projects being cut are in Bucks County, which just so happens to be Don Pasquale's home turf?

DOYLESTOWN TO SEPTA: "SHUT UP!"

And now, the latest in a series of insensitive moves by SEPTA, which I'm sure Fearless Leader and the Rotating Resumes at 1234 Market don't exactly want legislators in Harrisburg to catch wind of...

According to the Lansdale-Doylestown Intelligencer, residents in neighborhoods and developments in both Doylestown Boro and Township have been jolted from their sleep by train horns as part of overnight yard movements that weren't exactly what they wanted to deal with.

"It's a terrific annoyance," said Joe Mettalia, one of several people living near the station who have complained about the noise. "There's no rhyme or reason to it."

Mr. Mettalia's statement (highlighted in bold) is a candidate for "Oxy-moron of the Year" though the term "Competent management" when referring to 1234 Market may edge that statement out in the end...

Mettalia and his neighbors want the noise between midnight and 3 a.m. to stop and have been frustrated that their pleas for an end to the problem weren't answered.

But on Thursday, the agency that operates the trains and the station apologized and said it would make immediate changes to ensure the horns would no longer be a problem.

"We heard from the community up there, and we're going to stop it immediately," said Richard Maloney, a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority spokesman. "We notified (local government officials) that we understand it was disruptive. We apologize for it."

Here's a concept that the Minister of Mis-Information may want to pass along to the Rotating Resumes. How about notifying officials BEFORE deciding to disrupt a neighborhood?

The apology came on a day when state Senator Joe Conti voiced his frustration that SEPTA officials were "spectacularly unresponsive" to phone calls he made in an attempt to correct the problem.

"You would think that with the funding needs of SEPTA, they would be more responsive," the Bucks County Republican said.

Of course not, Senator. Just ask the folks in Bristol Township...

It's not the first time the Doylestown train station has been the target of complaints about noise after midnight, Conti said.

"I characterize it as 'Groundhog Day,' " Conti said. "This is probably my third go-round with this issue. It happened about 20 years ago when then Congressman Peter Kostmayer was able to make a difference. Eight to 10 years ago, it happened again, and Congressman Jim Greenwood (helped resolve the problem)."

And, we'll probably be back 10 years from now discussing this issue again...

It was about two weeks ago when residents began hearing noise they weren't used to between midnight and 3 a.m. Although they've become accustomed to and accepting of train activity during rail service hours, the early-morning horns are hardly common.

"I've been woken up at 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 ...," said Mettalia, who lives in the Doylestown Hunt development in Doylestown Township. "Sometimes it's every couple of hours."

That seems to be the only consistent schedule that SEPTA has been able to maintain on the Doylestown branch (and this is before the blizzard that we're referring to).

Maloney, the SEPTA spokesman, said the noise resulted from a change in the way the agency stored trains at the station. For the past few weeks, SEPTA stored train cars overnight farther down the track than it normally does, closer to Doylestown Hunt.

"It's a relatively new procedure," he said. "We didn't realize it was disturbing the residents."

File this one under "dog bites man."

John Davis, Doylestown Borough's manager, said it was his understanding that an increase in the number of people boarding trains in Doylestown prompted SEPTA to add one or more cars at the station. Because there are more train cars and limited space to store them overnight at the station, some cars are stored farther down the tracks.

Bucks County Commissioner Charley Martin, who represents his county on SEPTA's board of directors, said he was unaware of the problem until a reporter told him about it Thursday. He said he had sympathy for the neighbors.

"If it doesn't get resolved, I'm sure I'll hear about it," Martin said. "Hopefully, it will be resolved fairly easily." Lansdale/Doylestown Intelligencer

We're assuming that Martin will be able to hear over the noise of the train horns...

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS...

KYW NewsRadio reported that SEPTA set a one-day ridership record for the Broad Street Line, carrying nearly 17,000 Iggles fans to the Linc for yesterday's beatdown of that team from Atlanta. Things didn't quite go as well for the return trip...

SEPTA's Minister of Mis-Information Richard Maloney claims that Philadelphia Police ordered SEPTA to close the two headhouses on the northeast corner of Broad and Pattison.

“There are four entrances [to the subway] at the sports complex, we call them headhouses. Philadelphia Police, in an attempt to keep vehicular traffic going on Pattison Avenue, prohibited SEPTA from opening the two northern headhouses."

But that decision forced hundreds of fans to jam into the southern entrances that were open. And, Maloney says, two other factors made the situation worse:

“We had a record number of people ride –- 17,000 people, that’s a record breaker there. And everyone stayed to the very end of that game, and they all tried to leave at once.”

Some fans tired of waiting to get into the station and instead walked north to the Broad and Oregon station, only to see the express trains pass them by.

And, while doing so, they passed by the very same headhouses that the city ordered closed.

Maloney says they'll have to figure out what to do when police close off some subway entrances:

“The pedestrian movement system down there at the sports complex was designed with four entrances, to accommodate the crush of large crowds. And we’re obviously going to have a backup if we’re prohibited from opening two of those four entrances.”

Let's hope that SEPTA actually had the escalators running in the proper direction this time. The last time I went through Pattison after a sporting event, the escalator was heading up towards the station exit instead of down towards the trains...

Maybe in the future, either SEPTA or NJ Transit could consider a regional park-and-ride bus network to serve the sports complex for Iggles, Phillies, Sixers games and other special events. I'm sure NJT would be open to such an idea more so than SEPTA...

THIS JUST IN...

Da Iggles are going to the Super Bowl!!!

It wasn't really that big of a deal, except for the fact that da Iggles had lost the last three NFC title games (including the last two at home, which was quite embarassing to say the least; the 2002 loss to St. Louis wasn't as painful because nobody really expected da Iggles to be there).

Before we all start dreaming about a parade down Broad St in two weeks, let's remember one thing...

As great as this win is for the city, remember that DA IGGLES HAVEN'T WON A DAMN THING YET!

Philadelphians talk about the NFC Championship game win as if we had already won the Super Bowl. Hate to ruin everyone's fun, but until the clock strikes 0:00 at the end of regulation in Jacksonville two weeks from yesterday and da Iggles have more points on the scoreboard than the Olde England Patriots, the curse that has befallen this city - from mediocre to lowsy sports teams to its ethically questionable government to its near suffocating tax burden - won't be lifted.

As many Iggles fans have been noting in recent weeks and months, and even some Iggles players themselves, failing to win the Super Bowl will constitute a failure for this team. And, as painful as it is to say, the Olde England Patriots are going to give da Iggles a lot of fits on February 6.

I guess the moral of what I'm trying to say is this: Iggles Nation should enjoy this win until next Monday, when the Super Bowl hype is expected to go into overload levels. Then, hope that Bill Belichek has a major brain cramp come February 6.

For all the talk about Andy Reid often being outcoached in humiliating losses (see the 2003 and 2004 NFC title games), there'd be no shame in being outcoached by Belichek, who quite frankly, could probably outcoach Vince Lombardi. That said, wasn't it great to see the Big Guy actually show some emotion yesterday for the first time since he's been in Philadelphia?

We now return to our regularly schedule SEPTA blog already in progress...

SURVIVING ANOTHER BLIZZARD

Not that some of these items haven't been posted in the guestbook, but some of the effects of the blizzard around the region included:

• Numerous SEPTA routes were on minor detours, though the SEPTA web site never bothered to say where exactly most of these detours were taking place, which I'm sure led some people to guess where the buses were being diverted.
• Naturally, the 35 was suspended through Manayunk and Roxborough, while the 27 was diverted off of Henry Av and onto Ridge Av. At the height of the storm, there was no bus service on Ridge north of Wissahickon Loop, affecting the 9, 27 and 65. The 65 was cut back to Wissahickon.
• The 105 didn't operate through Overbrook Park; there was no word on the 106, but one would have to guess that was impacted as well (although it operates along Haverford Av as opposed to the Overbrook Park neighborhood itself).
• There was no service on the 22, 55, and 58 into their respective portions of Bucks County due to road conditions; nor was there service on the 88 into Lower Moreland. The 22 and 55 apparently were not mentioned by SEPTA during it's reports to various stations.
• Regional rail service was operating anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes late depending on the time of the day, but as best as we can tell, there was no suspension of service.
• In South Jersey, all bus service was suspended Saturday afternoon south of I-195, except for 500-series local routes in the Atlantic City area (they weren't as severely affected as the rest of South Jersey). All bus service was suspended state-wide Saturday night as New Jersey declared a state of emergency and non-essential driving ban until 8:00am Sunday morning; additionally, the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan was also closed.
• NJ Transit rail service, including the Northeast Corridor, Atlantic City Rail Line, and the RiverLINE were still operating during the storm, but with delays.
• LANTA suspended bus service in the Lehigh Valley on Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday.
• There was no report of service suspension on DART First State service on Saturday (Sunday was unaffected because DART doesn't run on Sundays), however there were reports of localized detours.
• Krapf's suspended all bus service on its lines after 7:00pm Saturday night and was operating with delays on Sunday.

NO SPECIAL SESSION FOR SEPTA

Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa./Comcast SportsNet) announced earlier today that he would not call a special session of the legislature to deal with funding issues for SEPTA and other mass transit agencies.

"He's been encouraged by the fact that legislative leaders realize that mass transit is a crisis that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later," said Penny Lee (Rendell spokesperson - ed.).

Republicans said the time is quickly approaching when the threat of a special session stops working as a stick to encourage action.

"At this point, calling a special session would be nothing but a public relations gambit. Regular session begins on Jan. 24, and even by the governor's timeline we have until late February to act," said Erik Arneson, chief of staff for Senate Majority Leader David J. Brightbill (R., Lebanon). Inquirer

Duh...

Meanwhile, KYW reported that Rendell realized that a lot of GOP lawmakers would be in Washington for the inauguration of President Bush.

THE VINCE WEIGHS IN...

From the "it was bound to happen sooner or later" files...

State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo (D-1st/Philadelphia) announced a plan that would increase the state's portion of the Realty Transfer Tax by .5 percent, a move that he claims would raise $200 million for SEPTA and other transit systems across the Commonwealth.

The bill comes closer to fixing chronically inadequate state transit funding than a $110 million motor vehicle fee packaged proposed by Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Phila.) and backed by Gov. Rendell.

But Republicans who control the state House and Senate greeted Fumo's proposal by repeating demands that a statewide fix for transit should also address insufficient state road and bridge aid. The legislature has historically raised gasoline taxes to help the road network in conjunction with new fees aimed at aiding transit agencies.

"We need to look at the overall transportation problem, including roads and bridges," said Sen. Robert Thompson (R-19th/Chester).

Thompson added that he intends to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Fumo bill. The Fumo plan "fixes the transit side," Thompson said. "It is a good idea."

Fine, Senator. Now fix the highway problem. I'm sure your consituents who live in the 19th and have to deal with PA 41 on a daily or semi-regular basis would love to know what youse guys in Harrisburg plan on doing to make sure that dangerous highways such as PA 41 and US 322 in Delaware County (hello, Sen. Pileggi) are fixed sooner rather than later...

Kate Philips, a spokeswoman for Rendell, said the governor's office would review the tax proposal. The governor, however, has ruled out a gasoline tax increase for roads and bridges.

"The door is slammed shut," on a gasoline tax increase, Philips said. "Gas prices are just too volatile right now. The governor wants to keep the focus on transit because that is the crisis we are facing."

Well, in about 6 weeks, that door is going to slam shut right on Rendell's foot if SEPTA follows through with its threats to cut service and increase fares...

Who's giving Rendell advice on this issue, Joe Banner? (Iggles fans know all too well how the Iggles' last two appearances in the NFC title game went, and we all know that Rendell is too busy with his duties at Comcast SportsNet to even deal with anything related to state government issues...)

The statewide real estate transfer tax is 1 percent, matched by an additional tax levy of 1 percent or more by many local municipalities across the state, Fumo spokesman Gary Tuma said. The total real estate transfer tax in Philadelphia is 4 percent, and 3 percent in Pittsburgh.

As a statewide tax to save transit, the real estate transfer tax makes sense because more income would be generated from urban areas where more properties are sold each year, Fumo said.

"It increases with inflation because it grows as the value of real estate grows," he said in a press release yesterday. "We have an opportunity to solve this problem for many years to come."

Now, whether or not Fumo pushes for something in return from SEPTA (read: patonage jobs) remains to be seen. We should point out that one of Fumo's proteges is SEPTA Board member Chris (son of Councilman Frank) DiCicco, who had worked as an aide to Fumo.

FUEL LEAK ON 113

The Delaware County Daily Times reported in today's editions that a SEPTA bus was reportedly leaking fuel while in service on the 113 yesterday afternoon. The fuel leak apparently happened somewhere along Pembroke Av in East Lansdowne and was traced over the 113 routing from East Lansdowne through Lansdowne, Yeadon, and Darby Borough.

"There was a pretty substantial stream all the way from East Lansdowne," running along Union Avenue, then along Lansdowne Avenue in Yeadon and past Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby Borough, said Epright.

Darby Fire Co. 1 spent about 45 minutes cleaning the streets with the assistance of Sharon Hill, Collingdale and Yeadon fire companies.

That must have made for a fun commute...

SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said the bus was not involved in an accident and the cause of the spill is under investigation. The Route 113 bus, which runs from 69th Street Terminal to Marcus Hook via Darby and Chester, was towed from the scene to prevent additional spillage.

Hmmm, shoddy maintenance comes to mind.

Oh, happy new year, SEPTA...

I KNOW IT'S BEEN A WHILE...

Between a revised (read: longer) work schedule and limite access to the internet during the past few weeks, I haven't been as diligent in posting updates to this blog as I used to be. However, once I get adjusted to my new work schedule (which pretty much eliminates any off days - or nights - that I have at this time), I'll be posting more frequently.

I can tell you that GOP leaders in Harrisburg - including State Sen. Robert Thomspon (R-19th of West Goshen) - are meeting with Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa./Comcast SportsNet) to discuss a possible solution to the funding crisis for transit agencies across the state (remember that it's not just SEPTA that's in this situation).

Additionally, on the other side of the river, NJ Transit schedules througout South Jersey changed over the weekend. The biggest highlight involves several Philadelphia-bound buses - including the 400, 403, 404, and others - that used to board at Walter Rand Transportation Center on Broadway proper are now being diverted into the Transportation Center itself. This is apparently being done to avoid RiverLINE conflicts on Mickle Blvd.

We'll try to post more details on these items within the next day or two...