Transit Dispatches

Contributing bloggers discuss a variety of topics geared toward the transit and motorcoach sectors.

Posts Tagged With: SEPTA

Transit safety is a community effort

Rail fatalities, accidental and intentional, are a national problem. To combat the rise in fatalities and remind the public of the dangers of walking along, playing by or cutting across its train and trolley tracks and through its rail yards and depots, SEPTA held its first-ever Safety Awareness Day on May 1.

SEPTA and Philly library enrich rides with reading

For the month of April, the agency, the Free Library of Philadelphia and Dunkin’ Donuts have “opened” at SEPTA’s Suburban Station what is believed to be the first virtual library at a U.S. train station.

Putting out the fire on hot spots

Every city has its “hot spots” — places where many gather to “hang out” around the clock. Unfortunately, sometimes these locations aren’t places one should go for a safe, fun time and often the illegal activities that occur there have a negative impact on the community. When Chief Thomas Nestel III re-joined the SEPTA Police Department in 2012, he set out to identify the top “hot spot” served by the agency.

Sustainability Programs: A Triple (Bottom Line) Threat

This is the third year of SEPTA’s formal Sustainability Program and its pursuit of a "triple bottom-line" strategy: becoming environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. The agency’s Sustainability Annual Report demonstrates how previously untapped assets are making a difference in the agency’s daily operations.

SEPTA beefs up its ‘social’ assets

In this age of smartphones, tablets, Twitter, Facebook and other social media, rapid transit has taken on a new meaning. Passengers not only want to get to their destinations fast, they want information about their trips in an instant. To answer customers’ demands of immediacy, transportation organizations across the country have taken to using a variety of methods to disseminate details as quickly as possible.

Community involvement: Not just for the holiday season

As public service institutions, transit organizations’ involvement in their communities should extend beyond bus routes and train stations. SEPTA demonstrates good citizenship collectively as an organization and through its employees’ individual community service activities.

Putting a different spin on transit ads

In a time of dwindling government funding, selling ads is an important revenue generator for transit authorities. But the advertising can be more than simply placing a car card on a bus or putting up a poster at a station — creativity can produce an “experience” for customers.

The camera doesn’t lie

“If you commit a crime on SEPTA, you will be caught.” Those were the words of SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel when video surveillance footage of a suspect wanted for a robbery and shooting at the North Philadelphia Broad Street Line station was released to local media.

Reach Out and Touch

Kids love vehicles — cars, trucks, construction equipment. But how often do children get a chance to “get up close and personal” with buses, big rigs and emergency responder units? “Touch-a-Truck” events, a relatively new type of community activity, are giving kids across the country the opportunity to sit behind the wheel.

SEPTA helps community farm grow

A fresh salad with leafy greens, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and zucchini is a refreshing meal for a hot summer day. Would you believe that many Philadelphians are enjoying delicious vegetables grown on a SEPTA lot, next to the Market-Frankford Line station?

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Author Bio

Janna Starcic

Executive Editor


Alex Roman

Managing Editor


Nicole Schlosser

Senior Editor


Michael R. Wiley

GM/CEO, Sacramento Regional Transit District


Heather Redfern

Press Relations Officer, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority


Louie Maiello

Former director of training, New York City Transit Bus & Safety Division and 2003 NTI Fellow, is a consultant for FAAC Inc., bus simulation division, and an independent consultant for "Bus Talk" Surface Solutions.


Dan Reichard

Honorary member, Business Member Board of Governors


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