The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s Regional (commuter) Rail system was inherited from the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads and the infrastructure in many sections of the system has been serving the Philadelphia area for more than 100 years. Fifteen years ago, overhead catenary system (OCS) failures were a common occurrence on SEPTA Regional Rail, a result of fatigue cracks and wear. The all too common OCS failures were frustrating for SEPTA customers who occasionally found it difficult to depend on train service for their travels and for SEPTA, whose crews were constantly working to repair and maintain the system.
What do transit authorities like SEPTA, MBTA, MTA and BART have in common other than transporting thousands, even millions of riders every day?
Seeing a canine passenger on mass transit is not uncommon, but the reasons why a dog might catch the train or hop a bus are varied (remember Eclipse, the Seattle Lab mix that uses the bus, often on her own, to get to the dog park?). Most public transit pooches are working —as K-9 officers or service animals. In the Philadelphia region, other animals — in approved carriers only—are permitted to ride the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s buses, trains and trolleys. However, a new pilot program underway by SEPTA allows registered therapy dogs volunteering at two Philadelphia hospitals to use two designated bus routes to travel to their sites.
Recent national incidents have put increased attention on safe commuting and what passengers can do to protect themselves during a transit emergency. “The most important tip anyone can follow is to wait for the instructions of the crew,” said Scott Sauer, chief system safety officer for SEPTA. “Crews know the equipment best and have been trained to safely remove passengers from vehicles should the situation warrant evacuation...
Around the world, artwork of all forms adorns transportation centers, stations and bus shelters. While many of these statues, paintings, mosaics and sculptures are permanently installed as part of a station’s architecture, transportation organizations can use their spaces for art exhibitions that not only make transit hubs more aesthetically pleasing for commuters, but also inspire budding artists. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) recently partnered with two organizations to showcase the artistic talent of youth from the Greater Philadelphia region and around the world.
One might think with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and passengers carrying more packages than usual on buses, trains and trolleys, transit organizations’ lost and found departments could be busier than usual. For large authorities like the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, the lost and found bins are often full throughout the year, not just during the Christmas season.
The number of younger people getting drivers’ licenses has continually declined since 1996 and that adults between the ages of 20 to 30 are more likely to stay in cities rather than move to suburbs, according to the United States Public Interest Research Group. This data, then, would indicate that the millennial generation (the largest generation) is a major contributor to the surge in ridership transportation organizations across the country are experiencing.
What constitutes a “normal” day in the transit industry? In an instant, regular service can be halted due to an accident, fire or unattended package. In most cases, these incidents are quickly resolved and routine operations are restored after minor disruption, but there is always a chance that a situation can escalate into a large-scale event, requiring the response of a transit agency’s emergency and operations personnel, working alongside a community’s first responder units.
Across the country, limited capital budgets are forcing transit agencies to find creative ways generate revenue to address their perpetually growing list of needs. Every dollar counts. Selling naming rights for properties (and routes, like Cleveland’s HealthLine) is one option for generating new income. In Philadelphia, SEPTA just announced its second station renaming — Jefferson Station, which serves SEPTA’s Regional (commuter) Rail in downtown Philadelphia.
Maintenance and construction projects can present quite the conundrum for transportation organizations with rail operations: shut down a major portion or entire line in one shot to get the work done while offering substitute service for riders? Work overnights and weekends for long stretches of time? One solution to the maintenance/construction puzzle is the “blitz” — a balancing act between productivity and customer inconvenience.
When the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Paralyzed Veterans of America hold the 34th National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Philadelphia from August 12-17, SEPTA will have the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to those who have served the Armed Forces. The Authority will provide transportation for the more than 500 veterans with spinal cord injury, amputations and neurological disorders that will travel to Philadelphia from across the country and the United Kingdom to compete.
Those who depend on mass transit believe that service should be available 24/7 so that they can get to where they need to go, whenever they need to get there. In New York, MTA customers can hop on the subway 24 hours a day. In Chicago, CTA riders can use the Blue and Red “L” lines around the clock. But in cities like Boston and Philadelphia, major service lines and routes are not always all that convenient in the early hours of the morning — until now.
Over the past year, SEPTA officials have responded to a few track fall incidents each month. Surveillance cameras often show people — some talking or texting on their phones or otherwise distracted — walking past the yellow warning strip and landing into the track area. To decrease these incidents, SEPTA is making distracted commuting the focus of its second annual “Make the Safe Choice” Safety Day.
In the public transit world, 1964 marked the world’s first high-speed rail network, driverless train and California breaking ground on the BART system. It was an important year for public transportation in Philadelphia, too. On Feb. 18, 1964, the organizational meeting that established what is now the nation's sixth largest transportation agency —SEPTA — was held.
The winter of 2014 was relentless, with its deep freezes, ice storms, record snowfall, torrential rain and mudslides. The end of the season will be welcomed by transportation organizations across the country, especially in Philadelphia, where SEPTA’s service was impacted by 16 storms and weeks of extremely frigid temperatures.