62 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

SEPTA news release

 

SEPTA To Extend Social Distancing Coaches Program Through November

 

Designed to Promote Safe & Healthy Habits for Travel During COVID-19 Pandemic

 

October 1, 2020

 

 

Due to an overwhelmingly positive response, SEPTA is extending the Social Distancing Coaches program through November. SEPTA employee-volunteers will engage customers about the Authority's face-mask requirement and give tips for social distancing at stations and on vehicles to promote safe and healthy travel habits.

 

These new deployments will begin Oct. 5 and continue every Monday and Wednesday through Nov. 18. The coaches will be at Center City Regional Rail hubs from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., as well as at key locations on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines stations during the same timeframe.

 

"The Social Distancing Coaches Program is a great way to remind customers about the mask requirement, and help them with any questions they have about traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic," said SEPTA General Manager Leslie S. Richards. "We are asking everyone to do their part to help stop the spread of the virus."

 

Coaches were first deployed in August, and employees continue to volunteer for the effort.

 

"The feedback from our customers and the coaches has been overwhelmingly positive, said Program Coordinator Jessica Mangold. "This is a great way to interact with our customers and obtain feedback from employees, as well."

 

The program is an extension of SEPTA's employee-volunteer ambassador program, which is utilized to help customers with the SEPTA Key fare payment system and during special events. The social distancing coaches will to continue to greet customers, provide masks for those who need one, and answer service-related and directional questions.

 

Since the program's inception in early August, more than 1,000 masks have been distributed by approximately 120 employee-volunteers. Most of the free masks have been supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation, which has distributed nearly 10 million cloth face coverings to 458 transit agencies and Amtrak for passenger use.

 

More information on SEPTA service and COVID-19 can be found at http://septa.org/covid-19/.

 

 

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 11/16/20

 

SEPTA to redirect some overnight weekend rail service to buses

 

 

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) on Nov. 15 will begin replacing its overnight weekend rail service on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines with bus service to enable staff time to clean rail stations.

 

During the switch from rail to buses, full weekend overnight service will still be provided. SEPTA also increased the frequency of its bus routes and make stops at all stations along both rail lines.

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

I thought that SEPTA already was operating Owl bus service in the wee hours in lieu of running the trains 24 hours.  Maybe I missed something with all of the recent changes throughout this past year.  Shame on Progressive Railroading for the stock photo of a Regional Rail train, when this is about the two subway lines.

[CNJRoss]

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/17/20

It’s all on the line for SEPTA and its riders, from service cuts to layoffs

 

 

It’s a strange sight, an empty SEPTA bus.

 

Something about the vacant seats and eerie silence feels, well, off. But peer through its windows, and the reality draining SEPTA of about $1 million a day is indefinitely on display.

 

While pandemic-related budget woes have spurred other transit agencies to sound alarms, SEPTA has stayed relatively mute on potential cost-saving steps that would undoubtedly impact Philadelphia’s most vulnerable communities.

 

But make no mistake, SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards said in an hour-long interview regarding what’s on the line for SEPTA and its riders. Without additional federal relief to stem losses from the pandemic as well as long-term funding solutions to ensure SEPTA’s longevity, extreme measures, including service cuts, layoffs, and fare increases, are on the table.

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

Philadelphia, PA Inquirer, 12/9/20:

 

   COVID-19 prompts SEPTA to indefinitely close trolley tunnel overnight  

 

 

SEPTA will indefinitely close its overnight service of the trolley tunnel, spanning 13th to 40th Streets, beginning Monday, citing little early-morning ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Read

[KevinKorell]

Philly Voice, 12/10/20:

 

   SEPTA closing 14 Regional Rail ticket offices until February    

 

 

SEPTA will launch a new cost-saving measure Monday due to budget pitfalls caused by a massive downturn in ridership during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Details

[CNJRoss]

WHYY News Philadelphia, PA 12/15/20
 

SEPTA wants to delay planned fare increases in hopes of luring riders back

 

 

SEPTA riders likely won’t see the cost of their rides on city transit or Regional Rail increase until at least July of 2021.

 

The agency was set to increase fares at the start of the new year in January, according to  a Fare Restructuring Plan approved in June. But after months of a pandemic that has battered the economy and the wallets many riders, SEPTA Board Chairman Pasquale T. “Pat” Deon Sr. wants the agency to push back the timeline six months.  Deon is expected to ask the board to approve the delay at the SEPTA Board meeting scheduled for Thursday, said Andrew Busch, a SEPTA spokesperson.

 

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Cross-posted in "SEPTA proposed Fare Restructuring" and "SEPTA & Coronavirus"

[CNJRoss]

WHYY News, Philadelphia, PA 12/16/20
 

SEPTA malware attack busted automated rider counters used to stop transit crowding

 

 

The malware attack that rippled through SEPTA’s system in August — temporarily thwarted real-time travel info, payroll and the company email system — has also kneecapped the transit authority’s ability to monitor crowding on vehicles, a SEPTA spokesperson confirmed.

 

The automatic passenger counting (APC) system that checks SEPTA buses and trolleys for overcrowding remains inactive about four months after the initial malware attack. It’s not great timing, since coronavirus cases continue to rise in the Philadelphia region, making it especially important to control crowding on public transit.

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/11/21

 

SEPTA must be able to do more than merely survive the pandemic | Editorial

The Inquirer Editorial Board | opinion@inquirer.com

 

 

Despite a devastating plunge in ridership costing $1 million in lost revenue daily, SEPTA expects to keep rolling through the end of 2021 and beyond, due in large part to emergency pandemic relief assistance it already has received from the federal government. But even a President Joe Biden — famously reliant on Amtrak for his Wilmington-to-Washington commutes — and a new Congress won’t guarantee the sustainability of essential regional mass transit systems. Leaders in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and the collar counties will need to step up as well. And so will SEPTA.

 

The transit agency has lost nine workers to COVID-19 and has done an admirable job of continuing to provide service during the pandemic. As the number of vaccinations reaches a critical mass and the pandemic comes under control, perhaps as soon as this summer, the city and the region will need a reliable and safe transit system even if traditional commuting patterns remain disrupted. SEPTA, described in a pre-pandemic analysis by Econsult Solutions as crucial to the regional economy, can only help enable commercial, cultural, and social life to fully recover if it has the resources, and the flexibility, to respond to changing needs.

 

SNIP

 

The prospect of additional assistance from Washington now looks brighter. But in Harrisburg, the picture is less encouraging. About $178 million of SEPTA’s budget comes from revenues from the Pennsylvania Turnpike; those revenues have plummeted since the pandemic, squeezing SEPTA even further. Legislators must ensure that mass transit keeps rolling long past the pandemic.

 

More here.

[KevinKorell]

CBS Philly, 1/12/21:

 

   COVID In Philadelphia: SEPTA Union Says Transit Agency Going In Wrong Direction, Putting Workers’, Riders’ Health At Risk    

 

 

SEPTA’s workers’ union says the lives of employees and riders are at risk because of the coronavirus pandemic. And now, they’re looking to the courts in order to protect their civil rights.

 

Details