Philadelphia, PA

And here’s something that will make SEPTA even more exciting for all of us!

The police officers employed by Philadelphia’s main transit agency are threatening to strike after working more than two years without a contract. Talks are scheduled Thursday between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and the Fraternal Order of Transit Police, along with a state mediator.

SEPTA does not expect a strike, but “we would provide adequate security for our riders” should it happen, said agency spokesman Richard Maloney. City police and private security guards would be used, SEPTA officials said.

Ehh, we’ll probably be okay. Those SEPTA cops only make around 30 grand a year starting salary - what are they, bloggers? Okay, okay.

Check out the full story over at our friends website.

If you have any Philadelphia News, Events, etc. please email them to phillytips@kyledylanconner.com.

Say what you will about SEPTA, but now taking public transporation is even more environmentally friendly. Word on the street is SEPTA is upgrading to hybrid buses that will run on a mix of gas and electric.The new buses won’t look any different, and aparently, they already have a few out there. I’ll have to research more details but that is as much as I gathered from talk on the bus.

***update***
here’s the link for the article on SEPTA’s site
http://www.septa.org/news/press_releases/20070927a.html

SEPTA, Hybrid Bus

If you’ve been following along with the SEPTA transportation crisis(part one, part two), I have an update thats actually a few days old but i’m finally getting around to writing it.

The Pennsylvania lawmakers finally decided on a bill that would provide hundreds of millions of dollars to SEPTA for the years to come. BUt is the crisis over? There’s still a lot of concern about the elimination of paper transfers for a majority of riders. But the motivation behind that is to initiate the use of electronic TransPasses which will allow for seamless travel on all forms of public transportation.
Hopefully, with the efforts to bring in and keep riders, we’ll be seeing other improvments in the transit system. Cleaner stations, better transfer/ conection locations, and keeping costs low are a few things to be considered.

For more on this story, check out the article from the Philly Metro.

SEPTA, Fair fares, transfer elimination, TransPass, SEPTA improvements

I mentioned in a previous post that SEPTA was going to increase fares 11 percent, and today those new prices went into effect. Weekly passes will cost $20.75, up from $18.75; monthly passes will rise to $78 from $70, and day passes will be $6 instead of $5.50. And as of now, there wil be no service cuts. The new fares will bring the the 2008 budget down to $100 million, with hopes that state Legislature will cover with a mass-transit funding stream. If all goes well, there won’t be the need to to execute the “doomsday” plan that would raise fares 24 percent with service cuts.
But the real concern now is that people will try to avoid the high prices and find alternatives to public transportation. SEPTA officials already expect 22,000 less daily riders. They can only hope the increasing gas prices will be enough to keep riders on the buses and trains. (See here for more of the SEPTA fare crisis.)

Pennsylvania’s budgeting problems aren’t exclusive to public transportation. State parks, museums and drivers licence offices have been temporarily closed. (You can click here to read a full article from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Or visit Myfoxphilly.com to find out what else has been effected.)

So what can you do to help? First and foremost, continue to support public services, including public transportation. You can also contact your local representative in Harrisburg and let them know how the budget crisis is effecting you. (If you don’t know who you representative is, you can look them up here.)

Budget crisis, SEPTA, fare increase

Photo taken from septa.org

For any of you who travel public transit, you can sympathize with me…SEPTA(Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) can be your best friend and your worst enemy in the same day. Its nice not having to worry about driving when there’s traffic in the morning. And the traffic on the Schuykill expressway or 95 certainly is no picnic. Then once in the city theres all those one way streets that you don’t have to worry about which way is which. And the best part, you don’t have to worry about Parking! Its also economical and good for the enviroment. (we save gas when we ride together)
Ah, but it has its drawbacks doesn’t it? Like being a slave to its schedule. The past couple days I’ve found myself having to run to catch at least one of my buses. But one early bus did lead to me catching another early bus and getting home a lot faster so i guess that was an upside too….but i’m getting off track.
The purpose of this post is to talk about the decision to increase transportation fares. There has been much debate over the past several months as to what should be done to address the $150 million deficit in the operating budget. The fare increase was proposed earlier this year to be effective July 1, but was then vetoed by two Philadelphia representatives, Christian DiCicco and Jettie Newkirk.
Today, the SEPTA board voted in favor, 13-2, for a new budget that will increase bus, subway and rail fares by an average of 11 percent on July 9. The board also approved a “doomsday” plan that would cut services and increase fares up to 24 percent if in the event that legislation doesn’t up the annual state funding by about $100 million. Only half of SEPTA’s opperating budget comes from fares, the other half depending apon state and local government contribution.

I’m not looking forward to increase, however, its the lesser of two evils to having services cut. Unfortunatly I, as well as many others, am dependant upon public transportation to get to work. Hmm, would it be worth buying a car? But between higher gas prices and higher transportation fares, I’m begining to feel the increasing pressure of being caught between a rock and a hard place.

What are your thoughts on the transportation situation? Yay or nay to the fare increase? What would you suggest to make up for the lack of funds needed?

For more information on todays decision, see the article from philly.com.
And for more on the specific changes in fares, check out SEPTA’s offical site.

SEPTA, bus, train, public transportation, transportation fares, fare increase