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1662 lines
75 KiB
Plaintext
The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger
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August 1994 Vol. XII, No. 8
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ISSN 1073-6859
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Published by the Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers in
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the interest of continued, improved, and expanded rail service for the
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present and potential railroad and rail transit passengers of
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southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and nearby areas.
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For more information about DVARP and good rail service, please contact
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us: P.O. Box 7505, Philadelphia, PA 19101 215-222-3373
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<mmitchell@asrr.arsusda.gov> or <73243.1224@compuserve.com>
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The electronic edition is produced as a public service to the network
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community. It is archived on the CUNYVM Listserver in the RAILNEWS
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directory. An index of back issues is available by sending INDEX
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RAILNEWS to LISTSERV@CUNYVM. Thanks to Geert K. Marien (GKMQC@CUNYVM)
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for maintaining this archive! If you have comments or questions, contact
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us, not Geert!
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The DVRP is also archived on these FTP servers
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ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/graphics/trains/text or
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graphics/trains/incoming ftp://hipp.etsu.edu/pub/railroad/dvarp (Thanks
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to Bob Weir) Volumes X (1992) and XI (1993) are on floppy disk for $4.00
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each from DVARP.
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We hope you consider joining DVARP; your financial support makes
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possible this newsletter and our many other activities on behalf of rail
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and transit passengers. Annual dues are $15.00. see the coupon at ##V.
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Contents copyright (C) 1994 DVARP, except photos (C) 1994 credited
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photographers
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Opinions expressed in The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger are not
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necessarily those of DVARP or its members. We welcome your comments:
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call 215-222-3373
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DVARP President: Chuck Bode Newsletter Editor: Matthew Mitchell
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Production Manager: Tom Borawski for other officers and committee
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chairs, search for ##U
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contents:
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use the search function of your word processor to find articles
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##A Two Victories for SEPTA Passengers!:
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##A1 State Policy Shift: More Funds to be Flexed
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##A2 New Service Standards, Budget Process Reform
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##B Comments from the President: New Standards are a Big Step Forward
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##C From the Editor's Seat: Now That We've Won...
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##D On the Railroad Lines...
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SEPTA Seeks to Cut 3 Stations
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Center City Construction
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##R1 Trespasser Hit, Riders Wait
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##R5 Bryn Mawr is Back
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##R8 Queen Lane in Action
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##LRD Trolleys Enhance Events
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Eye on the Infrastructure: photo
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Combined Timetable
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##CTD "Special Delivery" at Night
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West Phila. Bus Route Changes
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SEPTA Union Wins Competitive Bid
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##E Battle Looms For Control of Board
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##F Fumo Denies Power Grab Charge
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##G City Plan Seeks "World Class Network"
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##H Up Close and Personal: A Life on the R8
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##I A Not-So-Obvious Purpose of Public Transportation
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##J Letters to DVARP
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SEPTA plays 'gotcha'
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Scary El ride
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The future of Camden Transportation Center?
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Comments on Northeast Philadelphia Rapid Transit
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More on Ticket Taxes
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##K RailReading: "Getting There"
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##L Amtrak to Sue RRs for Delays
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##M Delaware Enjoys Rail Excursion
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##N Cherry Hill Open: Pedestrian Access Awful
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##O Atlantic City Notes
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##P DVRP to Go First Class Again
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##Q Office Equipment Gifts Could Help
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##R Annual Picnic This Month!
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##S Dates of Interest: many cancellations
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##T Up and Down the Corridor
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##U DVARP Phone & Voice-mail Directory
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##V DVARP Membership Coupon
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##W Upcoming DVARP Meetings:
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##A Two Victories for SEPTA Passengers!:
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##A1 State Policy Shift: More Funds to be Flexed
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by Matthew Mitchell
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State government officials in Pennsylvania have finally heard the
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message of southeastern Pennsylvania citizens and their elected
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officials. The allocation of state transportation funds and the Federal
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funds they match will finally come into balance with the population of
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the state.
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The committment by the Casey administration to reallocate transportation
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dollars is expected to make an additional $400 million available to
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SEPTA over the next four years. Based on past budgets, these funds,
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when added to those presently invested in our regional transit system,
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ought to be enough to fully fund SEPTA's long-range capital program. So
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instead of constantly scraping for money, SEPTA can get on with its job
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or providing and maintaining the public transportation links which
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create jobs and prosperity for Pennsylvanians. The agreement does not
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have the force of law, though; it is dependent on the good will of
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Governor Casey's successor.
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According to a story in the Inquirer, a disproportionate share of
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transportation funds had been directed to rural areas for years. Though
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the five SEPTA counties account for over 30 percent of Pennsylvania's
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population, only 19 percent of transportation dollars were spent there.
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As a result, rural highways flourished while SEPTA was forced to cut
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service.
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The shortage of capital, and possibly also the unwise use of that which
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remained, forced the suspension of long-distance commuter rail service
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to West Chester, Pottstown, Newtown, and Bethlehem in the early '80s.
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As a result, these fast-growing outer-suburban areas were developed in a
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highway-centered fashion, something for which the residents will pay for
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years to come.
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Imbalanced transportation policy had other bad consequences for our
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region, too. Without funds to invest in replacing obsolete and
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costly-to-maintain equipment, SEPTA's operating budget took the hit.
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The need to lease buses, trains, and even subway turnstiles contributed
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to the SEPTA budget crises of the past decade and to the high fares and
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reduced service we are so familiar with.
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The Federal government recognized four years ago that intermodal
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transportation policy made the most sense, and passed the landmark
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Intermodal Surface Transportation Act (ISTEA). Under ISTEA, local
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officials, who best know the transportation needs of their communities,
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were empowered to find the best solutions without being tied into
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spending money on specific modes like highways. The key provision of
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ISTEA was "flexibility" of transportation funds. But Pennsylvania
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lagged behind nearly all the other industrialized states in flexing
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highways dollars to more effective rail and transit solutions. Now
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that's changed.
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While they weren't mentioned by the politicians, grass-roots campaigns
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by groups like DVARP must have had some effect on state officials.
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DVARP's petition drive asking for a balanced state transportation policy
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attracted thousands of signatures. Each of those names lent strength to
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the appeals of the local elected officials who finally won this change.
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While the pace of change may be too slow for some of us, it is
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reassuring to know that the democratic system still works, and that
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governments are recognizing that the solution to local problems like
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gridlocked highways and deteriorated transit links between taxpayers and
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jobs are found locally, and that a policy that relies on roads alone is
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not the best choice for the economic health of Pennsylvania.
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##A2 New Service Standards, Budget Process Reform
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by Chuck Bode
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SEPTA has released proposed new service standards for its City Transit
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Division. There are nine specific standards and a process for annually
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adjusting service to the standards. Hearings on the proposal will be
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held in four city locations later this month. [see calendar] The
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process, where transportation needs are identified and resources
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allocated to meet the needs in the most cost-effective manner, bears a
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remarkable resemblance to the budget and planning process DVARP has been
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calling for for five years. The concept is well summarized in the
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hearing notice:
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Transit Service Standards are public rules that are used to make
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decisions about where transit vehicles should run and how often. They
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form the basis of recommenda-tions regarding routing and service
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proposals (also known as SEPTA tariff proposals). The process of
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applying Service Standards will be a full and open one, with comments
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and review from the general public, elected officials and planning
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professionals. Final decisions regarding routing changes would still be
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made by the SEPTA Board based on all of the facts before them.
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The application of Serv ice Standards has two major advantages: 1)
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Identifies the best use of limited resources by comparing different
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choices for these resources. 2) Leads to a fair, equitable, open and
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objective comparison of all requests and proposals from the general
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public, elected officials and SEPTA staff.
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While SEPTA presently applies "unofficial" standards to guide its
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service and routing desision making, the adoption of an official, Board
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adopted set of standards, which has been agreed upon by the general
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public, elected officials, and planning professionals, will increase
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community involvement.
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Draft Service Standards documents have been prepared which outline a
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proposed set of guidelines for transit services operated by SEPTA's City
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Transit Division and the process by which these guidelines would be used
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to evaluate service changes. In order to provide transportation which
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is affordable by passengers and taxpayers, trade-offs are sometimes
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necessary between the benefits achieved and the cost of providing these
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services. The proposed Service Standards will provide a reliable way
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for making these decisions. This process involves both the continuous
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monitoring of services and an annual review of possible changes. The
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proposal provides for comments from the general public and elected
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officials and ensures that all service changes and proposals are
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analyzed fairly.
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A new and major part of the proposed Service Standard process is the
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establishment of an Annual Service Plan which will identify service
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changes that are designed to achieve specific service goals and
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objectives (i.e. major route restructuring) which would have an impact
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on the operating budget.
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The Annual Service Plan will be tied into the annual SEPTA Operating
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Budget process with time allotment for municipal and public comments.
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Also incorporated is the existing SEPTA route implementation process,
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which includes public hearings conducted by an independent hearing
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examiner and final approval by the SEPTA Board. Proposals with no
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budget impact will not be part of the Annual Service Plan; they may be
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implemented through the existing tariff and hearing process, throughout
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the year.
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SEPTA has made two documents of unprecedented thoroughness available for
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review. One is the actual proposal. The other contains the proposal
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plus additional background information on service standards in other
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cities and on current unofficial procedures at SEPTA. The public can
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see these documents at SEPTA headquarters and at major libraries.
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Hearings on the Standards:
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Mon. Aug. 22, 7:00-9:00 pm, George Washington H.S., 11000 Bustleton Av.;
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Tue. Aug. 23, 1:00-3:00 pm at SEPTA Board Room, 714 Market St.
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Wed. Aug 24, 7:00-9:00 pm at Northeast Regional Library (Cottman Ave &
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Oakland St-near Bustleton Av.)
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Thurs. Aug 25, 7:00-9:00 pm at 46th Street Baptist Church (46th &
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Woodland)
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Summary of proposed standards
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1. Service coverage: 'well served' if a stop is within 1/4 mile of the
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passenger's origin; 'served' if within 1/2 mile.
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2. Stop spacing:
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Existing urban routes: minimum of 500 feet between stops
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New urban routes: minimum of 1000 feet between stops
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Suburban: min. 1000 feet between stops in residential areas; at major
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traffic generators in "rural" areas
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3. Route performance guideline: maximum subsidy per passenger of three
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times the average value. The calculation is done annually using
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previous fiscal year data on fully allocated cost and CTD average fare
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per unlinked passenger. FY93 data is included in the document; eleven
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routes presently fail the three-times-average-subsidy test: Rapid
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transit owl service, 1, 16, 27, 67, 68, 88, 89, 121, X, and Fox
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Chase-Newtown shuttle.
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4. Transfers: no specific standards are proposed. Three paragraphs
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describe concepts of coordination with rapid transit lines at major
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stations during periods of long headways, timed transfers on major
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surface routes during off peak periods, and coordination with regional
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rail at several locations.
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5. Service frequency: 'Policy headways' are a maximum time between
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vehicles to be operated even though ridership is not enough to fill
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them. The proposed headways on rapid transit vary from 5 to 15 minutes,
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light rail from 15 to 30 minutes, trackless trolley and urban buses from
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20 to 30 minutes, and suburban buses (22, 44, 55, 121) from 30 to 60
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minutes; all depending on time of day and day of week. To meet the
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standard as proposed, several routes would require additional service at
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an annual cost of $4,773,000. A limited service route category exempt
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from this standard is set up, including Routes 4, X, and all 400 series.
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6. 24-hour service: Policy headway for owl buses is to be 30 minutes
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except for the rapid transit bus substitutes which are 15 minutes. The
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standard shows current owl routes, but makes no reference to defining an
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owl network or to any service coverage for an owl network.
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7. Vehicle loading: Given SEPTA's past history of service cuts on
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well-patronized routes, this standard is likely to be of high
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importance. Regular buses are expected to carry no more than 64-68
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passengers for up to 15 minutes, depending on bus model (they have 39-42
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seats); articulated buses-96 passengers; LRVs-85 passengers (51 seats);
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Broad St. cars-135 passengers; Market-Frankford cars-100 passengers; and
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trackless trolleys-68 passengers.
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8. On time performance The proposed standards would apply only to
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routes operating on private right-of-way. The number of trips arriving
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within five minutes of schedule should be 75 or 80% when trips are
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scheduled 10 minutes or less apart; and 85 or 95% when trips are more
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than ten minutes apart (the lower number would apply to peak hours, the
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higher number the rest of the time.)
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9. Duplicative service "...new service cannot compete with existing
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services, especially the High Speed and Regional Rail Lines." This
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standard effectively prohibits express buses from suburban areas to
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center city, but recognizes that routes different characteristics can
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serve different markets, such as C and BSS, which is permissible.
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Service adjustment process
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Standards are only half of the proposal. The other half is a process to
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bring the service operated into compliance with the standards and then
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to modify the service as ridership demand changes. SEPTA proposes the
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following ten step process:
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1. Requests for new service are to be submitted by August 1 of the prior
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year.
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2. Planning and evaluation process August 1 to December 1.
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3. Prioritized list of projects completed first week of December.
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4. Project list presented to and discussed with affected groups and
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agencies during second week of December.
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5. Tariffs prepared, filed and circulated during first two weeks of
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January.
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6. Public hearing notices published Feb. 1.
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7. Public hearings-first two weeks of March.
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8. Action recommended by Hearing Examiner by second week of April.
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9. SEPTA Board vote fourth week of April and (if needed) at May Board
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meeting.
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10. Implementation mid-June.
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Budget Process
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The ten-step service process is linked to the annual operating budget
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proposal ans approval process so that the proposed budget is related to
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the proposed service. A four-step budget process is proposed:
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1. Internal budget proposal in mid-January.
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2. Budget proposal published first week of March.
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3. Budget hearings first two weeks of April.
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4. SEPTA Board consideration fourth week of May and (if needed) June
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meeting.
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Measuring Benefits and Costs
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The planning and evaluation process is covered in detail. Changes must
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be in writing and can be proposed by the public, by public officials and
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agencies, by SEPTA planners, and by other SEPTA employees. Proposals
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are sent to the appropriate section of SEPTA for evaluation.
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First, proposals for new services are checked to verify that they meet
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the service standards. Complaints about service quality and operating
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problems are sent to the operating division and the requester is to be
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responded to in writing. Proposals for changes in hours of service,
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frequency, or level of service are sent to the Planning and Development
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department; again the requester is to receive a written response.
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More substantial cha nges, such as changes in routing, are to go through
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a comparative evaluation process. That process would have three parts:
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1) cost analysis, 2) ridership forecasting, and 3) community benefit
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analysis. Cost analysis considers miles and hours of operation. Hours
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are priced using a fully allocated labor rate. Three mileage costs are
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applied depending on the scale of the change. Where changes are minor,
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a simple accounting measure would be used; for large-scale plans,
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overhead costs would be taken into consideration too.
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The ridership forecasting process would include estimation of changes in
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farebox revenue. "Several determinants will be analyzed to forecast
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ridership including, but not limited to, the most recent available
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census data, levels of employment along segments under consideration,
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DVRPC population and employment forecasts, and observed patronage and
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travel patterns on groups of similar services serving similar markets."
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Community benefit analysis assigns points to 6 considerations. Each
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late night & owl period rider scores 5 points; each peak period rider
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scores 4; each passenger that has a transfer eliminated or added 3
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points (plus to eliminate, minus to add); each passenger with changed
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travel time 2 points (plus if faster trip, minus if slower); each
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passenger with changed walking distance gets 2 points (plus for less
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walking, minus for more); and each added off-peak or student rider-one
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point.
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To rank proposals, benefit points from are divided by the difference
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between cost and revenue, so that the criterion for decision-making
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comes as close to a true benefit/cost ratio as possible.
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Recognizing that the data to be used is "less comprehensive and complete
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than would be desirable," SEPTA commits to developing and refining the
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information. Gray areas cannot be avoided. "In these cases it will be
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necessary for staff to exercise professional judgement, based on
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experience, with input from community organizations and political
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representatives to properly evaluate specific service proposals." SEPTA
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also recognizes that this is only a beginning, and that changes may be
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needed as experience is gained with the process.
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The proposed standards include formalization of three types of passenger
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traffic checks: corner checks (passengers on board as bus passes a
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specific point), ride checks (counting passengers boarding and leaving
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at each stop), and origin-destination studies which identify each
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passenger's origin and destination stop.
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The standards also provide for temporary emergency changes and for
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promotional and experimantal tariffs, as at present.
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##B Comments from the President: New Standards are a Big Step Forward
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by Chuck Bode
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SEPTA's proposed service standards are another sign of the "continuous
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improvement" slogan hitting home with SEPTA's administrators. The
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concept is nearly identical to DVARP's recommendations at the past
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several budget hearings.
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DVARP is reviewing the new standards and will suggest changes that will
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represent "fine tuning" of this proposal, not major criticism. Our big
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message is that SEPTA deserves commendation for this big step forward in
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recognizing the public interest.
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The most important result of service standards is the process and the
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means to rank service to determine where, when, and how much service to
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provide. By using a standard process all participants can concentrate
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on the proposed service. Without any process, as at present, much
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emotion, hostility, and energy can be expended by participants.
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However, a hard task lies ahead-getting agreement on a process, on
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factors and values, and on data sources. Without agreement and "buy-in"
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from residents, passengers, officials, planners, and SEPTA-the long-term
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battle will just add a new front-the service standards.
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SEPTA's recognition of data limitations and of gray areas is important.
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Professional planners understand that the plans are estimates and use
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best-available data while recognizing its limitations. An educational
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process needs to be established to help less experienced participants
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understand the process, the limitations, and the optimized use of
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limited resources.
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Another educational process is needed for the professional planners-the
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"best" plans on paper may not be best for the community to be served.
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It is hard for passengers in gang-infested neighborhoods to appreciate
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travel time savings if it means waiting at a dangerous location. It is
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even harder for passengers on crowded buses to understand that their
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route is not only unprofitable, but unproductive.
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Developing cost, revenue, ridership, and forecasting data that all
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participants have confidence in is vital. Agreeing on the factors and
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process is the second step. Thereafter, applying the process should
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eliminate much of the contentiousness at hearings, improve the budget
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process, and ultimatly improve SEPTA by cutting political pressures out
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of the process of planning and delivering transit service. Service
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standards are a major improvement, we all need to work to make them work
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for us.
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[ed. note: the following list of points has been abridged; for the full
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list of preliminary comments on the service standards, please check
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on-line (send us an e-mail) For a copy of DVARP's statement on the
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service standards, please send $1.00 for printing and postage after
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August 21]
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*The first observation is that the standards seem more designed to
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minimize the cost for SEPTA to serve transit-dependent city residents
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than to increase ridership by attracting discretionary passengers.
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*There is a service coverage standard, but there is no indication of
|
|
what geographic area in intended to be well-served, served, or not
|
|
served. Addition of boundaries would clarify what amount of service to
|
|
expect in each neighborhood. This would also clarify an exception to
|
|
the maximum subsidy rate for the only service in an area that otherwise
|
|
would fail the service coverage standard.
|
|
|
|
*Stop spacing should be in terms of using the values as guidelines
|
|
rather than absolute. For example a school and a church may be closer
|
|
than the minimum spacing, yet separated by a dangerous intersection and
|
|
be used at different times. The principle is reducing travel time, not
|
|
measuring stop spacing. Stop spacing should also include maximum
|
|
values-there should be stops at least every half mile along the route
|
|
even if there are no major trip generators.
|
|
|
|
*Vehicle loading is at extreme crush loading conditions. This should be
|
|
the exception, not daily performance for periods of 15 minutes per
|
|
vehicle. There is no hope of doing anything but discouraging ridership
|
|
when vehicles are so crowded that passengers cannot get through the
|
|
aisle.
|
|
|
|
*On time performance should have a measurable standard for all types of
|
|
routes, including those operating in streets. A substandard should be
|
|
provided that limits missed trips.
|
|
|
|
Provision for changes originating from the general public is
|
|
commendable. So is using one process to evaluate proposals whether they
|
|
come from the public, public officials, and from SEPTA staff-both
|
|
planners and others.
|
|
|
|
*The evaluation process groups changes for a route into one package.
|
|
However, the changes can include both parts which reduce and which
|
|
increase the subsidy. SEPTA's example includes rerouting to serve a
|
|
shopping center and eliminating an unproductive segment. Suppose the
|
|
combination increased the subsidy-then the unproductive segment would
|
|
remain, hardly the best outcome.
|
|
|
|
*The evaluation process includes factors other than cost, such as
|
|
changes in transfers, travel time, walking distance, and number of
|
|
passengers, converting the various factors into a score which is used to
|
|
rank the changes. Then existing routes are placed into the budget,
|
|
followed by service change proposals in rank order until the budget
|
|
limit is reached. Leftover routes would presumably be abandoned and
|
|
leftover changes omitted. This process has the same flaw, a cost
|
|
reduction change with a low rank score might fall off the list, when its
|
|
retention would have provided savings. The process could be modified to
|
|
place subsidy reducing changes into the list first to minimize required
|
|
subsi dy. Alternatively, once at the budget limit, only subsidy
|
|
increasing changes would be dropped.
|
|
|
|
*Network effects are missing from the process. Suppose the process
|
|
eliminated every route in South Philadelphia or every east-west route
|
|
because they all were at the end of the list. Where is provision in the
|
|
plan to allow for the effects of the changes-such as eliminating a route
|
|
which feeds riders to another route and makes it profitable? Provision
|
|
for a network effect step might adjust within the process, rather than
|
|
at the hearing or Board level.
|
|
|
|
|
|
##C From the Editor's Seat: Now That We've Won...
|
|
|
|
The headline blared out at me from a newspaper box at BWI station-SEPTA
|
|
to Get $400 Million. News so suprising that I paid almost double to get
|
|
the paper right there instead of waiting until I got home. On the
|
|
voice-mail the same week was a request from Chuck Bode that we get
|
|
working on a statement for public hearings on a new set of SEPTA service
|
|
standards and a planning and budgeting process which bears a remarkable
|
|
resemblance to that which DVARP has been asking for for at least five
|
|
years. What a month! Two weeks ago I was planning an August newsletter
|
|
full of relaxing summer stuff: the kind of stories which remind us why
|
|
we support passenger trains. Now I'm looking at a record length for
|
|
this issue (and giving great thanks for Betsey, Chuck, and all the other
|
|
people who are covering these stories for you). We haven't had a win
|
|
this big since the RailWorks(R) detour trains, and never two of them in
|
|
a month.
|
|
|
|
Rewarding as they were, we must not rest on these victories. First of
|
|
all, they open new opportunities to us. Now that Pennsylvania is
|
|
on-board with the spirit as well as the letter of ISTEA, we can look for
|
|
new opportunities to promote passenger rail as the right answer for
|
|
Pennsylvania's transportation needs. It's time to replace cuts in SEPTA
|
|
service with bold improvements that will attract riders back to the
|
|
system, like real express trains on the Wilmington line, and some hustle
|
|
on the Reading-side trains which now dawdle their way through North
|
|
Philadelphia.
|
|
|
|
I'd also like to see a summit of PennDOT officials, SEPTA, and officials
|
|
from the second ring of counties (Lancaster, Dauphin, Berks, Lehigh, and
|
|
Northampton) surrounding Philadelphia; to come up with a package of
|
|
medium-distance rail services from Harrisburg, Reading, and the
|
|
Allentown-Bethlehem area (maybe even Scranton) to Philadelphia.
|
|
Individually, these services might not be politically or economically
|
|
viable, but together, they could reduce the pressure on state highways
|
|
while providing new opportunities and mobility to residents of these
|
|
counties. As development pressure creeps outward from Philadelphia, a
|
|
bold rail plan could be the way for rural communities to benefit from
|
|
growth without harming their traditional quality of life.
|
|
|
|
Following our success in Harrisburg, DVARP must now assume a role as
|
|
protector of SEPTA's full funding. The easiest way to make the state
|
|
slip back into a highway-dominated view would be for SEPTA to spend
|
|
these new dollars wastefully. Fortunately, the new planning process is
|
|
a bold step towards taking politics and personalities out of transit
|
|
investment, and instead directing dollars where they will give taxpayers
|
|
the greatest return. Our job should be (as it always has been) to point
|
|
out the places where SEPTA falls short of this standard, and to make
|
|
sure that the interest of SEPTA's customers always comes first: in
|
|
everyday service as well as in long-range planning.
|
|
|
|
It's a new era for transportation in Pennsylvania, and a new era coming
|
|
for DVARP. Take a moment somehow to mark this date. Make a special
|
|
donation to DVARP, and mark it "Victory Fund" if you like; volunteer to
|
|
start a community group which will maintain and beautify your train
|
|
station and make it a symbol of your town or neighborhood; or maybe
|
|
convince your state legislator or member of Congress to ride the train
|
|
to work instead of driving. Wins like these come along once in a
|
|
decade, maybe a generation; let them be an inspiration to us.-MDM
|
|
|
|
|
|
##D On the Railroad Lines...
|
|
|
|
SEPTA Seeks to Cut 3 Stations
|
|
|
|
Public hearing notices have just gone up for a SEPTA proposal to
|
|
eliminate RRD service to the R6 Shawmont, R7 Wissinoming, and R8
|
|
Westmoreland stations. Ridership at them is very low, in part because
|
|
of service cuts. Eliminating stops can speed up the trains, but at the
|
|
cost of losing potential riders. To voice your opinion on this issue,
|
|
send a letter to the SEPTA Hearing Examiner at 714 Market, Phila. PA,
|
|
19106
|
|
|
|
Center City Construction
|
|
|
|
SEPTA RRD riders should be prepared for minor delays while SEPTA
|
|
performs a six-month project to repair catenary poles and other items
|
|
between 30th St. and the Center City tunnel portal.
|
|
|
|
##R1 Trespasser Hit, Riders Wait
|
|
|
|
Commuters found their ride severely delayed the morning of July 19, when
|
|
a northbound R5 train struck and killed a trespasser near Cheltenham
|
|
Ave. Trains on both tracks were halted for well over an hour at the
|
|
height of the morning peak. The victim was a 29-year old man who was
|
|
reported to have had a history of emotional problems.
|
|
|
|
##R5 Bryn Mawr is Back
|
|
|
|
Amtrak completed work to restore the signal tower at Bryn Mawr, which
|
|
was struck by a fire six months ago. New Paoli line schedules are in
|
|
effect, restoring full rush-hour service.
|
|
|
|
*SEPTA has purchased nine acres of land for parking at Whitford.
|
|
|
|
##R8 Queen Lane in Action
|
|
|
|
July 9th was a scraping and painting party for the Friends of Queen Lane
|
|
Station. Despite heat and humidity, they toiled on. With their own
|
|
scrapers and brushes, on their own ladders they worked. Determined that
|
|
the station should be an asset to the community, they carried on after
|
|
SEPTA funds ran out.
|
|
|
|
A less strenuous event, the reopening party, was held July 23rd. This
|
|
project shows what can be accomplished when the community and SEPTA work
|
|
together.
|
|
|
|
Three years ago Lucia Rosenberg, determined that Queen Lane Station
|
|
would be restored, founded the Friends of Queen Lane Station (FQLS).
|
|
FQLS worked with SEPTA to get a $250,000 restoration of the station and
|
|
to get a tenant for the station. The station received major repairs, but
|
|
funds ran out before SEPTA's contractor completed work-which is why FQLS
|
|
stepped in again. DVARP members who would like to contribute to this
|
|
effort, or who would like to become involved are urged to contact John
|
|
Bustard, FQLS, 2808 Midvale Ave, Phila., Pa. 19129.
|
|
|
|
Several other stations have similar community backing. Overbrook
|
|
Station won $1,000,000 for renovation because of community efforts to
|
|
secure Federal funds. The pretty flower baskets at Narberth are put
|
|
there by friends, while the St Martins' group donates thousands of
|
|
dollars annually to maintain the station and grounds.
|
|
|
|
Friends of Queen Lane beautify their station Photo: Chuck Bode
|
|
|
|
We occasionally hear reports of other station groups, there may be over
|
|
a dozen. Members who know the address of a station group are encouraged
|
|
to write or call us with it, so we can publish a directory of them.
|
|
Members who would like to form such a group are also encouraged to send
|
|
an announcement to DVARP.
|
|
|
|
|
|
##LRD Trolleys Enhance Events
|
|
|
|
SEPTA has issued a 1994 Schedule of Events for the Light Rail Division.
|
|
As reported previously, there will be no Trolleyfest in 1994. Instead
|
|
special services will be operated several times a month, often in
|
|
conjunction with community events that will attract patronage without
|
|
SEPTA having to do the marketing. Support of these events will also go
|
|
far to cement the transit-community bond. The information and
|
|
reservations phone is 215-580-3773.
|
|
|
|
One special event will commemorate the centennial of route 23: a trip
|
|
from Chestnut Hill (10 am) to Ontario loop, August 13 & 14 [$7.50
|
|
adults, $4.00 children, reservations suggested]. September 11, a tour
|
|
from Chestnut Hill to "North Philadelphia" will include a professional
|
|
tour guide to describe points of interest [two runs 9 and 11 am from
|
|
Chestnut Hill, $10 adults, $5 children/seniors, reservations suggested.]
|
|
SEPTA has also moved its historic Peter Witt car to Germantown, where it
|
|
can be operated on t he Chestnut Hill Trolley line, which runs until 9
|
|
pm Saturday evenings in August.
|
|
|
|
Eye on the Infrastructure:
|
|
|
|
Subway-surface track switches at 42nd and Woodland were replaced last
|
|
month. View-west down Woodland Ave. photo: Chuck Bode
|
|
|
|
Combined Timetable
|
|
|
|
A new handy folder shows daily headways of all 5 subway surface lines,
|
|
plus complete late-night schedules, especially handy for City Hall-40th
|
|
St. riders. Look for it in schedule holders on the cars.
|
|
|
|
*Several subway-surface cars were decorated Hawaiian-style for the 4th
|
|
of July.
|
|
|
|
|
|
##CTD "Special Delivery" at Night
|
|
|
|
SEPTA has announced a new policy that allows buses to stop on request at
|
|
locations other than bus stops between 9 pm and 5 am. Request stops
|
|
will only be made at locations where the bus can safely stop. Boardings
|
|
continue at designated stops-watching out for possible passengers in the
|
|
middle of the block might compromise safety and increase travel time.
|
|
|
|
NJ Transit has had this "Request-a-Stop" program for a couple of years.
|
|
Its goal is to remove fear of crime as a deterrent from riding the bus
|
|
at night. When the bus can stop right in front of your house, you'll
|
|
often have a shorter walk than if you had driven home. Members are
|
|
encouraged to let DVARP know how the new policy is working.-CB
|
|
|
|
West Phila. Bus Route Changes
|
|
|
|
Last month, SEPTA announced the first part of a two-phase bus route
|
|
realignment in West Philadelpia. These changes simplify the system and
|
|
address SEPTA's chronic funding shortfall.
|
|
|
|
The east-west routes south of Market St. have three terminals: 69th St.,
|
|
Wycombe, and 61st and Pine. Presently, Route 21 alternates between the
|
|
first two endpoints. To reduce confusion, the Wycombe branch is to be
|
|
dropped from the 21, and replaced with new Route 41 service, which would
|
|
operate via the 42 route on Spruce St., except that it would remain on
|
|
Spruce St from 38th to 33rd thus bypassing the slow Civic Center routing.
|
|
|
|
Minor tariff changes included in the package include the elimination of
|
|
two little-used route extensions: the 52 to Lindbergh Ave. (all buses
|
|
would terminate at Woodland), and the 65 to the Germantown VA and Broad
|
|
& Erie.
|
|
|
|
Three hearings are scheduled: Mon. Aug 29, 1:30 pm, VA Building,
|
|
Wissahickon & Manheim; Mon. Aug. 29, 6:00 pm, YMCA of West Phila., 5120
|
|
Chestnut St,; and Tue. Aug 30, 6:30 pm, Penn Tower Hotel, Civic Center
|
|
Blvd at 34th St.
|
|
|
|
SEPTA Union Wins Competitive Bid
|
|
|
|
A new Center City bus service, the PHLASH, sponsored by the City of
|
|
Philadelphia, is expected to begin service late next month. TWU Local
|
|
234 cooperated with SEPTA management to win the contract to operate it.
|
|
The long-dormant Trenton-Philadelphia Coach Corp (a predecessor company
|
|
which survived as part of SEPTA for regulatory reasons) was reactivated,
|
|
and its labor contract with TWU was renegotiated. Hourly pay for the
|
|
drivers will be $10.53: significantly less than what SEPTA's City
|
|
Transit operators make.
|
|
|
|
The PHLASH will operate from 2nd and Bainbridge to Logan Circle, serving
|
|
many tourist destinations. During the day, it will run via Arch St.,
|
|
and at night, via Market. Night extensions will serve portions of Pine
|
|
St. and Spring Garden.
|
|
|
|
CREDITS: News compiled by Matthew Mitchell and correspondents: Chuck
|
|
Bode, Howard Bender, Betsey Clarke, Lucia Esther, Russ Gould, John Hay,
|
|
Bob Machler, Don Nigro.
|
|
|
|
Additional news from BITNET, Philadelphia Inquirer, Railpace, Railway
|
|
Age, USENET, Washington Post
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
##E Battle Looms For Control of Board
|
|
|
|
by Betsey Clark
|
|
|
|
In the last issue of the DVRP, we laid out before you the state funding
|
|
crisis faced by SEPTA caused by a minor language glitch describing
|
|
revenue sources which would have cost the transit agency between $54
|
|
million and $120 million, had it not been resolved. We also discussed
|
|
General Manager Louis Gambaccini's pending new contract which caused a
|
|
flap among members of the State Legislature who considered it too
|
|
extravagant. This, in turn, led to an effort by at least some of these
|
|
members to reorganize the SEPTA Board so that the State would have
|
|
greater control over the general manager's, general counsel's, and
|
|
professional service contracts retained without competitive bidding. If
|
|
these politicians had their way, the Board would be composed of five
|
|
individuals, all hand-picked by the State, so that the State would then
|
|
have a majority on this governing body.
|
|
|
|
Patrick H. McCarthy, Governor Casey's appointee to the present SEPTA
|
|
Board, was a prime negotiator with Gambaccini's lawyer on the contract
|
|
which has caused so much controversy. He felt that it was not excessive
|
|
for someone whose job performance for the past five years has been very
|
|
highly regarded by most Board members. Not surprisingly, there is a
|
|
strong desire among these members to retain the general manager for at
|
|
least the next three years. McCarthy pointed out that the controversial
|
|
contact was probably less than what Gambaccini was legally entitled to
|
|
and was not out of line with what heads of transit agencies in other
|
|
cities were pulling down. McCarthy added that he had been "really hard
|
|
nosed" with Mr. Gambaccini's lawyer and had succeeded in hammering out
|
|
something that was considerably downsized from the one first offered in
|
|
1988. In fact, one negotiator felt that this new contract was actually
|
|
15 percent less than the old one.
|
|
|
|
The first contract offered to the SEPTA General Manger started him at
|
|
$180,000 per year with provisions for regular raises. Extras included a
|
|
generous vacation and a fully paid apartment. According to Patrick
|
|
McCarthy, Mr. Gambaccini didn't use much of his vacation time, never
|
|
took the free apartment, and, in fact, gave it up several years ago.
|
|
Furthermore, when SEPTA management personnel were asked to take pay
|
|
cuts, Mr. Gambaccini did not take all of the raises his contract called
|
|
for. This means that, had Mr. Gambaccini taken all of these raises, he
|
|
would have been making about $235,000 per year instead of his current
|
|
$191,700. Furthermore, the $235,000 figure does not take into account a
|
|
total of $205,000 in benefits he never used. However, out of a desire
|
|
to settle the old contract, Mr. Gambaccini agreed to take $190,000 and
|
|
to continue his pay at the present level.
|
|
|
|
Mr. McCarthy did concede that the new contract provided for improvements
|
|
in medical and life insurance, as well as other perks, some of which
|
|
were spelled out in the July version of this newsletter.
|
|
|
|
Admittedly, some Board members were surprised at the number of generous
|
|
benefits in this proposed new contract. A number of them also felt
|
|
that the timing of the expressed displeasure of the state legislatures
|
|
with the prospective contract was calculated to build a case for the new
|
|
superboard. By portraying SEPTA as being careless with its money, a
|
|
stronger case could be made for passage of a bill allowing for creation
|
|
of this revamped board structure.
|
|
|
|
After this controversy came to light, the SEPTA Board scheduled a
|
|
closed-door meeting on July 1, where the issue of Mr. Gambaccini's
|
|
contract was supposed to be discussed. In all likelihood, the Board
|
|
would end up offering the general manager a stripped down version of the
|
|
contract first put out two weeks ago so that the threat of an attempt by
|
|
the State government to meddle with the transit agency's governing body
|
|
would hopefully be lessened.
|
|
|
|
##F Fumo Denies Power Grab Charge
|
|
|
|
In a guest column published in the Daily News July 13, State Senator
|
|
Vince Fumo (D-Phila) responded to editorials and columns written in
|
|
various newspapers saying that the proposed changes to the SEPTA Board
|
|
contained in House Bill #1338 are a move by the State Legislature to
|
|
seize power at the transit agency. He felt that the intentions of the
|
|
Legislature were misread, and that the causes of this effort were
|
|
ignored.
|
|
|
|
He called attention to SEPTA 's $50 million budget deficit and said that
|
|
only the Legislature seemed concerned about this. Quoting from his
|
|
column directly:
|
|
|
|
SEPTA's budget has a $50 million deficit, yet no one other than the
|
|
Legislature seems concerned about this. In 1987, SEPTA's total
|
|
operating budget was $555 million, with the state supplying 35 percent.
|
|
In 1994-95, the proposed opera ting budget is $687 million, with the
|
|
state's share increasing to 51 percent....In 1987-88, SEPTA's share of
|
|
the state's dollars for urban mass transit was $214 million, or 69
|
|
percent of total state funds. For 1994-95, SEPTA is estimating it will
|
|
receive $450 million from the Urban Mass Transit Fund, or 72 percent of
|
|
all mass-transit dollars in the state.
|
|
|
|
Fumo then expressed his feeling that SEPTA was becoming more dependent
|
|
on the State of Pennsylvania for its funding, and that this was one of
|
|
the reasons why the Legislature should be more involved in the governing
|
|
of SEPTA and the Board. He then said that SEPTA's management and some
|
|
of the board members seemed to have no concern as to how SEPTA spends
|
|
the State's money. He felt that a natural result of this situation was
|
|
that SEPTA management was not forced to explain its decisions and their
|
|
financial consequences to the people who pay the bill.
|
|
|
|
Mr. Fumo feels more strongly than ever of the need to hold accountable
|
|
organizations who spend the public's money. He then reiterated his
|
|
perception of an insensitive SEPTA management (e.g., Lou Gambaccini's
|
|
proposed contract), and said that the "we must make them understand."
|
|
|
|
|
|
##G City Plan Seeks "World Class Network"
|
|
|
|
by Lucia Esther
|
|
|
|
Mayor Rendell and City Councilwoman Happy Fernandez (D-at large)
|
|
unveiled Philadelphia Transportation Policy; Planning For The 21st
|
|
Century In Collaboration With The Metropolitan Region on June 8 at the
|
|
Pennsylvania Convention Center. When Fernandez was first elected to
|
|
City Council, Council President John Street appointed her to lead the
|
|
Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities. Knowing that she knew
|
|
nothing about transportation she began to research the subject. In the
|
|
spring of 1992 City Council authorized her to conduct a formal study,
|
|
which has just been completed.
|
|
|
|
The following article is a outline of the plan, which is divided into
|
|
four sections. An analysis and discussion of this plan will follow in
|
|
future issues. DVARP's Chuck Bode attended a prelinimary discussion
|
|
meeting and later submitted a written statement. You are invited to
|
|
participate by writing us with your comments. Copies of the final
|
|
report and video can be obtained from Fernandez's office. (215-686-3414,
|
|
City Hall Rm 484, Phila. PA. 19107).
|
|
|
|
I. ASSETS
|
|
|
|
A. A World Class Network
|
|
|
|
The Delaware Valley has an intermodal mass transit system already in
|
|
place. To build the present system today would cost about $75 billion.
|
|
|
|
Other cities are starting from scratch and spending $445 billion to
|
|
build mass transit systems.
|
|
|
|
B. Jobs and the Economy
|
|
|
|
In addition to construction jobs, transportation jobs in the Delaware
|
|
Valley include: automobile related 37,500; port 7,500; public transit
|
|
companies 10,000; Philadelphia International Airport 25,000. In total
|
|
these jobs add $3 billion a year to our economy.
|
|
|
|
C. Ideal Location
|
|
|
|
We are located in the middle of the busy Northeast Corridor, "Nearly 65%
|
|
of U.S. consumers and 25% of Canadian consumers live within two day's
|
|
overland travel from Philadelphia. In addition, it is estimated that
|
|
13% of America's total buying income lies within 100 miles of the City."
|
|
|
|
D. Impact of Federal Regulations
|
|
|
|
1. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA),
|
|
which authorizes all federal transportation funding through 1997;
|
|
|
|
2. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which sets the standards for
|
|
reduction of vehicle-generated air pollution;
|
|
|
|
3. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991, which requires that all
|
|
areas and vehicles open to the public be made accessible to the
|
|
disabled.
|
|
|
|
II. THE CHALLENGE
|
|
|
|
Over the past 12 years federal capital funding and operating subsidies
|
|
for transit projects in southeastern Pennsylvania have decreased by 75%.
|
|
Furthermore, total government spending on transportation is lower in
|
|
the Delaware Valley than in comparable regions in the rest of the
|
|
country. The consequence is:
|
|
|
|
1. "Hundreds of miles of rail track in the Delaware Valley are unused or
|
|
underused
|
|
|
|
2. Philadelphia is the sixth largest metropolitan area in the country,
|
|
but its airport has slipped to 23rd in terms of passenger volume, and
|
|
|
|
3. Vehicular traffic in Philadelphia is delayed by more traffic signals
|
|
per capita than in other major American cities."
|
|
|
|
III. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
|
|
|
|
Following are the policy recommendations for the five groups of primary
|
|
transportation system users:
|
|
|
|
A. CITY RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES
|
|
|
|
1. Maintain and improve existing transit services
|
|
|
|
2. Expand transit services to capture untapped markets
|
|
|
|
3. Reduce unnecessary auto congestion in the City
|
|
|
|
4. Improve pedestrian saftey and appeal
|
|
|
|
5. Promote bicycling
|
|
|
|
6. Reduce vehicle emissions
|
|
|
|
B. VISITORS AND RECREATIONAL USERS
|
|
|
|
1. Improve visitor connections to Downtown
|
|
|
|
2. Make transportation in the City easy to use
|
|
|
|
3. Enhance transportation in and around recreational and entertainment
|
|
areas
|
|
|
|
C. REGIONAL COMMUTERS AND RESIDENTS
|
|
|
|
1. Make regional development conducive to efficient transportation
|
|
|
|
2. Promote transit usage
|
|
|
|
3. Expand transit services
|
|
|
|
4. Relieve highway congestion and improve safety
|
|
|
|
D. INTERCITY PASSENGERS
|
|
|
|
1. Improve capacity and service for air passengers
|
|
|
|
2. Increase traffic and transfers at 30th Street Station
|
|
|
|
3. Improve intercity bus servie and access
|
|
|
|
E. FREIGHT SHIPPERS
|
|
|
|
1. Increase capacity of regional linkages to national freight
|
|
transportation networks
|
|
|
|
2. Increase efficiency of intermodal linkages
|
|
|
|
3. Expand capacity and technology of Port and Airport facilities
|
|
|
|
4. Improve freight access to industrial sites
|
|
|
|
IV. AN AGENDA FOR NATIONAL LEADERSHIP
|
|
|
|
The Mayor and City Council's Transportation Committee seek to establish
|
|
Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania among the nation's leaders in
|
|
the area of transportation management, thus making it easier to obtain
|
|
funds for Federal-level transportation infrastructure investment and
|
|
economic development programs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A NEW VISION FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION
|
|
|
|
The stated second purpose of the media event was to announce the
|
|
formation of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Coalition to
|
|
form a regionwide group to lobby for state and federal funds. Their
|
|
first meeting was after lunch following this presentation.
|
|
|
|
The new committee will seek to find funding for and implement the
|
|
following projects:
|
|
|
|
A. PEDESTRIANS, SHOPPERS, TOURISTS
|
|
|
|
1. The Avenue of the Arts will attract pedestrians, visitors and
|
|
regional residents
|
|
|
|
2. A clean fuel shuttle will provide a low-cost way to get around Center
|
|
City Philadelphia (Mayor Rendell has ordered 20 natural gas buses, 5
|
|
will be in service this summer, Fernandez choose the colors turquoise
|
|
and purple!)
|
|
|
|
3. Riverwalks will extend along the banks of the Delaware and Schuylkill
|
|
rivers
|
|
|
|
4. Outdoor cafes will dot a renovated Chestnut Walk
|
|
|
|
5. Historic East Market Street will be restored and will become a grand
|
|
promenade leading to the waterfront,
|
|
|
|
6. With low rates for short-term, off-street parking, congestion on many
|
|
Center City streets will be virtually eliminated
|
|
|
|
7. Bike lanes and recreational paths will run throughout the City.
|
|
Bicycle rental/storage facilities will make biking a cheap and fun way
|
|
to get around,
|
|
|
|
8. Businsess people will fly in and out of Center City Philadelphia
|
|
aboard vertical takeoff-or-landing aircraft
|
|
|
|
B. AIR TRAVEL
|
|
|
|
1. With a new runway, two new terminals and a new on-site hotel,
|
|
Philadelphia International Airport would serve 20 million more
|
|
passengers each year than it does today,
|
|
|
|
2. Visitors to the new Pennsylvania Convention Center will move directly
|
|
from the terminal gate to the Airport Rail Line, and arriving
|
|
passenger's luggage will be routed directly to their hotel.
|
|
|
|
C. RAIL TRANSPORTATION
|
|
|
|
1. New high-speed trains along the Northeast corridor will make
|
|
Philadelphia an easily accessiable destination,
|
|
|
|
2. Passengers leaving trains at beautiful 30th Street Station will have
|
|
several options for reaching Center City Philadelphia, including a
|
|
pleasant walk over a newly-landscaped Schuylkill River, or buses that
|
|
stop at the station entrances.
|
|
|
|
3. Mini-buses will link trains to nearby communities. The result:
|
|
suburban residents will have better access to the City for work,
|
|
shopping, or pla y; City workers will have easier access to suburban
|
|
jobs, and
|
|
|
|
4. Public transit stops will feature shops and ample car and bicycle
|
|
parking."
|
|
|
|
D. HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS
|
|
|
|
1. I-95 will be transformed into a model 21st Century transportation
|
|
corridor,
|
|
|
|
2. There will be a transit line running parallel to the highway,
|
|
|
|
3. Designated lanes for buses, and park and ride activity centers will
|
|
be situated along the route, and
|
|
|
|
4. Gridlock will be reduced through new technology.
|
|
|
|
E. FREIGHT IMPROVEMENTS
|
|
|
|
1. Philadelphia will be the leading freight distribution center on the
|
|
East Coast with the capacity to handle high and wide cargo from ships,
|
|
trains, and trucks.
|
|
|
|
"While the propsed agenda is designed to be implemented over a 10-year
|
|
period, it is the Committee's recommendation that regional leaders make
|
|
an immediate commitment to transportation issues. The goal is the
|
|
development of a coherent transportation policy, more effective
|
|
commmumnication within the region and concerted action to realize
|
|
regional transportation goals."
|
|
|
|
ECONOMIC IMPACT
|
|
|
|
"The economic impact on the region can be significant. It is estimated
|
|
that regional equipment and infrastructure improvements outlined in the
|
|
21st Century agenda would represent a minimum of $6 billion in
|
|
transportation funding over the 10-year period and produce over 138,000
|
|
jobs throughout the five-county area."
|
|
|
|
##H Up Close and Personal: A Life on the R8
|
|
|
|
by Betsey Clark
|
|
|
|
Throughout the years, especially before SEPTA took over the running of
|
|
the regional commuter trains, the Paoli Local on the Pennsylvania
|
|
Railroad (later Penn Central) was regarded as a particularly colorful
|
|
and interesting line.
|
|
|
|
Please allow me to give you more of a feel for the R8 Chestnut Hill West
|
|
train. It would, in my opinion, give the old Paoli Local a real run
|
|
for its money in terms of variety and flavor. Much of the old feel is
|
|
still present for me today, even in the SEPTA era.
|
|
|
|
I have been riding the Chestnut Hill West line since I was a baby. Back
|
|
then, it was a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and was serviced
|
|
by the old Tuscan Red cars (does this date me?) Our family would come
|
|
in from the suburbs where we lived to visit the grandparents who lived
|
|
in Germantown. We would catch a bus from Fort Washington and then
|
|
transfer to the Chestnut Hill Local for the final leg of our trip.
|
|
|
|
Later on, when we moved to Germantown, and I was in high school, I can
|
|
remember catching the Chestnut Hill Local to ride to Sunday afternoon
|
|
functions in Center City. For awhile during this time I needed to go
|
|
out to Lansdowne in Delaware County after school on a frequent basis. I
|
|
would transfer from the Media Local in order to get back home from
|
|
Lansdowne. After I graduated from high school, I rode to Center City
|
|
on a daily basis, first to attend business school, then to go to work.
|
|
By this time the Pioneer III Silverliner cars were being used on our
|
|
line. I also saw it become part of the Penn Central System during
|
|
this era.
|
|
|
|
For awhile I lived in Center City, then in West Philadelphia. Not only
|
|
did my train trips become infrequent, but I realized how much I missed
|
|
the trees and grass of the Northwestern part of our city. After I
|
|
seized the opportunity to move back to this beloved (by me) area, I
|
|
lived in several apartment buildings, every one of them near stations
|
|
all up and down the Chestnut Hill Line. Once again I commuted on it in
|
|
order to get to work in town.
|
|
|
|
As I have ridden the R8 all these years I have experienced many things.
|
|
Just this past November, I treated myself to a ride on the R8 when it
|
|
featured the Santa Special. The train was festively decorated, and all
|
|
the kids, adult and otherwise, were living it up with their kazoos
|
|
blasting out Christmas songs in anticipation of the coming holiday. On
|
|
a more ordinary note, I still see some of the same people I saw 20 or
|
|
more years ago still riding our community train to work every day; some
|
|
of them I know well enough to say hello to. It was on this train that
|
|
I rediscovered a friendship with a woman who used to work in the same
|
|
office as I did. She, in turn, introduced me to another woman she met
|
|
at her station and had befriended. Now, all three of us know each other
|
|
quite well. Not only that, I sometimes bump into another woman I met at
|
|
a social group many years ago. We also renewed our friendship because
|
|
of the R8. And last but not least, my father and I commute home
|
|
together in the evenings after a hard slog at our respective offices.
|
|
|
|
Riding the R8 has often made me feel very close to nature. In the
|
|
stillness of an early morning in the summer, as I set out for work, I
|
|
sometimes hear the lovely, haunting melody of a wood thrush coming from
|
|
the forest on the inbound side of the line. Or, I might see or hear a
|
|
woodpecker going after his breakfast on the trunk of a tree. When I
|
|
disembark at my stop in the summer evenings, I am treated to the
|
|
spectacle of a combination vegetable and flower garden right next to the
|
|
railroad line. I will also often smell the fragrance of newly cut grass
|
|
and experience the sight of butterflies flitting among the flowers, and
|
|
bees going about the business of gathering honey. In the springtime,
|
|
the same grassy area is carpeted with violets and snowdrops and
|
|
buttercups..
|
|
|
|
Lines like the R8 Chestnut Hill West, known for their diversity of
|
|
passengers and experiences, do not just come along. It is a very
|
|
closely knit line which really binds the community together.
|
|
|
|
##I A Not-So-Obvious Purpose of Public Transportation
|
|
|
|
by John Pawson
|
|
|
|
Let's be honest and realistic about what makes Philadelphia and the
|
|
region function economically. Look at all those vacant factories, even
|
|
post-1960 vacant plants, in and around the city. Philadelphia's
|
|
remaining 'economic engine' must be Center City employment. Jobs in
|
|
primary industries in the central business district are the most
|
|
important ones, for jobs in dependent companies like banks, utilities,
|
|
and Gallery food shops depend on them.
|
|
|
|
Yet today few if any Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Center
|
|
City. Once there were many; there still should be a dozen or more.
|
|
Everyone agrees that the high city wage tax is the nemesis, yet nothing
|
|
is done about it.
|
|
|
|
Another factor is the mediocrity of the commuter rail system. We regret
|
|
to note it compares unfavorably with its twelve U.S. commuter rail peer
|
|
systems in the major parameters of average train speed, on-time
|
|
performance, average trip length, average train load, and operating cost
|
|
recovery. However, it does give decent service most of the time, if
|
|
it's not all that it could be. It has a strong potential advantage in
|
|
having twelve widely-covering lines through outlying areas, ten of which
|
|
can be extended to additional regional markets.
|
|
|
|
Some will object to all this starkness; but the city's prosperity, not
|
|
to say the region's, depends on successfully running the central
|
|
business district as a 'profit center' for the city and region. Center
|
|
City needs to become more attractive for corporate headquarters,
|
|
regional offices, etc. than its nearest big rival, Manhattan.
|
|
|
|
Excellent commuter rail service and a prosperous Center City are
|
|
mutually dependent. The city and region need to make the central
|
|
business district attractive to business. If the CBD is attractive and
|
|
easily accessible from all residential parts of the region, the commuter
|
|
service will have many more passengers (more revenue) and a higher tax
|
|
base will result (more taxes to support that service).
|
|
|
|
|
|
##J Letters to DVARP
|
|
|
|
Our mailbox gets a steady flow of letters from DVARP members and public
|
|
officials. While all letters are copied and distributed to the
|
|
committees, and responses prepared when needed, we don't usually publish
|
|
them in the newsletter. In the interests of furthering discussion and
|
|
presenting alternate viewpoints, here's some excerpts from recent
|
|
letters. -CB, MDM
|
|
|
|
Jeff Karpinski complained about SEPTA fare policies: "playing 'gotcha'
|
|
with riders who are unfamiliar with the rules or who don't have access
|
|
to tokens or ticket machines." DVARP has asked in public hearings for
|
|
elimination of these customer-hostile policies, and will keep on doing
|
|
so.
|
|
|
|
A.R. Follweiler of Florida (who visits Philadelphia annually) told us
|
|
about a ride on the Frankford El: "...northbound over the bridge
|
|
crossing the Northeast Corridor, at full speed, as the cars and chains
|
|
bounced around uncontrolably. I was prepared to land on the roadbed and
|
|
tracks below at the next loose railjoint. Fortunately, we did not, and
|
|
upon arriving at Bridge St., I had determined never to ride that section
|
|
again until it had been repaired or replaced. I was never so frightened
|
|
riding steam in Ecuador, and there we were derailed twice-but these
|
|
people knew what they were doing, had us rerailed in 5 minutes, and
|
|
never placed our safety in jeopardy. I was appalled at the total
|
|
disregard for safety by the motorman!"
|
|
|
|
[This brings up an interesting point. Hardened commuters read their
|
|
paper obliviously because the train gets them home every day. But how
|
|
many passengers made one trip, had a similar experience, and never rode
|
|
SEPTA again? SEPTA employees and regular users may know the system is
|
|
safe, but as with crime, the potential riders' perception is what
|
|
counts. When was the last time an automobile passenger had as rough a
|
|
ride as many of SEPTA's rail lines, which could have a super smooth ride
|
|
if the track and suspension were well maintained?-CB]
|
|
|
|
Follweiler adds: "Here in Tampa, as in Philadelphia, many of the service
|
|
personnel are of the opinion that they could do their job so much
|
|
better, if only the annoying passengers didn't get in their way."
|
|
|
|
Art Munson sent us some press clips about the proposed Mt
|
|
Holly-Glassboro light rail line, which would not give a one-seat ride to
|
|
Philadelphia: "Are we getting another '69th Street terminal' at Broadway
|
|
[Camden Transportation Center], where trains, track, and crew will be
|
|
tied up while passengers wait, transfer, and decide to drive instead?"
|
|
|
|
Letters from Chris Zearfoss, of the Mayor's Office for Transportation,
|
|
and Ed Tennyson, rail transportation planner, included extensive
|
|
comments on our June cover story about the possible rapid transit line
|
|
to Northeast Philadelphia. Both disagreed with use of the words "shot
|
|
down" to describe what happened to previous attempts to get this line
|
|
built. Zearfoss also defended the rapid transit mode choice, and
|
|
discussed the flat fare policy on SEPTA's City Transit Division [Their
|
|
comments deserve more space than is available here, so I hope to bring
|
|
you more in a coming DVRP-MDM]
|
|
|
|
Tennyson added a correction to the June "The Hidden Subsidies" item on
|
|
the history of railroad taxes. The Federal ticket tax (which did not go
|
|
to a trust fund) applied only to tickets over 35c, but ultimately grew
|
|
to 15 percent, and the IRS ruled that commuter buses were exempt from
|
|
the tax. Tennyson contends that this caused the demise of rail and
|
|
transit lines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
##K RailReading
|
|
|
|
Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American
|
|
Century by Stephen B. Goddard 351 pp., including bibliog., index. Basic
|
|
Books, 1994. $28.00.
|
|
|
|
reviewed by Sandy Smith
|
|
|
|
It's a good thing Stephen Goddard never really lost interest in the
|
|
subject of his bachelor's thesis at Bates College (which was on the
|
|
untimely demise of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad; it's
|
|
one of the 445 source documents listed in the bibilography). While most
|
|
of us are probably familiar with some of the broad details of our
|
|
deliberate tilt of the playing field away from trains towards motor
|
|
vehicles over the course of this century, this book also places this
|
|
policy in its historical context.
|
|
|
|
Make no mistake about it, though: Goddard has a bone to pick with the
|
|
"highwaymen," a word he uses deliberately and in both senses of the
|
|
term. By providing a sort of 'Lives of the Saints' (or perhaps Lives of
|
|
the Devils would be better) story of the men who set out to pave America
|
|
in the name of breaking the stranglehold of the rapacious railroads,
|
|
Goddard adds a human element to the Grand Conspiracies many of us have
|
|
heard about.
|
|
|
|
In the process, he also explains how the railroads helped hasten their
|
|
own demise through their early unquestioning support of the Federal
|
|
roads programs and how the highwaymen fought for decades to secure a pot
|
|
of Government money that would be theirs and theirs alone.
|
|
|
|
He also shows that some people in high places did question the wisdom of
|
|
a "highways first, last, and always" policy, only to have their efforts
|
|
to curb the power of the highway lobby frustrated. (One of these people
|
|
was President Eisenhower, who signed the Interstate Highway Act. He was
|
|
later appalled to discover that the Federal highway officials designing
|
|
the system planned to run the highways through rather than around the
|
|
cities, but by then it was too late. This policy, sold to urban
|
|
Congressmen as a form of "urban renewal", was the tradeoff the highway
|
|
lobby made for the votes of the urban representatives.)
|
|
|
|
There are a few minor errors of geographical detail in the book, but
|
|
they do not detract from the overall flow of the story. And after
|
|
reading it, I feel that Goddard was not using understatement in terming
|
|
the clash between railroads and highways on the field of public policy
|
|
an "epic struggle."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
##L Amtrak to Sue RRs for Delays
|
|
|
|
America's freight railroads are enjoying great success, thanks to
|
|
deregulation and new intermodal technology. But the truckers aren't the
|
|
only people unhappy about the increase in U.S. freight rail traffic;
|
|
Amtrak is tired of having its passenger trains delayed by freight
|
|
dispatchers.
|
|
|
|
Last month, the nation's intercity passenger railroad threatened to sue
|
|
those railroads which don't comply with the law which allowed them to
|
|
transfer money-losing passenger services to Amtrak. That law says
|
|
Amtrak trains must take precedence over freights. Amtrak now claims
|
|
that 45 percent of the total delays experienced by its trains were
|
|
caused by interference from freight trains. Conrail and Burlington
|
|
Northern were cited as the worst offenders in a news conference held by
|
|
Amtrak President Tom Downs. Downs also threatened to raise objections
|
|
to the proposed merger of the BN with Santa Fe.
|
|
|
|
The railroads are responding that Amtrak has overstated the problem, and
|
|
that Amtrak's own problems are the root cause, such as when a locomotive
|
|
breakdown which delays a train puts it right in the middle of a block of
|
|
traffic going the other way on the tracks. The contracts between Amtrak
|
|
and its host railroads come up for renewal in 1996.-MDM
|
|
|
|
##M Delaware Enjoys Rail Excursion
|
|
|
|
Rail-to-the-Fair '94 was a sell out with 428 passengers enjoying the
|
|
train ride to the Delaware State Fair in Harrington. This was the third
|
|
year for the Amtrak special organized by DelDOT and Delmarva Rail
|
|
Passenger Association. The purpose of the trip is to show that modern
|
|
trains can operate in Delaware, to generate publicity about modern
|
|
trains, and to show modern passenger trains to Delaware residents south
|
|
of Wilmington.
|
|
|
|
The hope is that once residents see and try train travel, there will be
|
|
support for daily passenger train service.-CB
|
|
|
|
|
|
##N Cherry Hill Open: Pedestrian Access Awful
|
|
|
|
Cherry Hill became NJ Transit's newest commuter rail station July 2.
|
|
The station is located between highways 38 & 70, completely surrounded
|
|
by Garden State Race Track property. The station is functional and
|
|
modern, but pedestrian-hostile.
|
|
|
|
The station has one high level platform along the siding. Three-sided
|
|
glass shelters are spaced along the platform at three places. Two
|
|
shelters have a bench, the other has two ticket machines. Two ticket
|
|
validators are located near the machines.
|
|
Waiting passengers can also use several benches on the platform. Two
|
|
stairs and a ramp provide access to the platform.
|
|
|
|
NJT's new station Photo: Chuck Bode
|
|
|
|
The station is completely fenced with only one exit, about a block long
|
|
sidewalk to a parking lot. From the parking lot barriers have been used
|
|
to form a driveway along the outer perimiter of the race track parking
|
|
area. Eventually the driveway exits at a racetrack gate near Cornell
|
|
Ave. and Marlton Pike, the far southwestern corner of the racetrack.
|
|
|
|
The roundabout driveway may be passable for autos. For pedestrians it
|
|
is another story. By the map, Cherry Hi ll Mall is slightly over a mile
|
|
from the station, an easy walk along Woodland Ave. Thus prepared,
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author and friend went from Philadelphia for an evening at the Mall.
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From the platform, the road is just accross the NJT track-unfortunatley
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two fences away. Even shortcutting through the racetrack lot (instead
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of the driveway), fifteen minutes were required just to walk to the exit
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gate-going exactly the wrong direction. Over an hour was then required
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to walk around the racetrack to the mall. By then too beat to shop, the
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NJT 405 bus trip back to Philadelphia took only 45 minutes.
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How can public transportation be expected to succeed when new facilities
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only serve one way trips (in this case from Cherry Hill) for persons
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|
able to afford multi-thousand dollar fares (an auto) to access the
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|
system? The fencelines are straight, so land is not the reason the
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station is not at either highways 38 or 70-or more simply directly
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|
beside the parking area rather than a block south. Walking around the
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racetrack, several gates were open making it hard to understand keeping
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the one accross the NJT track closed-from which one could walk throught
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the racetrack to near the mall. Otherwise, at least NJT could allow for
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|
a path within the fences for passengers to walk directly to the roads.
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Meantime, passengers wanting to get to Cherry Hill are advised that the
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several bus lines through the area are much easier and quicker.-CB
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##O Atlantic City Notes
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NJT has announced a $3.00 surcharge for passengers purchasing tickets on
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board trains, and for passengers who have validated their tickets before
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boarding. The new surcharge begins Sept. 12. Senior citizens and
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|
registered disabled persons are exempt, as are passengers using Atco
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Station, which does not have any ticket machines. The announcement
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|
indicated that if both ticket machines at a station do not function the
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surcharge would be waived-from SEPTA experience certain to become a
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source of bitterness between passengers and crew.
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*NJT will operate the final 1994 Phillies Express from Atlantic City
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line stations directly to Veterans Stadium October 2. This is the fifth
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year for these specials. Round trip train ride and admission to the
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game are only $22. Reservations can be made at 609-343-7162; Visa,
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Mastercard, and Discover are accepted.
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Sports events create a large volume of traffic and pollution oriented to
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a single location-an ideal chance for public transportation to solve
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real problems. Members are urged to support NJT's effort.-CB
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##P DVRP to Go First Class Again
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DVARP has not been immune from the well-publicized delivery problems the
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U.S. Postal Service has been having recently. Persistent and extended
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|
delivery delays often meant the DVRP reached New Jersey members more
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|
than a month after mailing and many other members reported delays of
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|
three weeks.
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|
As an action organization, it is important that DVARP members receive
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information in time to contact elected officials and attend various
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|
meetings. Thus after two years of trying third class mail as a means of
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|
controlling expenses, the members present at the July meeting voted to
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resume first class newsletter mailing effective with the September
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newsletter.
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The cost of postage is higher for first class, no matter how many cost
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|
saving reductions can be found. This will lead to a debate over DVARP's
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|
budget in coming months. Will a dues increase be necessary? Should the
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|
DVRP carry advertising to offset some of the costs? Other alternatives
|
|
include changing the format of the newsletter so that it can be mailed
|
|
as a letter rather than at the higher rate charged for "flats."
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|
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|
The most effective method of controlling costs is increasing membership.
|
|
Postage rates go down as volume increases for a given zip code. Have
|
|
you shown DVRP to other passengers, environmentalists, and concerned
|
|
citizens? Help avoid a dues increase, recruit new members!
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|
##Q Office Equipment Gifts Could Help
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|
For about ten years DVARP's mailing labels have been printed on a
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|
reliable, but now throughly outdated, CP/M computer. Volunteers are
|
|
trying to locate a more modern DOS computer and printer which would
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|
capable of printing bar coded labels which could reduce postage costs.
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|
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|
Many of our members have computers and computer skills. We have Foxpro
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|
2.6 and have completed a test transfer of data from the CP/M PC to a
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|
DOS PC. Is there a older computer that you are no longer using that
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DVARP could have to modernize operations? Do you have a few hours to
|
|
set up and configure a PC? If you can help, please leave a message for
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our volunteer coordinator at 215-222-3373 message box 4.
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Another office need is a fax machine. Before we spend hundreds of
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|
dollars buying one, does any member have an unneeded one that could be
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loaned or donated to DVARP?-CB
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##R Annual Picnic This Month!
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The traditional August outing to Willow Grove for a picnic lunch and
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|
informal meeting will be a week later than usual: August 27, from 12:45
|
|
to 3:45 at the home of DVARP member Ralph Page. A grill will be
|
|
available, please bring your own entree and something else to share with
|
|
the rest of the group.
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|
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|
A carpool will meet SEPTA's R2 Warminster train at Roslyn station to
|
|
take members to the picnic and back.
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##S Dates of Interest
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DVARP Commuter Rail Committee: Sat., Aug. 13, CANCELLED.
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|
SEPTA Hearing on Route 96 Revision: Tue., Aug 16, 2:00 pm in Telford.
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|
SEPTA on Site (Suburban Transit): Wed., Aug. 17, 7:30 to 9:30 am and
|
|
3:30 to 5:30 pm at 69th St. Terminal, 7:30 to 9:30 am at Norristown
|
|
Transportation Center.
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|
SEPTA Hearings on Proposed Service Standards: Mon., Aug. 22, 7:00-9:00
|
|
pm at George Washington H.S., 11000 Bustleton Ave.; Tues., Aug. 23,
|
|
1:00-3:00 at SEPTA Board Room, 714 Market St.; Wed.,
|
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|
Aug. 24, 7:00-9:00 pm at Northeast Regional Library, Cottman Ave &
|
|
Oakland St.; and Thu., Aug 25, 7:00-9:00 pm at 46th St. Baptist Church,
|
|
46th St. & Woodland Ave.
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|
Deadline for September newsletter material: Tues., Aug. 23, to Matthew
|
|
Mitchell or in DVARP mailbox.
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|
SEPTA Board Meeting: Thu., Aug. 25, CANCELLED.
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|
DVARP Annual Picnic and Meeting: Sat., Aug. 27, 12:45 to 3:45 at 3140
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|
Woodland Ave. Willow Grove.
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|
|
|
SEPTA Hearings on West Philadelphia Bus Route Revisions: Mon. Aug. 29,
|
|
1:30 at Germantown VA, Wissahickon Ave. & Manheim St., and 6:00 pm at
|
|
West Philadelphia YMCA, 5120 Walnut St; Tue.,
|
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|
|
Aug. 30, 6:30 pm, at Penn Tower Hotel, Civic Center Blvd at 34th St.
|
|
|
|
Delmarva Rail Passenger Association: Thu., Sept. 1, 6:30 pm, at
|
|
Stationmaster's Office, Amtrak Wilmington Station. Call Ken Berg,
|
|
410-648-5961, for more information.
|
|
|
|
DVARP General Meeting: Sat., Sept. 17, 1:00 to 4:00 at Temple University
|
|
Center City, 1616 Walnut St.
|
|
|
|
Listings based on information provided to DVARP. Contact sponsor to
|
|
confirm time & place. Call 215-222-3373, message box 3, to add your
|
|
event to this calendar.
|
|
|
|
##T Up and Down the Corridor
|
|
|
|
News of other Northeastern commuter rail and rail transit services
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|
|
|
A Good Deal
|
|
|
|
Both commuter railroads in the Washington area have made deals with
|
|
Amtrak to increase the flexibility of their services. MARC responded to
|
|
complaints about its new schedule by arranging for two early-evening
|
|
Amtrak trains to accept MARC passes for BaltimoreWashington travel.
|
|
MARC already allows commuters to use Amtrak trains on the Penn Line
|
|
later at night. Virginia Railway Express now lets its Fredricksburg
|
|
riders use mid-day Amtrak trains. Amtrak operates both those lines under
|
|
contract to the commuter agencies.
|
|
|
|
Maine Setback
|
|
|
|
Amtrak will not meet its Fall 1994 goal for restoring passenger train
|
|
service to Maine and the New Hampshire seacoast. Track repairs and
|
|
signal upgrading for passenger trains are more complex jobs than
|
|
originlly thought.
|
|
|
|
Give Them What They Want
|
|
|
|
New schedules on Metro-North provide additional evening service for
|
|
hard-working New Yorkers. The boost is in response to a customer
|
|
survey.
|
|
|
|
Subway Settlement
|
|
|
|
A new labor agreement has been reached between the New York MTA and the
|
|
unionized workers who operate and maintain NYCTA subways. Full details
|
|
were not available at press time, but an independent expert is to settle
|
|
the question of whether one-person operat ion of trains is safe. The TA
|
|
would like to try it on the Franklin Ave. shuttle.
|
|
|
|
Progress on NJ Connection
|
|
|
|
Contractors have resumed work on the Kearny Connection, the junction
|
|
which will allow Morris and Essex commuters to enjoy a one-seat ride to
|
|
Manhattan. Construction had been halted when toxic waste was found on
|
|
the site.
|
|
|
|
|
|
##U DVARP Phone & Voice-mail Directory
|
|
DVARP main number (voice mail line) 215-222-3373
|
|
9 Chuck Bode, President 215-222-3373
|
|
1 Tom Borawski, VP-Transportation 215-552-4198
|
|
<73243.1224@compuserve.com>
|
|
6 Robert H. Machler, VP-Administration 215-222-3373
|
|
5 Sharon Shneyer, VP-Public Relations 215-386-2644
|
|
3 Matthew Mitchell, Newsletter Editor 215-885-7448
|
|
<mmitchell@asrr.arsusda.gov>
|
|
4 Betsey Clark, Volunteer Coordinator 215-222-3373
|
|
8 Mark Sanders, Treasurer 215-222-3373
|
|
2 John Pawson, Commuter RR Comm. 215-659-7736
|
|
(6 to 9 pm please)
|
|
3 Transit Committee 215-222-3373
|
|
7 Don Nigro, South Jersey Committee 609-869-0020
|
|
Dan Radack, Bicycle Coordinator 215-232-6303
|
|
|
|
Media Hotline (digital beeper) 215-552-4198
|
|
Computer e-mail (internet) 73243.1224@compuserve.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
##V DVARP Membership Coupon
|
|
|
|
Yes, I want to support improved passenger train service in our region!
|
|
|
|
Here are my DVARP membership dues for 1994! 8/94
|
|
|
|
Name
|
|
|
|
Address
|
|
|
|
City, State, Zip
|
|
|
|
Please choose a membership category below, enclose check and mail to:
|
|
|
|
DVARP, PO Box 7505, Philadelphia, PA 19101
|
|
|
|
( ) Regular: $15.00 ( ) Family: $20.00 ( ) Supporting: $25.00
|
|
|
|
( ) Sustaining: $50.00 ( ) Patron: $75.00 ( ) Benefactor: $100.00
|
|
|
|
( ) Introductory-new members only: $10.00 ( ) under 21 or over 65:$7.50
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
##W Upcoming DVARP Meetings:
|
|
|
|
Saturday, August 27, 12:45 to 3:45
|
|
DVARP Annual Picnic and Meeting (note change of date!)
|
|
3140 Woodland Ave., Willow Grove, PA
|
|
SEPTA R2 train departs Suburban Station 12:05, arrives Roslyn 12:41,
|
|
or use bus routes 22 or 98. Rides will be available from Roslyn.
|
|
Return train leaves Roslyn 3:53.
|
|
|
|
Saturday, September 17, 1:00 to 4:00 Temple University Center City
|
|
|
|
Saturday, October 15, 1:00 to 4:00 Montgomery County Library, Norristown
|
|
**meeting time and place subject to confirmation: please check the
|
|
September DVRP!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Agenda for the August meeting:
|
|
|
|
12:45 Introductions, agenda, minutes
|
|
Recognition of DVARP's 22nd anniversary
|
|
|
|
1:00 Annual Picnic
|
|
Grill provided by host Ralph Page:
|
|
please bring your own hamburgers, etc, plus a salad, dessert,
|
|
or snack to share.
|
|
|
|
2:30 General Meeting
|
|
Only issues requiring immediate action will be on the agenda
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Committee Meetings:
|
|
|
|
All committee meetings CANCELLED for August. Please contact Committee
|
|
Chairpeople for September meeting information
|
|
|
|
|
|
---end---
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