You may have seen this question and answer article in the NY Times recently and thought, well what about SEPTA?

Q.  I always wonder, when I see the sign “Do not lean on door” on the subway, how many times a year doors open on a moving train. I do not remember ever hearing of this happening.
A.  It does. In 2010, through November, there were nine reports to New York City Transit that doors had opened while a train was moving; no injuries were reported. In four of those instances, equipment failure was confirmed; the transit agency considered the other reports unfounded.

So did we.  So we reached out to SEPTA spokesperson Jerri Williams by email to find out.  According to Jerri, it’s not a problem.

[S]ubway doors opening when the train is in motion is not a issue at SEPTA.  No one here was able to recall a problem like the one you described in New York. There is a zero speed interlock on the SEPTA cars that prevents doors from staying open once the trains speed exceeds 3 mph.

Yeah, you might have a Super Bowl ring, New York, but at least we don’t fall out of our subways while they’re moving.

PS.  Interesting that SEPTA’s signs say “Please” and New York’s signs don’t.  That’s because we’re more polite here.

(image credit.)

National mass transit organization Transportation for America thinks so.

In a blog posting posted on Thursday, Transportation for America writes:

In a stunning development late last night, House leadership and the Ways and Means committee made a shocking attack on transit that would have huge impacts for the millions of people who depend on public transportation each day.

They proposed putting every public transportation system in immediate peril by eliminating guaranteed funding for the Mass Transit Account and forcing transit to go begging before Congress for general funds each year — all while highway spending continues to be guaranteed with protected funds for half a decade at a time.

For more information about how to register your displeasure, check out their site.

It was a crazy scene on Friday night as I waited on the City Hall platform for a Frankford-bound El.  One El went out of service, piling up hundreds of commuters, who then tried to cram onto the next El pulling into the station.

Just one day earlier, the SEPTA board had approved $7.5 million in contracts to add a couple elevators and two “fare lanes.”  (What’s a fare lane?)

It’s a far cry, alas, from the halcyonic days of 2008 when SEPTA was planning a $100 million make-over of the whole station.  But with state funding being what it is these days, those plans have been mothballed.

On the other hand, today’s the groundbreaking for the the $50 million, two-year Dilworth Plaza project.  What’s on tap?

The new Plaza will have a large lawn, tree groves, seating for 400, a programmable fountain and a café. During winter, a portable ice rink will cover the fountain area. The concourse beneath Dilworth Plaza will be dramatically improved as a new transit gateway, providing entrances to Broad Street and Market Street subways and the trolley lines. New elevators will make the transit platforms accessible for the first time and a unique work of public art will highlight the movement of trains below the Plaza.

Perhaps nervous of Occupy Philly folks, the 9:30am groundbreaking has been moved indoors to the 9th floor of 1515 Market Street (“Speakers and dignitaries will participate in a ceremonial signing of granite.”)