Did SEPTA Bungle Tuesday’s Rush Hour?
When it snows, there are going to be huge crowds for public transit. Trains are going to run late. Commute time is going to skyrocket. Riders can complain all they want, but in the end people are going to have to deal.
But that doesn’t mean SEPTA gets off the hook. SEPTA may be called “outstanding” by some, but passengers routinely blast SEPTA in good weather. Clearly, people are right to be skeptical of how it dealt with Tuesday’s snow.
KYW 1060’s Mike Dunn has a report on whether SEPTA could have “done more” with Tuesday’s snow:
SEPTA Deputy General Manager Jim Knueppel says shifting operations quickly is logistically difficult.
“There’s a lot of issues. There’s a lot of vehicle logistics. There’s not only having (enough) engineers but also the conductors.”And then there are federal regulations. “The federal government places requirements on how many hours and when our crews can work. And if we had moved them into normally our break periods, we wouldn’t have had them for late at night, then other people would have been stranded.”
So… yes? No? Maybe? It’s good to know we can always blame the feds, at least. To be fair, not all of this is SEPTA’s fault. Weather slows down everyone on the road, and buses are no doubt dealing with terrible city drivers who forget how to drive the instant there’s a hint of snow.
Still, riders are still dealing with SEPTA issues, though, as a Twitter search shows:
And now @SEPTA has the balls to collect fares after making ppl wait outside for two hours in the freezing cold?!? @SEPTA_SOCIAL #SEPTA
— lynneck (@lynneck) January 23, 2014
@SEPTA_SOCIAL RT 56 10 people deep on all corners and 2 buses are just sitting at the Cottman loop. Way to go Septa! Friggen ridiculous!!!
— lgall (@phillygirl20) January 23, 2014
.@SEPTA_SOCIAL Three crush loaded el trains in a row at Girard. Been here 15 min. How long till we can get out if the cold?
— Tim (@apocalypsepony) January 23, 2014
@SEPTA_SOCIAL I’d prefer not to have SEPTA waste any more of my time this morning. Thank you though.
— Reverend Paul Revere (@RevPaulRevere) January 23, 2014
SEPTA sent us a train with TWO CARS. UNBELIEVABLE. @MLMediaNews @NBCPhiladelphia @SEPTA_SOCIAL pic.twitter.com/J299AiTdjv
— Douglas Muth (Giza) (@dmuth) January 23, 2014
@SEPTA_SOCIAL idgaf about ya name my nigga have ya busses on fucking time before I smack the shit outta all yall and yall bus drivers r/s
— KL34◼️ (@34k__) January 23, 2014
Some delayed riders take it better than others, as you can see.