SEPTA FLEET NEWS ARCHIVES
April-May 2001
May 25, 2001
Subway-Surface service was delayed on Wednesday, May 23 due to a protest/disruption by a fringe group. ACORN blocked trolley access to the 40 St Portal in West Philadelphia during the height of rush hour to protest the proposed fare increase. Apparently, this group does not believe in rational discussion, unlike DVARP and other less radical organizations. News accounts - what few there were - did not indicate if any people were arrested. If that does not come off as a bizarre gap in logic on SEPTA's part, considering that many commuters were inconvenienced by this disruption of service, I don't know what does.
SEPTA officials, for reasons that defy logic, granted ACORN a meeting yesterday, prior to the May SEPTA Board meeting. Well, considering DVARP has played an active role in helping to shape transit policy in the region since the 1970's without resorting to blocking an R5 train at Paoli, I don't understand why ACORN was given such preferential treatment. Two years ago, a disabled activist group chained themselves to a 33 bus in front of SEPTA headquarters at 1234 Market, and were arrested by police. Why ACORN was not arrested (perhaps they were, but it was not reported) and in fact was granted a meeting with top SEPTA officials, including GM Jack Leary, is a mind scratcher at best.
- The SEPTA Roadeo will take place on June 23 at the Veterans Stadium parking lot. Fortunately, for area bus fans, this will not conflict with the NJ Transit bus Roadeo at Howell Garage - which takes place the week before - as has happened in the past, including last year.
- The Eldorados are now regular fixtures on the 35. However, a few 13xx Neoplan 35 ft buses still lumber on in service. 1322 was spotted last week operating the 15 out of Callowhill.
- Two more NABIs have been given the white window trip treatment: Comly 5119 and 5331. It looks as though they are in fact being overhauled during this process. As noted earlier, 5033 was given the same treatment, however when I saw 5033 last week, it was also sporting a sticker reading "Bus Powered By Clean Diesel Technology". A lot of the 33xx and 34xx Neoplans that were overhauled towards the end of last year and the early part of this year were given this sticker.
- For whatever reason, the bike racks on 4508 and 4510 were removed.
- Neoplan artic 7117 is back on the SEPTA roster at Allegheny after being out of service due to a fire a few months ago. The bus returned to the roster on Sunday following repair work at the Neoplan facility in Honey Brook.
- A couple of historic vehicle notes. Volvo 8590 was donated to the Pennsylvania Bus Museum, while GM Fishbowl (T6H5306A) #4300 is the fishbowl being restored for the SEPTA historic fleet.
May 23, 2001
The New Flyers are now tentatively set to arrive on SEPTA property within the next 6-8 weeks. Hopefully, one of these buses will show up in time for the SEPTA Roadeo.
May 17, 2001
Red Arrow #8830 was spotted in and around West Chester on Wednesday, May 16, apparently testing new routings. It's possible that the 104 or 119 could see some sort of extension to West Chester University, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
- ElDorado #4564 was spotted at an APTA Conference in Calgary ... Alberta, Canada last week. The rest of the order is expected to be on SEPTA property by the end of the month, or early next month. Thus far, the highest number spotted was 4562.
May 13, 2001
The Eldorados assigned to Midvale are being used both in regular service and training. During the morning hours, the buses have been spotted on the 39 and 89 routes in North Philadelphia, while after 2:00pm, the buses are used in regular service. The Eldorados will eventually end up on the 35 and 77 in addition to the 39 and 89. However, the ridership on the 28, a candidate for the Eldorados, has exceeded capacity, so the 28 will remain at Comly instead of switching to Midvale.
- The official designation of the WHIRL service in Exton is Route 207. While the 207 designation will not appear in the timetables, that's what SEPTA is "officially" referring to the line as.
- The electric doors on some of the Breeze III vans have been problematic over recent weeks. Yesterday, the doors on Frontier 2052 were virtually impossible to open, while the doors on 2059 wouldn't close properly.
- In addition to the changes listed previously, added early morning trips on the 204 from Paoli to Lionville and the 208 from Strafford to Chesterbrook have been added to connect with the newly added. These changes were not listed in the SEPTA brochure documenting the Spring Schedule changes.
- The NJ Transit Bus Roadeo will be held on June 16 at the Howell Bus Garage, located on US 9 in Monmouth County - north of Lakewood.
May 11, 2001
A sinkhole on Plumstead Avenue near Green Avenue in Lansdowne is causing a detour on Route 107. Buses are operating as follows: from Plumstead, right on Highland Av, left on Essex Av, left on Green Av, right on Plumstead Av, and back to regular routing. The detour is expected to run at least until today.
- Callowhill 5033 is the second NABI to have been confirmed to have the "white window" repaint. The first, Comly 5068, was repainted several weeks ago.
- The Market Frankford El Shuttle weekend service is expected to run between 30 and 69 Sts instead of to 15 St.
- Another bus from the region was spotted in Baltimore earlier this week. NJT Nova #1563 (Egg Harbor) was used by NovaBus to pitch to the Maryland Mass Transit Administration. Maryland MTA had just completed acceptance of 80 brand new NABI 416.10YA buses, which had been delayed due to warranty problems. NovaBus is expected to be one of the leading contenders for Md.MTA's next bus order.
May 8, 2001
SEPTA ran El Shuttle service on Friday, May 4 between 63 and 69 St Stations. The cause of the shutdown reportedly was a loose piece of metal which landed on the trackbed at Millbourne Station.
- Another SEPTA bus accident occurred on Broad Street in North Philadelphia. This time, it was Midvale artic #7219, running as a southbound C bus, which was struck by a car at Susquehanna on Friday, May 4. There were no reports of injuries to passengers or the bus driver, however the driver of the car which struck the bus was taken to the hospital and later charged with drunk driving. This marks the third incident where a SEPTA bus was put out of service on Broad Street in the past two months.
May 4, 2001
The long discussed (4 years to be exact) shuttle bus through West Whiteland Township is finally becoming a reality. The WHIRL begins operations on Monday, May 7. The WHIRL will operate weekday and Saturday routings. One peak hour weekday routing will link the Indian King and Exton Station townhouse complexes with the Exton Rail Station for connections to both SEPTA and Amtrak Keystone service. A second peak hour routing will link the Exton Rail Station with Exton Square Mall, Fairfield Place Shopping Center, Exton Commons, and other business and retail sites. The mid-day/Saturday routing will loop between Oaklands Corporate Center and Indian King, while also serving retail and business sites, the Chester County Library, and other key locations, however the mid-day/Saturday service will not directly serve Exton Rail Station. The WHIRL will be free for the first six months, thanks to funding by West Whiteland Township. Thereafter, the service will cost only $1.00. SEPTA is managing the service, while Krapf's will operate it. The service is made possible by a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant provided by the federal government.
- In addition to SEPTA's fare increase plan, fares on the Krapf's service between West Chester and Coatesville will also be increasing. More details as they become available.
May 3, 2001
The translation of the proposed SEPTA fare changes from bureaucratese to layman's terms is now available. The hearing process begins next Monday, May 7 in Doylestown.
April 28, 2001
Call it "Market-Frankford HELL Day" for shuttle service between 15 and 69 Sts. Evening service was severely delayed due to heavy traffic on Market Street in the University City area following the Penn Relays. About 10-15 buses were all delayed between 30 and 40 Sts heading eastbound. The bus that I was on, Midvale 7214, block 988, was crowded to the point that some passengers - myself included - filled the aisles and the stairwells. God forbid a state trooper had seen this, or else the consequences for SEPTA would have been dire. Of course, it didn't help that SEPTA won't run express service for the Market St El shuttles as it does for the Frankford El shuttles.
- Routes 301 and 302 are now officially dead. The 302 will now be consolidated into the 24, while the 301 routings in the Newtown area will be picked up by a restructured Route 130. This marks the third time the 130 has been restructured in the past six months. Mid-day 301/302 service between Fox Chase and Southampton will also be covered by the 24, by extending trips to Lower Moreland which originated at Frankford Terminal.
April 27, 2001
A public hearing is set for May 31 at 6:30pm at the Lower Merion Twp Municipal Bldg, located at 75 E Lancaster Av (US 30). The hearing is to make the routing extensions of Routes 105 and 106 permanent. SEPTA extended the 105 trips to Ardmore and all 106 trips from the Cricket Terrace loop to the Ardmore Rail Station and Suburban Square.
April 25, 2001
Schedules will be changing on Frontier routes on April 29 and 30. Among the changes planned:
- ROUTE 91: The departures will be moved to 15 minutes after the hour instead of the top of the hour to allow connections from the P&W and R6 trains at Norristown Terminal.
- ROUTE 92: The weekday 6:20am trip from West Chester to Exton will now depart at 6:15am. In addition, PM peak service will be through routed with Route 133, eliminating the transfer at Exton Square Mall. (I thought they were already through routing these buses during the rush hours, but SEPTA must think it's more efficient to deadhead a bus from Plymouth to West Chester or Exton instead of putting all 92 buses in service as 133 runs.)
- ROUTE 93: The 8:10pm trip will depart Norristown at 8:15pm, to allow connections with the R6 train. The return trip from Pottstown will depart at 9:11pm, instead of 9:06pm.
- ROUTE 94: A new 5:10am daily Express departure from Chestnut Hill to Montgomery Mall, a new 5:45am local trip from Montgomery Mall to Chestnut Hill, and a new Sunday 7:15pm departure from Montgomery Mall to Chestnut Hill will be added.
- ROUTE 96: A new weekday/Saturday 5:00am trip from Norristown to Telford will be added, however this trip will not serve Montgomery County College in Whitpain. The weekday/Saturday 10:10pm Norristown to Germantown & DeKalb Pks will be extended to Lansdale, with an 11:00pm return trip from Lansdale to Norristown also added. A new Saturday 6:30am departure from Norristown to Telford and a new Sunday 7:05pm departure from Lansdale to Norristown have been added.
- ROUTE 97: The weeknight 8:10pm trip from Norristown to Spring Mill will now depart at 8:15pm to facilitate connections with the R6, with the return trip departing Spring Mill at 8:43pm instead of 8:37pm. (Of course, the R6 stops at Spring Mill station, which is near where the 97 terminates, but that's another story.)
- ROUTE 99: The weeknight 8:10pm departure from Norristown to Phoenixville will depart at 8:15pm to facilitate connections with the R6, with the return trip departing Main & Bridge Sts in Phoenixville at 9:10pm. The weekday 5:00am and 6:00am departures from Norristown to Pottstown will not serve Valley Forge Christian College.
- ROUTE 125: The weekday 8:30pm and 9:30pm departures from Comfab in the King of Prussia Industrial Park to Center City Philadelphia will depart 5 minutes earlier. These two trips will also be rerouted to serve Allendale Rd, Valley Forge Rd, and Moore Rd. In addition, a new Saturday 7:45am departure from Center City to King of Prussia Industrial Park will bypass Wissahickon Transfer Center, circulating via N Gulph Rd, 1 Av, Allendale Rd, Valley Forge Rd, Moore Rd, and 1 Av, terminating at the Radisson. The Saturday 6:19pm departure from the Radisson will now depart 5 minutes earlier, serving the King of Prussia Industrial Park via 1 Av, Allendale Rd, Valley Forge Rd, Moore Rd, and 1 Av, and on route to Center City.
- ROUTE 127: The weekday 5:05am departure from Neshaminy to Trenton will depart at 4:50am to enhance connections with the 14 from Frankford Terminal. The 127 has been adjusted to serve Levittown Shopping Center, McIntosh Regency Senior Center, Levittown Rail Station, the Avenrowe Court Development, and the Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Falls. (I thought the 128 already served some of these areas in Levittown.)
- ROUTE 130: The weekday 6:45pm trip from Franklin Mills to Neshaminy will be extended to Penndel.
- ROUTE 131: The weeknight 10:45pm trip from Norristown to Valley Forge Corporate Center will now depart at 10:55pm to improve connections with the 99 at VFCC, with the return trip now departing VFCC at 11:14pm.
- ROUTE 201: A weeknight 7:30pm trip Fort Washington Rail Station to Ft Washington Office Center will be added. Five departures from FWOC to the Ft Washington Rail Station will depart at 7:49pm, 8:20pm, 9:20pm, 10:20pm, and 11:20pm.
- ROUTE 203: Sunday service will operate between Oxford Valley Mall at Sesame Place from May 5 to October 21.
- ROUTE 206: The weekday 6:25am trip from Paoli Rail Station to Great Valley will now depart at 6:30am. This change coincides with a new R5 train which arrives in Paoli at 6:22am.
The changes on the 94, 96, and 201 are being funded by a special federal access to jobs grant provided to SEPTA and Montgomery County.
- Several buses have been sent to Midvale in recent weeks. There is an apparent bus shortage at Midvale at this time, as nearly 60 buses are out of service for repairs.
- Several older Neoplans were sent to Midvale for use on the bus substitution of the 59, 66, and 75 trackless routes. It's been reported that as soon as the substitution ends, the buses will be sent to Midvale to alleviate the bus shortage there. However, some of the older buses have inspection expirations within the next couple of months, so SEPTA may retire these buses as soon as the inspection sticker expires.
- On the NJT front, Washington Township garage is slated to recieve their new D4000 cruisers around the middle of July. Washington Township had sent it's 51xx MC-9B cruisers to Howell (Monmouth County), (apparently to replace the Eagles that had operated there), while in return recieved several 6xxx MC-9A cruisers from other garages, most notably Oradell (Bergen County), which recieved one of the first batches of D4000s. Meanwhile, two of the Newton Avenue lines - the 413 and 419 - recently became "exact fare" lines. As a result, there is slim to no chance of seeing the cruisers - new or otherwise - on those lines. The 413 and 419 will use Flxibles and Nova RTS-6Bs.
- Roadeo season is starting to arrive. The first major bus roadeo of the year is set for this Saturday, April 28, as Washington Metrobus holds it's roadeo at the Landover Metrobus garage in Prince George's County, Maryland. MTA/New York City Transit will hold it's Roadeo at Orchard Beach in The Bronx on May 19-20; DART First State will have it's Roadeo for New Castle County drivers at Glasgow High School, located on DE 896 south of Newark on July 8. I have no idea when the SEPTA or NJT roadeos will be held, but SEPTA will probably be hold theirs at Veteran's Stadium, while the NJT event will likely be held at Howell Garage on US 9 in Monmouth County.
April 15, 2001
The 7 Breeze buses assigned to Midvale are currently being used on the 301/302 service at least through the end of this month. In addition, a Breeze bus has been spotted in service on the 35, where it would be a perfect fit, given the low ridership. Midvale is expected to either hold on to the Breeze vans or send them elsewhere upon arrival of the last ElDorados (4563-4580). It is possible, however, that a couple Breeze vans may stay at Midvale for the 35, however that hasn't been confirmed.
New Flyer #5401 has not been seen at the Red Arrow shops as of late. 5401 might either be at Wyoming shops or it may have gone back to the New Flyer factory in Minnesota.
- Some Breeze vans have also been spotted at Elmwood trolley barn. Some buses are usually stored at Elmwood in case of streetcar diversions west of the 40 St portal.
- Route 10 will undergo a major track renewal over the next two months. The first phase, to take place between April 22 and June 16, will see diversion service to the 40 St El station; the second phase, which will occur between June 17 and September 1, will see Route 10 passengers bused between 63/Malvern loop and the Subway/Surface Station at 33 and Market Sts, while also servicing the 34 St El Station.
- Starting next weekend, SEPTA will be operating shuttle buses between 15 and 69 St stations on the El. This is to begin the next phase of El re-construction on the Market St side of the El.
April 11, 2001
SEPTA is requesting proposals for the remanufacture of 18 PCC cars, with an option for 8 more. The 1947-48 PCCs are to be rebuilt with electronic chopper control, air conditioning, and a wheelchair lift placed in the front half of the center doors. This reconstruction is intended to extend the service life of the PCC another 15 years. The contractor is to choose from the forty or so inactive PCCs stored at Luzerne Depot. No federal funds are to be used in this project, and the specs include such cost-cutting measures as the utilization of seats from SEPTA's retired Volvo articulated buses. As part of this project, Route 15 on Girard Avenue is to resume as a streetcar route. Part of Callowhill Depot will be refurbished as a streetcar barn for Route 15, and for subway-surface Route 10. The fleet of refurbished PCCs is tentatively scheduled to enter service no later than 2003.
April 9, 2001
Two men were shot and wounded on a southbound Orange Night Owl bus at Broad and Lehigh early this morning. The shooter is in police custody and faces charges. The incident occured at 4:30am early Monday morning as Southern #3315 was heading towards Pattison. 3315 suffered damage to one of the front doors as a result of the gunfire.
- On Wednesday, April 4, Krapf's Coaches RTS #7901 was involved in an accident in front of K-Mart on PA 100 in Exton. Several people were treated for minor injuries. Although no details have been released, West Whiteland police believe that speed was a factor in the accident. 7901 suffered some front end damage, which puts the strain on Krapf's already strained fleet of Thomas TL960s (2 1998 models, #9810 and 9811; and a 2001 model, #2110).
That the accident occured at all is not a surprise to me, since some drivers - particularly the driver on the Saturday 6:00am run between Coatesville and West Chester - drive too fast for the road conditions. The 6:00am weekend trip, in particular, between Coatesville and West Chester often runs about 5 to 10 minutes early because the driver is speeding along Lancaster Avenue. Pair that with the fact that the buses Krapf's uses on it's Coatesville to West Chester run are often in bad condition - last Friday, the transmission on #9811 was sluggish, at best - and it makes for an uncomfortable ride.
The problems Krapf's has are not just limited to a few borderline reckless drivers. Often during the week, buses run anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes late. It gets to the point that some passengers waiting at Exton Square Mall simply take the SEPTA 92 bus instead. Bear in mind that the problem drivers at Krapf's are not operating the contract routes (204, 208, and 314), but instead are operating the Coatesville-West Chester service. (Sorry, but I just had to get that off my chest.)
- On a happier note, SEPTA is using the ElDorados not just for regular line service and qualifying drivers on that bus, but also for route training. 4542 was in West Chester today, with the exterior headsign reading "Training Bus/No Passengers", but the interior sign read "Rte 119: West Chester & Chadds Ford". Three trainers and three drivers were not only trained on the ElDorados, but also learning the routing of the 119, thus killing two birds with one stone.
- UTU 1594 members ratified the contract agreement reached last week with SEPTA. Voting took place at an abandoned storefront in Upper Darby, across from 69 St Terminal. As part of the agreement, Red Arrow operators' pay will increase by three percent both this year and next, and 4 percent in 2003. Also, SEPTA will hire 15 more drivers for Red Arrow within the next two months. The health-care plan co-pay will increase slightly, however, the agreement includes an additional uniform allowance.
- TWU Local 234 trustee Harry Lombardo met with Frontier operators last week, after Frontier operators rejected the TWU/SEPTA agreement. Frontier operators are seeking to reduce the gap in wage rates between Frontier and the City Transid Division. As of today, TWU raised the issue of Frontier wages with SEPTA. At it's official web site, TWU leadership "is intent on reaching an agreement without a strike." For someone who relies on the 92 quite frequently, I hope SEPTA comes to its senses and can increase pay for Frontier drivers.
- Speaking of the CTD agreement, TWU 234 has posted the Memorandum of Agreement with SEPTA at it's web site.
April 8, 2001
Yes, I will have something to say on the planned fare increase. Actually, I have a hell of a lot to say about it. Expect my thoughts - and some details - to be posted shortly.
- Breeze #2059 is currently parked outside the West Whiteland Twp Municipal Building, located on the southbound side of PA 100 in Exton. The bus is serving as an advertisement for the planned "Whirl" service which will operate in and around West Whiteland. The Whirl is supposed to start sometime this month.
- The Frontier drivers represented by TWU 234 have agreed to a 1 week extension of the contract to allow for additional negotiations. The contract was to expire April 7, but the strike deadline has been extended to April 14.
April 2, 2001
UTU Local 1594 reached a tentative agreement on a three year deal last night, thus avoiding a strike in the Red Arrow division. Only one more contract remains outstanding, and that's the TWU 234 contract at Frontier, which is set to expire on April 7.
- Midvale recently recieved 5 Breeze buses from Frontier, in addition to two more Neoplan artics from Allegheny. Breeze #2037, 2039, 2042, and 2043 (plus a 5th bus as yet unconfirmed) are slated to see service on the 35 and 77, where ridership is lower, compared to other lines. As for the artics, 7134 and 7148 are making the move to Midvale.
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