SEPTA FLEET NEWS ARCHIVES
October 2001
October 31, 2001
One week after the hearing for Route 93, SEPTA will hold a second hearing at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown. The December 6 hearing regards several route adjustments to Route 99, including:
- A permanent extension of service from Royersford to Pottstown via US 422, Armand Hammer Blvd, and High St;
- Eliminating service to Valley Forge Christian College;
- A routing adjustment within Royersford and Limerick, which would see the 99 serve Limerick Square via Main St, Township Line Rd, Buckwalter Rd, and Royersford Rd;
- A eastbound routing adjustment in Phoenixville, via Nutt Road, Manavon St, and Starr St; and
- The permanent approval of the Henderson Square routing in Upper Merion.
- Red Arrow 3119 is out of service at Berridge due to fire damage. The fire had to have occured within the past week or two, since it observed on the road in regular service last week.
October 29, 2001
Schedules changed on several Frontier routes today, however SEPTA has still failed to post a detailed explaination of changes at it's web site.
- The overcrowded 104 trip from October 10 was caused due to a rookie El motorman on one of his first solo trips. Apparently, the motorman - who had completed his training and was certified to operate El trains on his own - had some problems with school students getting on and off the train in a timely fashion, causing cascading delays on the El during the October 10 PM Peak period to 69 St Terminal.
- SEPTA ridership has declined nearly 7 percent since the incidents of September 11. SEPTA "spokesman/apologist" Richard Maloney claims that the ridership decline began prior to September 11, particularly in discretionary ridership. He also went on to say that ridership historically follows economic trends "almost on a chart." Of course, the 7 percent decrease in ridership wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the fare increase of July 1, now would it? Maloney also went on to say that the system has "never been safer." After Thursday's incident at 69 St Terminal, the system may be safer, but the communication process still lags behind.
- New Flyer 5412 was spotted on the Schuylkill Expressway near the Gladwynne interchange in Lower Merion yesterday, presumably en route to the Berridge shops. It appears that the New Flyer order will be arriving at a rate of approximately 5 per week.
October 27, 2001
5403 was spotted northbound on 57 St north of Spruce on a training run yesterday. This is the same routing as the G bus, which normally sees Neoplans only. This could mean that the G will be seeing the New Flyers or an occasional NABI, or it could be that they were returning from training on another route.
- SEPTA management can pat themselves on the back all they want after the arrival of the New Flyers, but there's still a vehicle shortage at Red Arrow. Route 113/11 block was annulled after 8875 went out of service after completing it's 3:45pm 69 St Terminal to Darby short turn. This also impacted it's return to 69 St and the 4:30pm to Marcus Hook.
- R3 Elwyn/West Trenton serivce was delayed about 40-45 minutes due to an equipment problem on the Elwyn side. The 4:10pm Elwyn to West Trenton arrive in Lansdowne about 45 minutes behind schedule with one of the pantographs in the down position.
October 26, 2001
The P&W experienced 15-20 minute delays during the early AM peak period today due to switching problems south of Bridgeport station. Service was slowly returning to normal as the day progressed.
- Frontier schedules will change this weekend. Among the major highlights of the schedule change:
- ROUTE 91: No schedule changes; Zone Boundaries between Norristown and SCI-Graterford reduced from three zones to two zones, with the new zones closely paralelling the 93
- ROUTE 93: Minor running time adjustments to 6:30am and 8:40am weekday departures from Pottstown
- ROUTE 94: Express service now serves the Philadelphia Geriatric Center in Montgomery Twp on all trips except the 5:10am departure from Chestnut Hill and the 5:47am departure from Montgomery Mall; Express trip times adjusted - the 6:00am, 7:00am, and 8:00am departures from Chestnut Hill now depart at 6:15am, 6:40am, and 8:05am, with a new 2:20pm daily express departure from Chestnut Hill, returning from Montgomery Mall at 3:30pm; the 8:05am, 4:05pm, 5:05pm, and 11:15pm departures from Montgomery Mall now depart at 7:35am, 4:10pm, 5:10pm, and 11:30pm; All trips between Chestnut Hill and Montgomery Mall are now two zones, with the zone boundaries in the Ambler area
- ROUTE 95: Saturday time adjustments; the 12:27am departure from Conshohocken to Gulph Mills has been eliminated
- ROUTE 96: Travel between Norristown and Telford is now two zones, with the zone boundaries in North Wales; minor weekday time adjustments on the 9:00am, 10:00am, and 11:00am departures from Norristown
- ROUTE 97: Extended to Spring Mill Rail Station (R6 Norristown); major weekday and Saturday time adjustments
- ROUTE 98: The 7:00am weekday departure from Plymouth Meeting Mall to Norristown now departs at 7:05am
- ROUTE 99: Weekday running times between King of Prussia and Norristown reduced by 5 minutes
- ROUTE 124: New weekday/Saturday departures from 13 St/Market St to Chesterbrook at 4:30am and 11:30pm, returning at 5:50am and 12:45am; new weekday 6:50am departure from Wissahickon Transfer Center to Swedesford Rd/Valley Forge Rd
- ROUTE 125: Selected weekday peak hour trips (6:45am to 1:45pm to Center City; 1:00pm to 6:30pm from Center City) operate directly into the new King of Prussia Park & Ride lot on S Gulph Rd
- ROUTE 128: Weekday 7:00am, 8:00am, and 9:00am depart from Neshaminy Mall 4 minutes later
- ROUTE 129: Weekday and Saturday evening service added; departures from Torresdale hourly from 7:00pm to 10:00pm, departures from Oxford Valley added at 7:30pm, 8:30pm, and 9:45pm
- ROUTE 130: Weekday 4:50pm and 5:50pm departures from Franklin Mills depart 5 minutes later
- ROUTE 203: Sunday service eliminated with the conclusion of summer service to Sesame Place; Minor weekday AM and Saturday running time adjustments
- ROUTE 206: New mid-day serivce departs Paoli at 10:10am, 11:10am, 12:40pm, 1:40pm, and 2:40pm, departing Great Valley at 9:27am, 10:30am, 11:30am, 1:00pm, 2:00pm, and 3:00pm; new Saturday service departing Paoli hourly from 8:40am to 9:40pm, and departing Great Valley from 9:00am to 10:00pm
- ROUTE 207 (WHIRL): Weekday 4:18pm WHIRL Commuter from Oaklands to Exton Rail Station departs 3 minutes later
October 25, 2001
R6 Norristown service was suspended during the PM rush hour due to a downed tree near the former Shawmont station in Philadelphia. Passengers were shuttled from Wissahickon to Ivy Ridge, with trains terminating at Manayunk. Passengers between Miquon and Conshohocken were forced to take the P&W to Gulph Mills and transfer to a shuttle bus to connect with those stations. Norristown passengers were directed to take the P&W to the DeKalb Street terminal. Now of course, it would have made sense for SEPTA to run shuttles straight through from Wissahickon to Norristown, but of course, there's no such thing as simple when it comes to SEPTA.
- Routes 21, 65, 108, and 113 experienced delays departing from 69 St Terminal due to an evacuation of the South Terminal area. An Upper Darby Twp police officer claimed that a person slipped and fell, causing the evacuation, however you don't shut an entire section of a terminal down for a simple fall. While neither the police nor SEPTA was willing to come right out and say it, there were reports from some passengers that a powdery substance was found in the area, however it was later determined that it was not a bio-hazard. That report, however, has not been confirmed by authorities.
- Routes 92, 104, 119, and 314 were severely delayed tonight coming into West Chester. The Borough of West Chester was holding their annual Halloween parade, which closed down both Market and Gay Streets. Usually, when there's a parade or street festival, only Gay Street is closed, which means operators have to use Chestnut to reach New & Market. However, with both streets closed, buses were diverted on some bizarre detours. Of course, SEPTA supervisors at Red Arrow and Frontier failed to post signs or otherwise direct passengers or operators to an alternate routing.
- SEPTA is planning a public hearing to make permanent an extension of Route 93 from the previous terminal at High and Hanover Sts to the Montgomery County Community College West Campus. The hearing will be held on Thursday, November 29 at 6:30pm, at MCCC-West Campus.
- The 101 Media Trolley will be operating with shuttle buses between Bowling Green and Media Courthouse from Monday, October 29 through Wednesday, October 31. The Red Arrow Halloween Trolley will be on display at the State St/Orange St terminal.
October 23, 2001
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in today's editions that SEPTA GM Jack Leary is in fact resigning at the end of the year, when his 5 year contact expires. (Not to brag, but I had reported these rumors at this site over a month ago.) There is no word on a replacement just yet.
- The 109, 113, and 115 experienced 10-15 minute delays yesterday due to an accident involving a tractor trailer and a Buick in Lansdowne.
- The 92 continues to experience major delays due to the construction along PA 100 in Exton. The 11:20am departure from West Chester (204 block) was running about 45 minutes late this morning. Once again, the missed or annulled trips are going to hurt the 92 in the long haul.
- The Philadelphia Daily News uncovered a major safety defect at several subway stations in Philadelphia. The standpipes - which are designed to assist firefighters in the event of a fire in the tunnel - have either been removed or were never installed at Logan, Hunting Park, Wyoming and Cecil B Moore stations on the Broad Street Line and at 2 St & 5 St stations on the El.
Despite a joint task force between SEPTA and the Philadelphia Fire Department, the article seems to report that there's a lot of finger pointing going on. As for the missing standpipes, is it any coincidence that one of the stations with a missing standpipe - Cecil B. Moore - is the same station where 8 year old Shariff Hall was maimed three years ago due to a faulty escalator? How SEPTA's current Risk Management team still has jobs with the authority is a mystery...
October 18, 2001
New Flyer 5402 is being used to train instructors at Southern. Today, it was spotted on Market St, operating over the 17 with the "777" block, indicating the bus is being used for driver training. 5402 - and the rest of the D40LF order - have the orange TwinVision LED destination signs, as well as the rear destination sign. There are at least four other D40LFs on SEPTA property, however, aside from 5401, the other bus numbers have yet to be officially confirmed.
- The tentative breakdown of the 54xx-series D40LFs will have 5401-5460 assigned to Callowhill, 5461-5490 assigned to Southern, and 5491-5500 assigned to Red Arrow. Over the next few weeks, the few remaining non-accessible Neoplans will be either retired (BM and CD) or transferred (3132). In addition, expect a lot of the Neoplan EI and EZ coaches to be sent to other depots. The 55xx-series, which will arrive next year, will be split mainly among Comly and Frankford, with a handful going to Midvale. By the time the 55xx order is complete next year, all remaining Neoplan BM and CD buses will be retired.
- At next week's SEPTA Board meeting, there is an item on the agenda that will exercise the option for an additional 100 D40LF coaches, which will presumably arrive in 2003. The arrival of what will tentatively be known as the 56xx-series will begin the phasing out of the Neoplan DK series.
- Also at the SEPTA Board meeting, the proposal to restructure the 76 bus into a shoppers loop will probably be approved. However, as part of the plan, the 38 will be rerouted northbound only to serve the rear of the Art Museum; southbound trips will not serve the Art Museum due to a very complex southbound routing. (Not to brag, but the 38 re-route was something I suggested at the public hearing, BTW, except I also suggested it be extended to Penn's Landing. Thank you, thank you, please hold your applause...) In addition, the Phlash will now allow seniors to ride for free, and will be rerouted westbound via JFK Blvd and 18 St to serve the Kennedy House apartments. The new 76 would begin service on November 21, the day before Thanksgiving, and just in time for the holiday season.
- There have been more bizarre bus assignments at Midvale in recent weeks. I've heard of one report that the 54 recently saw - in order - two NABIs, and Eldorado, and a Neo artic. Additionally, the 927 block on the 61 saw 4580 today, which was later taken out of service due to mechanical problems after some door problems at Wissahickon Transfer Center. 4580 had some other mechanical problems before it was placed into service a few weeks ago. Also seen on the 61 during the PM rush were 3293 (726 block) and 8612 (723 block).
- On a related note, the 76 will remain at Callowhill. However, instead of using 30-ft buses as proposed, SEPTA will assign 4 D40LF coaches, which will be given special full wraps, to operate the 76 for the time being. Callowhill does not have the capability to maintain the ElDorados at this time, however that could change down the road. If plans go through to install portable lifts at Callowhill, then a few ElDorados would be sent from Midvale to Callowhill, for use on the 30, 63, and 76.
- The second part of the Annual Service Plan, which would improve routes in Delaware County and West Chester, is on hold indefinately. Apparently, in addition to some routing issues noted earlier, some funding issues on Delaware County's end have also gummed up the works, so to speak. At the very earliest, the proposal may not see the tariff process until early next year, with a possible June 2002 implementation. Leave it to Wally Nunn and those rocket scientists of the Delaware County Council to stick it to SEPTA yet again. The bizarre actions at Media Courthouse not only stall the planned changes in Red Arrow territory, but also stall the restructuring of the 9 and 35 in Andorra, as well as the planned improvements on several Regional Rail Lines.
- If you've noticed on the depot assignment page, Southern 5385 now has a full wrap for Michael Jackson's new CD, "Invincible." Insert your own "Oddball Pop Icon" joke here...
- SEPTA is looking for a new director of bus operations. Dwight Ferrel is leaving SEPTA tomorrow after starting his position in February of this year.
- Speaking of leaving SEPTA, the rumors are still flying regarding SEPTA General Manager Jack Leary's status. One rumor that has been making the rounds is that Leary will make an announcement sometime within the next two weeks. Several of my contacts have indicated that he might very well resign upon the completion of his current 5 year contract with SEPTA.
October 14, 2001
The New Flyers are apparently starting to arrive. 5402 was reportedly seen at the Berridge Shops at 3 St/Wyoming Av on Thursday. After three long years, the New Flyers are finally here. There's no word on whether 5402 will be assigned to Callowhill or Southern, however I hope to get a confirmation within the next day or so. This would explain some of the EI Suburbans being moved from Callowhill over the past month or two, as well as the slow phasing out of the remaining BM and CD Neos.
October 12, 2001
Despite claims to the contrary as noted on these pages, SEPTA does not seem to believe there is a shortage of buses within the system. At the SEPTA web site, there is an item relating to the sale of surplus Neoplan buses. Unless these buses being sold are not operable, there's no reason for SEPTA to sell these buses until the soon to arrive New Flyers arrive on SEPTA property.
- Metro Magazine, a major transit industry publication, recently wrote a review of SEPTA operations in it's September/October editions.
October 11, 2001
Starting Monday and continuing through Wednesday, the 11 will be operating shuttle buses between Woodland Av/Island Rd to Darby Terminal, via Main St, 4 St, Walnut St, and MacDade Blvd. The detour is being instituted due to CSX trackwork at 6 St/Main St in Darby Borough.
- Service on the 11 was delayed today when 9054 (00 block) broke down on Main St in Darby Borough, just one block after leaving Darby Loop. The trolley pole was knocked out of place (which is a common occurance on the 11), however, the string which connects the pole was stuck. A supervisor arrived about 5-10 minutes later to cut the string, re-tie it, and send the trolley back to Elmwood. 9064, which was completing a run on the 13 and was enroute back to Elmwood, finished 00 block in 9054's place.
- The problems with the 104 appear to be getting worse. Thursday's 4:40pm trip from 69 St Terminal to West Chester was dangerously overcrowded (a la the 124/125 on a good day). At least 2-3 passengers were forced to take the next bus (I hope these people were only going to Newtown Square instead of all the way out to West Chester). The starter apparently didn't notice that the bus was already full when he was telling people to move back; he had made that announcement at least three times before the bus left. To add insult to injury, a SEPTA AGM was on that run (he apparently lives in that area).
- Then, there was Wednesday's 4:35pm West Chester to 69 Street run. The bus had departed West Chester 4 minutes down, and, despite minimal traffic from West Chester to Media Line Rd (but heavy traffic in Marple), managed to arrive 13 minutes down, causing more than a few people to miss connections (my 113 to Darby was pulling out just as the 104 was pulling in). This is another driver who doesn't seem to realize that the speed limit on West Chester Pike through Edgmont is 55 mph.
- More strange spottings for the ElDorados. A 45xx-series bus was reportedly operating an AM peak trip on the 47 while another one was spotted at Wissahickon Loop preparing to run a 124 trip to King of Prussia. The ElDorado used on the 47 reportedly had its sign frozen on a 104 Express reading. As for the 124, it's not known whether the bus was out of Frontier or Red Arrow, but considering that a few 40 foot buses were recently taken from Red Arrow and sent to Comly, and knowing Red Arrow's track record on bus assignments, it was probably a Red Arrow trip. On the other hand, some short turns to/from Wissahickon do originate from Frontier.
- Speaking of Comly, a lot of the older buses had been sent up there within the past few weeks, since the shortage problems have shifted from Midvale to Comly. Even before the fall schedule, Comly had one of the older fleets in the entire system. Most of the Red Arrow BM Suburbans have slowly trickled away from Red Arrow to Comly, as have some CDs which had previously been assigned to Midvale and Southern.
- Speaking of oddball buses, on Tuesday, Route 92/133 207 block saw Neoplan 3200, which isn't really all that odd, since that block sees an ElDorado more often than not. Of course, the TwinVision sign that adorns 3200 wasn't working; the codes for 3200 are different than those codes on the Luminator signs on the other Neo 40 ft buses, and some drivers don't know the codes at all.
October 10, 2001
Several people expressed disapproval for SEPTA's plan to truncate Route 76 at a public hearing held today. The 76 would essentially revert back to the Mid-City Loop, operating between 6 & 20 Sts and along Market, Chestnut, and Walnut. An extension of the Phlash service to the Philadelphia Zoo would replace the western end of the service. Philadelphia's Deputy Mayor for Transportation Christopher Zearfoss had indicated that the City operated Phlash would not accept SEPTA fare insturments (ie. tokens and passes), a point which came across as border-line arrogant to some in attendance. One suggestion was to have selected peak hour Route 38 trips diverted to the Zoo to partially replace the 76. The original plan is for the SEPTA Board to vote on the plan at the October 26 meeting with an implementation date of November 19, however those plans may be up in the air.
- The second part of the FY2002 ASP is being delayed due to changes that are being made to some parts of the proposal. As it stands now, the 110 and 111 proposals would essentially flip-flop (110 Local routing would remain 110; 110 Express to be extended to Chadds Ford would become the 111). Some other issues were raised regarding the Manoa/Broomall/DCCC proposal (Routes 112 and proposed 126) and with the 115 rerouting to 69 St Terminal instead of Ardmore. More details will be made available soon.
- A Midvale bus (number unknown) was involved in an accident at Broad & Olney last night. At around 9:15pm, a northbound 55 to Willow Grove was struck by a car. At least 15 people were injured. No other information is available as of yet.
October 9, 2001
On Sunday night, a 4-alarm fire broke out at SEPTA's Luzerne storage facility.
The former bus and trolley depot, which was deactivated four years ago upon the opening of the new Midvale Depot, contained paint, fuel, and other cleaning materials. Luzerne was also being used as a storage area for some recently retired Neoplans, ETBs, and PCC cars, which were slated to be rehabbed for the return of trolley service to Route 15.
Philadelphia Police officers arriving at the scene were ordered to remain in their cars due to concerns about toxic fumes.
The cause of the fire is believed to be faulty wiring. There is no word on any damage to stored vehicles, however if any PCC cars that were damaged, it will set back the return of trolleys to the 15.
- More ElDorados have been popping up in places where they don't belong. Last Wednesday, 4537 showed up on the 108 (67 block) during the AM peak. The next day, the same bus - 4537 - appeared on the 109 on it's 4:40pm, 6:37pm, and 8:37pm trips.
- The P&W ran shuttles last week between Hughes Park and Norristown, generally using ElDorados from Red Arrow (Saturday saw 4538, 4551, and 4555) with an occasional Neo tossed in (3236). On Sunday, the Media trolley was also busing between Bowling Green and Orange Street due to a street festival in Downtown Media. This obviously was the reason a 40 ft bus appeared on the 114 on Sunday.
- Route 92 is encountering major delays along PA 100 due to road widening near the US 30 Bypass. This is having a bad effect on the overall perfornance of the line. Yesterday, 205 block ran about 10 minutes late leaving West Chester, not arriving at Exton Mall until 3:15 - nearly half an hour behind schedule. When that driver returned for his 3:50pm departure to West Chester, he was still about 30 minutes late. He then went out as the 4:50pm 133 departure to King of Prussia, but not before running up PA 100 as if he were the 92, which had left a couple of minutes before hand. (This is not the same driver who forgot to show last week, nor was this the regular driver of 205 block who didn't notice the missing window on 2041 a couple weeks ago.) Now, if that's not a solid arguement for interlining the 92 and 133 at all times, I don't know what is.
- If you thought that the 104 couldn't be any more messed up than it is, well take a look a Friday. The 12:00pm trip (3 block; which is hooked with the 11:05 112 trip from DCCC) arrived 15 minutes late. Instead of sending it out as the 104, it was sent out as a 112 to Lawrence Park, despite the fact that the scheduled 12:15pm 112 to DCCC had already left. Then, it gets better. The 12:20pm trip to West Chester (19 block, which is really a pull out for the 12:35pm 119 trip between West Chester and Chester) left 5 minutes late with a standing load which didn't thin out until around Broomall. That trip arrived in West Chester 14 minutes late, mainly because the driver was driving ridiculously slow despite light traffic along West Chester Pk. From what I'm told, this driver is notoriously slow on this run, resulting in late trips.
Even more embarrassing, the 12;30pm 104 to West Chester (11 block) passed the 12:20pm trip near Providence Rd in Edgmont. Suffice to say, there were a lot of angry riders along West Chester Pk around 1:00pm - at least west of Broomall. Now, if this isn't a strong arguement against interlining the 104 and 112, I don't know what is.
October 1, 2001
Today's lesson for bus drivers: Before leaving the depot, make sure your bus has all of it's windows. This was not the case on the 92 today, as Breeze 2041 was missing the front curbside window. I'm sure a red flag would've popped up when the driver was deadheading down 202 towards Exton Mall to start his run. However, 2041 was in service for 1 1/2 runs before the problem was noticed (I had found out the hard way when I sat down on the bus for it's 2:50pm run from Exton to West Chester).
- A page detailing the APTA Roadeo held at the Navy Yard this weekend will be posted within the next few days.
- Of note, Callowhill 3459 did in fact get the overhaul treatment, and is the last Neoplan to recieve the new top ribbon livery. The remaining buses with the middle ribbon livery are the Neos in the 8000-series which are slated for retirement over the next year or so.
- The New Flyer order is expected to begin arriving on SEPTA property sometime within the next three months. Some sources tell me that they will be arriving this month, however there's another report that indicates the SEPTA order may be delayed until December due to issues relating to WMATA's C40LF order.
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