Category Archives: DVARP members and volunteers

First Two DVARP PATCO Riders’ Blog Entries for Collingswood Patch

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Hi all,

We’re proud to say that our first two installments of our Voices From PATCO blog are now up on Collingswood Patch. Luckily for you, we’re also including them below. Hopefully, you find this insightful.

September 17th

Given that Collingswood is such a rail commuter town with fast, frequent service to Philadelphia and Camden, the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers (DVARP) thought it would be a good idea to query local PATCO riders about their experiences taking the train to work, recreation, and appointments.

We received a tremendous response. This was the start of a weekly blog series right from the voices of PATCO riders. Below are some complaints, compliments, and interesting sights as told by daily PATCO riders.

Mark Heston is a daily PATCO rider who typically travels between Collingswood and 9th/10th St. Station.

The ride home was smooth and you could hear the announcement of stations. Nice ride for $2.60…A purple set of surgical gloves have been on the NW exit stairway of 8th st [Philadelphia] station for over a week now. Gross…There is a lot of garbage at the Collingswood handicap parking.

David Mays rides both PATCO and the RiverLINE between Palmyra and 16th/Locust Station.

Down on the PATCO platforms, again there is a lack of seating that reflects a complete misunderstanding of the way people use the system and the volume of riders it has…I think the recent renovations at 16th and Locust are nice, but they focus on the area where you spend the least time, the concourse. The area that needs improvement is the platform, not the hallways you’re in for at most 3 minutes.

Finally, Jeff Lyons is another daily PATCO rider between Ashland and 8th and Market in Philadelphia.

It looks like work has finally begun on the out-of-service escalator at PATCO’s Ashland Station. It’s been out of service since July. What’s the over/under on how long it takes for the repaired version to break down?

PATCO GM John Rink discovered Lyons’ comment via DVARP’s newsletter, and offered this response:

Yes, Ashland escalator has been OOS since July. PATCO does have a service contract with a third-party elevator/escalator repair company.

I would like to apologize for the inconvenience and frustration for our customers who use the escalator at Ashland Station. Unfortunately over 85 escalator steps were significantly damaged and were required to be removed for repairs that were beyond safety and code tolerances.

Due to the expensive costs to repair, we need to follow fiscally responsible procedures which led to a delay in the repair, which included Board approval.

Let us know of know if you’ve had experiences similar to those of Mark, Jeff, and David. Reply to this blog post or let DVARP know @PhillyDVARP on Twitter or by e-mail at mail@dvarp.org.

Also, we wish to sincerely thank PATCO GM John Rink for taking the time to read the DVARP newsletter and respond to one of the complaints. That’s something that many GMs would not personally do.

September 25th

This week was a mixed experience for our riders, all of whom seem to have weathered the tornado watch last Tuesday.

Mark Heston had a bumpy ride Tuesday:

The stops felt like the old roadrunner cartoons…..80 mph to 0 [mph] in ten feet, people were bouncing around like cattle.

Thankfully, things had sorted themselves out a day later:

The ride today was so much better than they have been.  The conductor was smooth in his driving and he announced all stops in a professional and courteous manner.”

Jeff Lyons was excited at the prospect of some new technology debuting Tuesday morning…

There’s a new ticket machine coming to 8th and Market. Some honchos were giving demonstrations of it yesterday afternoon. I didn’t really notice it until I was already through the gate. It should help alleviate crowds when there’s a concert on the waterfront and there are tons of kids waiting to get a ticket.

…but had soured on the timing of its presentation by the end of the day:

That machine I wrote about this morning? It’s now surrounded by big shots who are apparently trying to sell it to PATCO. So that entrance is blocked off by police. Yes, police. At the beginning or rush hour. Why not do this in the middle of the day? So stupid.

On Thursday, Lyons caught a break, however, in the form of a courteous driver.

I just wanted to thank the driver of the eastbound train at 8th and Market just after 12 [PM] today for seeing me tearing down the steps and reopening the doors so I could get on. I truly appreciate it.

 

DVARP Looking for Volunteers to Send Observations About Regional Rail Experience

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Hi everyone,

DVARP is excited to announce a new initiative! We are looking for SEPTA and PATCO riders from every line and as many stations as possible to e-mail us 2 or 3 weekly observations about their station or ride. This is a hyperlocal approach that speaks to our mission of improving mass transit service in the Delaware Valley. We’ve partnered with a few Patch outlets (Collingswood, Mt. Airy, and Doylestown) to get the word out about this, and have encountered plenty of interest in those areas so far. Yet, we want to cover the entire Delaware Valley rail system. To this end, if you’re interested in e-mailing us 2 or 3 weekly complaints, commendations, interesting observations, etc about your train ride, shoot me an e-mail at sharpe@dvarp.org. Your observations can be as short as a sentence each or as long as you’d like, can be done in sentences or bullet points, and can be submitted in the body of an e-mail (no need to worry about Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc).

If this initiative turns out to be successful, we will expand the effort to buses, the Market-Frankford and Broad St. Subway Lines, and trolleys. We will relay concerns and commendations to SEPTA and PATCO.

Once again, if you’re interested in participating or have any questions or comments, shoot me an e-mail at sharpe@dvarp.org. Let’s work together to improve local rail and transit service!

Tremendous DVARP Workshop on Mass Transit Funding

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Hopefully you’re all enjoying your weekends, and got a chance to savor the much-needed rain this morning. We’re happy to report that the mass transit funding workshop went really well. A passionate and inquisitive group of DVARP members and supporters came out last week to hear about our plans to run public service announcements (PSAs) on SEPTA’s new train cars and create a YouTube series drawing commuter attention to the looming mass transit funding crisis.

Among the subjects attendees wanted to discuss were parallels and differences between the financial states of SEPTA and PAT (Pittsburgh’s mass transit agency), how SEPTA can make revenue from station and concourse vendors, how transit agencies can work with community groups to beautify local train stations, and what would happen if there was no mass transit to take people to work, a baseball game, or the supermarket. Attendees at this workshop, which stretched for 2 hours, included current members of SEPTA’s Youth Advisory Council, the former chair of SEPTA’s Citizens Advisory Committee, other non-profits, and academia. A couple of pictures below describe some of the ideas that came out of this workshop.

All in all, this was an excellent way to kick off our mass transit funding public awareness campaign. Stay tuned for many more details. And, as always, if you want to help us in our campaign, shoot us an e-mail to mail@dvarp.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter @PhillyDVARP.

Sign DVARP’s Petition to Get Restrooms and Trash Cans on SEPTA’s Next Order of Regional Rail Cars

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Hi all,

I hope you’re having a great weekend, and are ready for some serious heat. I still can’t believe it’s going to be close to 90 degrees on Monday. I’m posting to draw your attention to a petition DVARP just created (http://www.change.org/petitions/dvarp-is-trying-to-get-bathrooms-and-trash-cans-on-septa-regional-rail-trains/) to get SEPTA to include restrooms and trash receptacles on their next Regional Rail train order (Silverliner VIs). While rail and transit authorities in Chicago and New Jersey (just to name a couple) offer these amenities, SEPTA does not. DVARP is proud to lead the charge to get SEPTA to eventually include bathrooms and trash cans on its trains. Please sign our petition and spread the word about it. Your bladder and your trash will thank you.

Andy Sharpe
Communications Director
Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers
1601 Walnut St., Suite 1129
Philadelphia, PA 19102-2913
phone: 215-RAILWAY (215-724-5929)
e-mail: sharpe@dvarp.org

It Will be a Long Fight for Mass Transit Funding in U.S. House and Senate

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Hi all,

This is Andy Sharpe, the Communications Director at DVARP. While it now appears that us mass transit advocates have succeeded in getting lawmakers in the U.S. House to realize how disastrous mass transit cuts would be, we still have our work cut out for us. It now looks like the House, along with the U.S. Senate, will vote on just a 2-year re-authorization. This comes as mass transit infrastructure is falling apart and many states, certainly including Pennsylvania, are reluctant to fund mass transit. While we may have scored a temporary victory for mass transit in the U.S. House, public transportation activists have A LOT of work left to do. DVARP will be at the forefront of this advocacy, looking out for the rail and transit riders in the Delaware Valley.