Indego bike share station in Clark Park (archived photo).
Philly’s bike-share program Indego celebrated its first birthday this week by announcing a couple dozen more docking stations around the city, including a few in West Philly. The program also introduced new rates and ways for low-income residents to pay for the service and a snappy new app.
New docking stations will be located near 34th and Mantua, 42nd and Lancaster and 46th and Market. Indego will also start accepting Pennsylvania ACCESS cards and offer an unlimited number of one-hour rides for 30 days for $5 – down from $15. The new rates should widen the availability of the program, something Indego officials had hoped for when the program began.
The program’s new app will allow riders to find stations, check on bike availability, renew membership passes and search trip history.
Indego has been very popular over the past year, logging about 420,000 rides and more than 8,000 memberships.
SEPTA will soon be looking for 10,000 people to test out their new fare payment system – SEPTA Key Card – starting in June.
We know what you’re thinking … you’ve heard this before. But this time SEPTA appears to be almost ready to go. The 10,000 early adopters will be issued a Key card on June 13 and will be able to purchase monthly or weekly passes (just passes for now) on buses, trolleys, the El, the Broad Street Line and the Norristown High Speed Line.
SEPTA recently announced that every bus and trolley now has a card reader on board. There are also 175 fare kiosks around the city and so far 187 turnstiles have been set up for the subway lines.
So stay tuned for more information on how to become an early adopter. Meanwhile, here is a little video SEPTA put together about the Key Card.
Good news for local late-night public transportation users. SEPTA is extending again its pilot “Night Owl” weekend subway service on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines, this time indefinitely. The service was introduced in June, prompted by the changing city, and initially it was planned to try it until Labor Day and evaluate it. Then it was extended until November and now SEPTA says that the service is so popular that it’s staying for an indefinite time.
Here’s some stats from SEPTA regarding the popularity of this service:
– An average of 15,000 riders each weekend have boarded trains between midnight and 5:00 a.m. since June 15. That’s 6,000 riders more than those who previously used overnight bus service.
– Weekend overnight train service has been most popular during holiday weekends (24,430 riders on July 4; 17,192 passengers over Labor Day weekend).
According to SEPTA, passenger safety was also evaluated during the pilot. Issues have been minimal, due to an increased police presence on overnight trains.
SEPTA has announced changes and adjustments to bus, subway, and trolley schedules that come into effect on Sunday, Aug. 31 – Tuesday, Sept. 2. The changes address routing changes and timetable improvements. Major adjustments include the Route 11 and 13 trolleys. Both routes will resume regular service on Sunday, Aug. 31. Shuttle service had been in effect over the summer to accommodate a rail replacement project in Southwest Philadelphia and Darby Township.
Most of the other route schedule changes address minor timetable improvements aimed at improving customer service and account for seasonal changes in ridership, according to SEPTA’s press release. All passengers are advised to pick up new schedules now available at SEPTA service locations. You can also view and print the new schedules on SEPTA’s website.
As the city prepares for the big Labor Day weekend, SEPTA has released information on available services and rerouting during the Made in America Festival, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 30-31). Due to planned street closures around the Parkway, SEPTA Bus Routes 7, 32, 33, 38, 43, and 48 will be detoured before, during, and immediately following the event. Subway weekend service will operate Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings with additional trains on both lines. Trolleys will also operate in the tunnel on Sunday evening. For more information, go to this page.
One of the best transportation organization slogans of all time is SEPTA’s simple and self-deprecating: “We’re Getting There.” So Philly.
Now SEPTA is asking you how they are doing. SEPTA is inviting the public to suggest modifications to current SEPTA routes and requests for additional services. If they make sense, SEPTA may work them into its next annual service plan – for 2016. The service plan will go through a public hearing process before a final vote.
SEPTA received a record number of submissions for its last service plan, perhaps a reflection of the growing interest in public transportation. The recent reintroduction of all-night trains is another indicator.
“We’re seeing a renewed interest in transit, with many residents embracing SEPTA as their primary and preferred choice for travel,” Richard Burnfield, SEPTA’s chief financial officer, said in a press release. “Many riders are showing a great interest in service improvements, and we welcome those suggestions.”
It sounds like complaints about drivers, schedules or the delays in updating the fare payment system won’t go far, but constructive suggestions might.
Send your ideas to serviceplanning@septa.org. You can also mail them to: SEPTA – Service Planning Department, 1234 Market St. 9th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19107.
It’s time to replace those worn out overhead wires and tracks in the Center City tunnel, says SEPTA. The tunnel maintenance and construction project is scheduled for August 1-18, 2014 and here’s what it means for West Philly trolley riders:
SEPTA Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 will not operate in the tunnel from 10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1 through 4 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 18. Trolley service will begin and end at 40th and Market Streets and passengers are advised to use Market-Frankford Line for travel to and from Center City, as the repair work will not affect that service.
During the so-called “Trolley Tunnel Blitz,” SEPTA crews will work around-the-clock to complete numerous overhead wire, track and station improvement projects, which will help improve safety and service reliability of the trolleys that run through the tunnel, according to SEPTA’s announcement. Some of this work includes replacing nearly 24,000 feet of worn overhead contact wire throughout the tunnel, installing more than 14,000 feet of new rail on the eastbound track, and making numerous station repairs and improvements such as on stairs, lighting and platforms.
You can also say goodbye to the graffiti in the tunnel. The project includes graffiti removal, painting and heavy cleaning at all stations throughout the tunnel.
For more details on the maintenance and construction work scheduled during the Trolley Tunnel Blitz, visit SEPTA’s website.
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