Who Makes Decisions at SEPTA?

sardines[Photo credit: Rekah6]

Last night, it took me over two hours to get home on the R5, a trip that should normally take about 35 minutes. Crazy.

Who makes decisions at SEPTA? Here’s what happened last night: The 6:09 PM express train was inexplicably cancelled. That train is normally packed. This week, it’s crazy because the Philadelphia Flower Show is going on so every amateur with an armful of flowers was standing on the platform, too.

The 6:09 was cancelled. Then, in SEPTA’s genius, they pulled up for the 6:45 with a train that was THREE CARS SHORT OF NORMAL. Now they have the 6:09 passengers, the 6:45 passengers, and the Pussywillow Express people all jamming onto the short train. (We got the short bus.)

I got an aisle. We were crowded so tightly that I accidently doinked a guy on the top of his head with my elbow when he bent down to tie his shoe. Then the conductors started pushing on people like we were in some goddam Japanese commuter train. Not happening. I yelled, “Not happening, dude. Tell them to take the next train,” when the conductor kept yelling for people to move back, that more people needed to get on. People on my train applauded that I spoke up. (I don’t need the reinforcement, trust me.)

After we stood there like dutiful little sardines for 15 minutes, there was a buzz. We were going to get off that train and get on another one. Mass confusion. Craziness.

Finally, after another 20 minutes of movement and pushing and squeezing in seats, we were off. Of course, the aisles were so crowded with people that it took twice as long at each stop to pop people out of the train.

Two hours. I played all the games I had on my iPhone. Read every last word in the New York Times. And wished every Haitian curse I knew on those fools at SEPTA who make rotten decisions like that. Seriously, how hard is it to get the trains right? They run every day.

Posted on March 4, 2009
Filed Under Frank's World | Comments

Comments

  • Hey, Jessica, with Mark we could cook up something pretty fantastic. We should definitely move on this...we want improvement.
  • Ellen DeGeneres has a funny bit about using the phrase 'packed like pickles' instead of 'packed like sardines'. check it out.

    and good god. SEPTA. probably the poorest run transit system i've encountered in all my years. i've lived in 3 major cities, traveled to several others in the US and many in Europe. SEPTA is as bass ackwards as things can get.
  • I'll check out Ellen's thing...that is already making me laugh.
    Yeah, I can' t imagine why a major city can't have a good PT system. It
    baffles me. D.C.'s is gorgeous. NYC's works, even if it's filthy. SF has a
    great one. WTF...no one seems to be in charge. These guys just do what they
    want and don't give a hoot.
  • Jessica Chappell
    Mark and Frank, I have about ten reasons myself! Would love to join you in the fun!!
  • Jessica Chappell
    If only sardines smelled like pussywillows...
  • LOL...I'm glad it's not the reverse, otherwise my train would smell like a fishery.
  • Gawd, tell me about it. So tired of crappy SEPTA. Maybe we should start some kind of influence group to pressure them into fixing their modus operandi?
  • Honestly, Mark, I do think there needs to be some logical thinking and some
    accountability at SEPTA. Those guys acted like they didn't care at all...and
    compounded it by making one bad decision after another. It was really,
    really bad. Hmmm....I'm gonna think about that.
    Hope my ride home today is a bit better!
  • I bet if we just drafted a simple '95 Theses for Fixing SEPTA' that would get a bunch of publicity. I could think of 10 things right off the bat. And then we could crowdsource for ideas on Twitter. What do you think? Start a wiki for it?
  • Mark...that is brilliant...I will send you a link from Backpack...we can
    whiteboard it on there...this is a great idea!
  • I feel your pain. Could be worse, you could have been flying last night.

    The answer is not improving SEPTA, it is moving to city centre or retiring.
  • Rick, you're so right. I want a Center City apartment...and I'm glad I
    wasn't on an airplane. Had that been the case, death and destruction would
    have ensued.
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