by SubwayTim
Well, my day started with the ride into 30th Street Station on the R2 from Marcus Hook. I bought a day pass upon my arrival, then proceeded to the Rt. 11 Subway-Surface trolley, and waited for what seemed like 30 minutes for the Rt. 11 trolley to FINALLY arrive. I took the trolley to 67th Street to pick up my friend, only to find out he wasn't there! BIG waste of time! I was POed!!! Then I returned back to 30th Street and boarded the MFL to the shiny brand new 56th Street Station. Standing at the storm door window in the front car, I started snapping away as the train approached the gleaming new station. I continued taking pictures of the platform after I got off the train. So far, so good as far as that's concerned, until I was in the mezzanine. I passed through the turnstile and commented to the token booth clerk about how beautiful the station looked. I then started to proceed with taking pictures of the mezzanine, and before I was even to snap one picture, the token booth clerk signaled for me not to take pictures. I walked over, and he said that I need a permit, and I told him that I've been covering the El construction from start to finish, and that I am a railfan. Then I said that I'm probably not the only one passing though and taking pictures of the new station, then I told him that he is probably telling me that because HE doesn't want to be in the picture. It almost ended up in a shouting match between me and him. I was about to tell him to f*** off, then start snapping away to my heart's content, because I was already p***d off about my friend. I could see what kind of day this is going to be! I then went down to the street and I asked a transit police officer about taking pictures, and told him what the token booth clerk told me. He said it's all for security reasons, especially in the wake of 9/11 and the train bombings in Spain. He said of coarse that I don't look like a terrorist, but the rules are that I have to get a permit from Customer Service in order to take pictures on the system. Now, since when did SEPTA have zero tolerance on photography??? This is a brand new station, and I'm sure there have been countless people photographing it from every possible angle, inside and out. What is SEPTA's photography policy, and how much do the enforce it???