Route 100 Overcrowding

Today I took the Route 100 and MFSE into the City and back. First, the trip inbound was a single car that became standing-room-only at Bryn Mawr. Then, on my way back, my MSFE train was stuck behind another train which had door problems, delaying my train at least 10 minutes. Obviously, that means a whole bunch of passengers would be coming to 69th Street from all the delayed trains queued up behind us.

So at 69th Street, on the Route 100 platform, the 6:05 outbound was a single car that was so full that at least 50 people couldn't get on and were standing at the platform. The next train was at 6:20, so I waited for that one. At first it looked like it was going to be another single-car, which meant more people wouldn't be able to get on. Then, at 6:18, we finally got a two-car train. All this time, more people were arriving on the platform from the MFSE line, so the two-car train was packed. The train left 69th Street at 6:24 and because we had to double-stop at almost every station, it was 8 minutes late at Radnor.

I think there were still people left on the platform at 69th Street when my train left. There were also a lot of angry commuters on my train. A lot of people were asking why they couldn't run an express. Some others commented how a two-car train costs the same to run as two separate cars.

What's ironic is that I went into the City to research historic ridership levels of the Route 100.

Just when I thought SEPTA couldn't be any more incompetent, this is sickening to hear. Seem like there is ZERO contingency planning.

The Taylors are no doubt spinning in their graves. Maybe Merritt's ghost could come back for Halloween and spend some time with Faye Moore and "Pat" Deon, then pay a visit to Harrisburg.

I think they could have fixed the problem if they had an extra car and operator waiting at 69th Street. With the elimination of the Bryn Mawr locals, there's an extra track at 69th Street for just such a contingency. They could have made it a limited to make up for the delay to passengers and sent it ahead of a normal run. Or, just go back to the old schedules with Norristown expresses and Bryn Mawr locals, and this wouldn't have been a problem.

The only reason I can find for what happened is rampant cost-cutting combined with a lack of understanding of how to run a transit system. There is one person who is responsible for all this, CEO Faye Moore. Is this what we get when an accountant is put in charge?

They should keep a two car train and a couple operators handy.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/285 ... YmKmjHYgIY

Or buy the Independence Hall back from Rockhill Trolley Museum.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/290 ... JnyiJovfzV

http://www.subwayspot.com/gallery/album72/04_10_09_140

Lucius Kwok wrote:Or, just go back to the old schedules with Norristown expresses and Bryn Mawr locals, and this wouldn't have been a problem.

The only reason I can find for what happened is rampant cost-cutting combined with a lack of understanding of how to run a transit system.

There is one person who is responsible for all this, CEO Faye Moore.
Is this what we get when an accountant is put in charge?

Um, I may be missing something but I assume they've dropped the Bryn Mawr expresses for this season because they're running on a single track between BrynMawr and 69th Street while they're replacing the ties.

I think, without having seen track plans, that they need to keep the Express track & berth open at Bryn Mawr because it's needed for the single tracking operation.

You can't have the outbound local sitting on the siding while the outbound express passes, if you the inbound trains have to use that same siding to switch to the outbound track because the inbound track has work crews replacing the rails.

Hal

I'm sure that the SEPTAthink goes something like this, no doubt enhanced by the bean-counter mentality emanating from the top:

"Keeping an operator on standby costs the same amount as when they are driving, but they are generating no revenue. Therefore, we will take the risk of p!$$ing off the riders once in a while and losing some occasional revenue as opposed to the ongoing loss of having someone sitting around until an emergeny arises. Of course, a certain fraction of those unhappy riders are going to disappear each time there's a fiasco like this, but that's not as measurable as the line-item cost of an extra operator."

Unfortunately, it's exactly the unmeasurable costs that end up killing you in the end because no one can point to specific numbers until it's too late. It also plays into the mindset that when emergencies are rare they are not worth preparing for - the same blindness that led them to get rid of the "pickle" car and not order sanders on the first batch of N-5s because serious bad weather is comparatively uncommon in Philadelphia.

One of my former employers liked to pat itself on the back over how they had managed to squeeze all of the fat out of their operation. What it really meant was that project schedules were predicated on every single person being available at least 40 (and preferably 50) hours a week. In practice, one case of the flu or one broken ankle would cause a ripple effect that monkey-wrenched timelines throughout the department. We held down personnel costs at the expense of a bunch of unhappy clients.

You pays now, or you pays later.

Check out this new service map for the 11/22 schedule change. Express & limited service.........

http://www.septa.com/maps/route_100.html

ATTENTION ROUTE 100 RIDERS

Weekday Schedule Change
Beginning Monday, November 22, 2004
Starting Monday, November 22, 2004, SEPTA will operate revised weekday
service on the Route 100 Norristown High Speed Line. The new schedule includes weekday AM and PM peak Limited, Express, and Local service. Riders can preview the new Route 100 schedule at www.septa.org or pick up a copy of the timetable at SEPTA stations in mid-November.

Northbound Service
· Norristown Limited trains will stop only at Ardmore Junction, Radnor, Gulph Mills, Hughes
Park, King Manor, Bridgeport and Norristown.
· Norristown Express trains will stop only at Penfield, Ardmore Junction, Ardmore Avenue,
Bryn Mawr and all stops between Bryn Mawr and Norristown. Trains will NOT stop at
Parkview, West Overbrook, Beechwood-Brookline, Wynnewood Road and Haverford.
· Hughes Park Express trains will make all stops between Beechwood-Brookline and Hughes
Park. Trains will NOT stop at Parkview, West Overbrook and Penfield.
· Hughes Park Local and Bryn Mawr Local service will also operate.

Southbound Service
· Limited trains will stop only at Norristown, Bridgeport, King Manor, Hughes Park, Gulph
Mills, Radnor, Ardmore Junction and 69th Street Terminal.
· Express trains will make all stops between Norristown and Bryn Mawr. After departing Bryn
Mawr, trains will stop only at Ardmore Avenue, Ardmore Junction, Penfield and 69th Street
Terminal. Trains will NOT stop at Haverford, Wynnewood Road, Beechwood-Brookline,
West Overbrook and Parkview.
· Hughes Park Express trains will make all stops between Hughes Park and Beechwood-
Brookline, except County Line, and will NOT stop at Penfield, West Overbrook and Parkview
en route to 69th Street Terminal.
· Hughes Park Local and Bryn Mawr Local service will also operate.

SEPTA Customer Service 215-580-7800 or www.septa.org

Niiice this wasn't supposed to start til January but some one with a half a brain at SEPTA (a rare breed indeed) decided to jumpstart this now. I can hardly wait.

Clearfield wrote: · Norristown Limited trains will stop only at Ardmore Junction, Radnor, Gulph Mills, Hughes Park, King Manor, Bridgeport and Norristown.

Am I the only one who read this list and had a glaring omission jump out at me?

I take it you're reffering to the Limited Stop at Bryn Mawr (or the lack there of)? I'm quite sure that was a mistake. I doubt the the limiteds would just skip Bryn Mawr. The current limiteds do now.

SEPTALRV9072 wrote:Niiice this wasn't supposed to start til January but some one with a half a brain at SEPTA (a rare breed indeed) decided to jumpstart this now. I can hardly wait.

Schedules for Red Arrow bus routes also change on November 22 as part of a route restructuring in Chester City. There was an earlier thread that hinted these changes would take place once a signal project was complete.

The reasoning seemed to be that the signal project was not complete when schedules changed in September, plus the route changes in Chester were not finalized until the September SEPTA Board meeting. Hence, the November 22 date.

SEPTALRV9072 wrote:I take it you're reffering to the Limited Stop at Bryn Mawr (or the lack there of)? I'm quite sure that was a mistake. I doubt the the limiteds would just skip Bryn Mawr. The current limiteds do now.

Not when you consider (a) the Limiteds are primarily reverse peak trains catering to the Radnor/Gulph Mills areas, where passenger traffic is substantially higher (save for Bryn Mawr) and (b) all other P&W services stop at Bryn Mawr, including locals and expresses. (On (a) I'd have to double check those numbers, but I'm really basing it on past experiences riding the P&W during peak hours.)

Any one have a link to the new schedule? I haven't found it yet on the SEPTA site.

Thanks,

Bob

sccaflagger74 wrote:Any one have a link to the new schedule? I haven't found it yet on the SEPTA site.

This is a pre-release of info. The site is not yet updated.