- who would like to see Verizon offer cable TV in Phila?
- Council Committee Passed the Freeze
- Carol Campbell Passes Away
- My first trip to the public library
- Fight digital exclusion
- What if half of Philadelphia didn't have roads?
- You know, let's not even worry about the City Commissioners office messing up voter registration processing
- Bold ideas to fix the budget
- Mayor Nutter's Town Hall Meeting Schedule
- City Releases Library Information to City Council
SEPTA - It's Filthy, Why Care? - Two small ideas to get things moving
Submitted by AJThomson on Wed, 07/18/2007 - 3:00pm.
A large portion of this region has two views of the system, late and/or filthy. As a city division rider that occasionally ventures into the burbs for work on some lines, I haven't had too much of a problem with the former, but filthy, I can't accept. While acknowledging that SEPTA is the largest housing agency for those with mental illness and/or homeless and that this often contributes to its decrepit state, it's unacceptable that buses and El trains should have urine on the floor, outdoor stations smell like sewers, etc.
To me, this is the single biggest problem SEPTA has. Other than Oscar the Grouch, who loves something that smells like a trash dump? Who cares about things that are constantly filthy? Until SEPTA gradually changes it's image into something that isn't a synonym for garbage, no one will care enough about it, especially the city division, to provide for it at the rates required to make it the gem it ought to be for the city. You can't remake this system overnight, but baby steps, especially those involving ridership, will make a difference in improving SEPTA's stature in the minds of its riders, casual users and even refusers in the coming years.
That said, here's a small suggestion for action:
Each month, the PTC and Ray Murphy's-Yet-unnamed Rider's Union (SEPTIC Local 1776 for now) pick a filthy station, spotlight it, get into dialogue with SEPTA's seemingly-unfunded clean-up department and challenge them to have it spotless by the end of the month (generous, but this is baby steps folks). If it's not spotless by the end of the month, free rides on the first Monday of the next month at that station.
Also, like each Rec Center has an advisory council, so should each Septa EL, Subway and major bus station. With a small $10K grant each year, a committed group of community-oriented people, especially riders, can really help to keep a station clean, though I firmly believe that routine maintenance and upkeep should be performed by the agency. It's a logical partnership that empowers people to care for their station and make it a point of pride for their neighborhoods.
Like everything else in the world, a small minority of losers try to ruin it for everyone else. SEPTA is no different. Graffiti-morons, vandals, careless litterers, etc. take it to another level on our trains and buses.
Feel free to critique, but it's time to challenge SEPTA by making it cleaner. Until it's done, no one will love SEPTA.
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Well said, and a good idea.
Well said, and a good idea.
More SEPTA Ideas
AJ, great ideas. Before I forget to mention it, the Center City District recently took over responsibility for cleaning the SEPTA concourses in Center City, so hopefully they will be getting cleaner. Here are some other ideas for improving SEPTA.
News Paper Today
"Subway stations don't usually win the Good Housekeeping Seal for cleanliness. But the one at 15th and Market has gone far beyond what is acceptable.
It's not just the stench that has riders covering their noses and mouths, although the odor is truly disgusting in the summer heat. It's the rats.
The station is overrun by rats - not just on the tracks, but scampering around the platform as well. There are so many, and they are so big, that riders like me have begun wondering whether the rats shouldn't have to pay fares, particularly given SEPTA's latest financial crisis.
The problem apparently isn't just at 15th Street. One woman told me that she saw two rats fighting at the 13th Street station. And my former boss was walking up stairs at Suburban Station a few weeks back when a rat came racing down, with two guys chasing it. Of course, she didn't need any coffee to wake up that morning. (At least the rat took the stairs.)"
I think that pretty much sums up why I walk 3 miles home or take the bus.
I am working to elect Larry Farnese to the General Assembly. Unless otherwise expressly stated, this and every comment or blog I post on YPP and any action I take hereon is solely attributable to me and not Farnese or Friends of Farnese
Once they upgrade the fare
Once they upgrade the fare collection system to the technology that the MTA has been using since at least the late 1990s, they should be able to get rid of a lot of useless employees. Replace these lost jobs with extra sanitation workers. That's my solution.
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