Transportation
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SEPTA Earns Dubious Distinction of Having One of the ‘Sorriest Bus Stops’ in North America
The SEPTA bus stop at Hollow Road and Conshohocken State Road in Lower Merion Township is among the four “sorriest bus stops” in North America, according to readers of Streetsblog USA, writes Thomas Fitzgerald for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Lower Merion Township’s Vegetation Abomination — as the site has dubbed the now-infamous stop — was nominated…
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SEPTA Union’s Feathers Ruffled over Bucks County After-Hours Shuttle Service, the ‘Owl Link’
When SEPTA recently hired a contractor to oversee its new Owl Link service in Bucks County, it did so without first turning to transit union workers. That state law violation may represent a monkey wrench in the works, reports Thomas Fitzgerald for The Philadelphia Inquirer. An unfair labor practice complaint has not yet been shared with SEPTA, making a…
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You’d Never Guess from Rush Hour on Street Road, but PA Drivers Are among the Nation’s Best
Pennsylvania might have some of the most congested roads in the country, but not everything is as bleak as that statistic may imply. The Keystone State also has some of the nation’s best drivers, writes Steve Trevelise for New Jersey 101.5. According to a new study by the law firm of Friend, Levinson, and Turner,…
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Distracted Driver Victim Speaks Her Grief when Imploring ‘Hang Up and Drive’
Advocacy speaker Jacy Good is appearing June 11 at the annual meeting of the Transportation Management Association of Bucks County in Feasterville-Trevose. The Lower Bucks Times announced the program. The joy of Good’s family after her 2008 graduation from Muhlenberg College turned horrific when their car was struck on the way home from commencement. A tractor-trailer hit it, virtually obliterating the…
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Trenton-Mercer Airport Renovation: June 2 Meeting Could Cancel It Altogether or Clear It for Takeoff
Like baggage before boarding, the project to renovate Trenton-Mercer Airport is about to be weighed. The Bucks County Herald profiled the renovation’s June 2 public hearing. The proposed work includes four new taxiways. Critics are concerned that the increased capacity would cause a 400 percent increase in take-offs and landings. “That translates to a jet takeoff and landing every 7.5 minutes,” says Trenton…
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With Its Traditional Business Model Altered by the Pandemic, SEPTA Weighs How to Roll Forward
The pandemic eviscerated the Philadelphia region’s commuter rail business model. Its long-term orientation toward serving suburban white-collar commuters has completely jumped the tracks. In its wake, SEPTA is scrambling to find its way forward, writes Jake Blumgart for Governing. Currently, commuter rail lines are a boutique service. It is a transportation network devoid many options…
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SEPTA Lifting Capacity Limits on All Vehicles Next Month
Starting on June 1, SEPTA will eliminate all COVID-19 related capacity limits on trains, buses, and trolleys, writes Dan Stamm for NBC10. The decision was made due to the growing number of vaccinated people and the decreasing number of new COVID-19 cases. However, the transit agency will follow the recommendation of the Centers for Disease…
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With Employee Costs Down, Turnpike on Track to Start Reducing Its Toll Hike
With employee costs down, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is on track to meet its projection to reduce the annual toll hike from its current six percent to five percent starting in January, writes Ed Blazina for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Last spring, the Turnpike laid off more than 500 toll collection agents and office personnel a year…
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PennDOT Grant Funds Smoother Takeoffs at Bucks County Airports
The taxiways at Doylestown Airport will support gentler takeoffs, thanks to a statewide Department of Transportation grant paying for their repavement, reports ConnectRadio FM. State dollars are funding enhancements to the smaller airfield in Quakertown as well. The local projects are part of a $10 million allotment of infrastructure support for 12 airports across the Commonwealth. The $150,000 Doylestown funding will upgrade the…
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Upper Bucks County’s Economic Engine Is Revving Up Its Public Transportation Needs
Upper Bucks County’s ongoing manufacturing and healthcare boom has a downside: employees commutes. Public transportation, virtually absent from the region, may be the answer, reported Peg Quann for The Bucks County Courier Times. At the behest of the Bucks County Planning Commission, the County Commissioners launched a formal study of the current status of commuters. Its results will inform future steps. This much is clear: Existing SEPTA routes — surface…
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Thanks to SEPTA, Third-Shift Bucks County Workers No Longer Have a Long Schlepp to the Bus Stop
The end of a late-night shift in Philadelphia just got more convenient (not to mention safer) for local public transit riders. Chris Ullery explained how in the Bucks County Courier Times. Starting tonight, May 10, at 10 p.m., SEPTA’s Owl Link will pick up passengers from three bus routes on the Philadelphia-to-Bensalem run. The routes are: 14 (Horizon Boulevard) 56 (Torresdale and…
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Contactless Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Enable Motorists to Glide through Safely
Ten months after initiating toll-by-plate, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is on track with expectations, writes Kate Sweigart for ABC27 News. Currently, E-ZPass users outnumber and toll-by-platers 85 percent to 15 percent. Those data show that PA commuters enjoy the convenience and the economy of having that little transponder Velcroed inside their windshields. Toll-by-plate is more expensive. Processing times associated with matching images to drivers’ names and addresses adds to the expense. The system also incurs postage…
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D.C.’s Grade to Pennsylvania for Addressing Statewide Infrastructure Issues: A Solid Meh
A new report from the White House gives Pennsylvania’s infrastructure a C- rating after decades of “systemic” underfunding, writes Christen Smith for WFMZ 69 News. Pennsylvania is one of 25 states to receive the sub-par score. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has been lacking the resources to address the decaying infrastructure — highways, roads and bridges — for years. Meanwhile, the state’s General Assembly is trying to…
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Flexible Speed Limits May be the Key to Solving Schuylkill Expressway Gridlock
Hoping to balance traffic and reduce congestion, PennDOT has activated variable speed limit signs along the Schuylkill Expressway, writes Jeff Chirico for 6abc. As a major artery both in and out of Philadelphia, the road carries over 130,000 vehicles each day — four times more than it was built to handle when completed in 1959. Widening the road is…
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Clientele May be Skittish or Aggressive or Disinterested, But This Local Craftsman Nails It Every Time
Some male senior citizens spend time doing things like playing cards or pitching horseshoes. Sonny Pistilli, 82, is pretty good with a horseshoe himself, but not for sport, for his livelihood. Pistilli, from Lower Saucon Township, is a rarity: a full-time farrier, a horse-shoer, writes Jason Nark for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pistilli grew up in N.J. and learned the technique…
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Infrastructure Plans for AMTRAK to Improve Travel Up and Down the Northeast Corridor and Beyond
As U.S. travel emerges from its long tunnel of COVID-19 inactivity, options are in the works to make it easier for Bucks County residents to traverse the Northeast Corridor and beyond, write Joseph Spector and Joey Garrison for USA Today. Those options rely heavily on rail, which President Biden is hoping to scrape the rust from through $80 billion in refurb monies. Extending train routes…
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Before These Passengers Go for a Spin in Space, They’ll Go for a Whirl in Warminster
Before four civilian members set foot in the SpaceX rocket to leave earth’s atmosphere, they’ll undergo a rigorous amount of training, reports Kenneth Chang for The New York Times. Their pre-launch prep includes a wild time on a historic centrifuge at the Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster, one that helped put a man on the moon. As it did during the 1960s space race, the ride will strap passengers in…
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President Biden’s Proposed Infrastructure Package Intends to Pave the Way for Easier Commutes
The lion’s share of President Biden’s proposed $260 billion infrastructure spending plan will shore up the nation’s crumbling bridges, roadways and rail lines, reports Thomas Fitzgerald for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The proposal is of crucial importance to Pennsylvania and its transportation future. Even a cursory examination of the statewide bridge system reveals the current need: 3,353 deficient bridges in the Commonwealth need repair — 80 of them in Bucks County…
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