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Report
Delaware Valley Rail Passenger Vol 10 No 12
1972 - 1992 DVARP Twentieth Anniversary
1892 - 1992 Philadelphia Electric Streetcar Centennial
The
Delaware Valley
Rail Passenger
December 8, 1992
Vol. X, No. 12
Published by the Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers in the interest of continued, improved, and expanded rail service for the present and potential railroad and rail transit passengers of southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and nearby areas.
For more information about DVARP and good rail service, please contact us:
P.O. Box 7505,
Philadelphia, PA 19101
215-222-3373
President: Chuck Bode for other officers and committee chairs, see page 14
Special: RailWorks in Review
Inside The Delaware Valley Rail PassengerÉ
1-3, 10-11 Special Feature: RailWorks in review: its effect on ridership, costs.
4 On the Railroad Lines: Will RailWorks II be longer than promised?
SEPTA relents, issues Combined Timetable; Paoli line plans.
6 Inside SEPTA HQ: Big staff shake-up, ÒBlack budgetÓ for new building?
8 Employer trip reduction rules: Business predicts doom, where was SEPTA?
9 NJT to inaugurate 30th Street service!
12 Membership Matters: ItÕs renewal time, earn a special gift!
Newsletter mailing and format update, Volunteer opportunities
14 Up and Down the Corridor, DVARP Directory, Dates of Interest
Will the True Cost of RailWorks¨ Ever be Known?
by Matthew Mitchell
As SEPTAÕs financial crisis deepens, DVARP investigation has determined that the RailWorks¨ megaproject has had big detrimental effects on the AuthorityÕs budget, and that some of those effects will be felt for years to come. DVARP warned SEPTA years ago about this dire consequence, and used data from the 1983 rail strike to estimate a revenue loss of $25 million extending over a five year period. Meanwhile and incredulously, SEPTA believed that all the lost riders would be back on the system by this week! With these rosy predictions not coming true, the Railroad and all of SEPTA are plunging down the death trap of declining servce and ridership.
While most of the water is under the bridge, DVARP continues to press for direct rail service from the Reading-side lines to Center City, in an effort to retain ridership and revenue which otherwise would be lost. Much of the battle is in convincing SEPTA of the seriousness of the ridership situation, which in turn implies that critical mistakes were made in the planning process. The natural reluctance to admit those mistakes has caused management to cleave more tightly to their original plan in the face of evidence it hasnÕt worked.
The Railroad Division has not made a public accounting of RailWorks-related operating costs, though it is almost three months after Deputy Director for Budgets and Planning David Layton uttered a stunning quote in a public hearing: ÒWe operate two railroads instead of one. That cost us a premium of six or seven million dollars on a base of $150 million.Ó That added cost flabbergasted persons who knew that SEPTA totally shut down three rail lines and curtailed service on three others during RailWorks. In the Northeast, Òrunning two railroadsÓ is the standard: MBTA has two separate operations in Boston, while MTA in New York and NJ Transit each have three! Only MarylandÕs MARC and the new services in Connecticut and Virginia are single railroads. Is mismanagement the cause of that seven million dollar premium?
As terrible as the obvious costs are, the true cost of RailWorks goes much deeper, and it is clear that SEPTA never took these costs into account when the fateful decision to shut down the railroad was made by mid-level staff and approved by top management. See John PawsonÕs article (page 3) to find out about wasteful elements and design flaws in the capital planning of the megaproject. Read below to find out about some of the hidden operating costs.
Subway overload
RailWorks added well over a million dollars to the cost of running the Broad Street Subway last summer. To carry all the diverted rail commuters, the express service on the subway had to be doubled. The additional crew members to run that service cost a quarter-million. Supervisory needs increased, too. The overloading of crucial interlockings caused frequent delays requiring special attention. At both ends of the line, Òdrop backÓ procedures were instituted to keep the trains rolling while crews took necessary end-of-run breaks. Though the coordination of commuter train and subway services often broke down, people were needed to carry out that function too.
With the added service, 120 of the 125 Broad Street cars were needed to make the line each day, necessitating careful planning and many overtime dollars to carry out even the most routine maintenance tasks. The additional cost to maintain the trains was perhaps 200 thousand dollars, exclusive of parts and overhead. Electric power needs increased with the 30% increase in peak car use, and SEPTAÕs power bill reflected the compound effect of both the increase in total consumption and the increase in peak load. Passenger-service personnel were significantly increased during RailWorks. Without an estimate of the number of added cashiers, loaders, checkers, police, cleaners, and the other people needed to maintain a safe and smooth-running service in spite of heavy passenger loads, we may never know the full cost.
One of the costs of RailWorks may not ever be quantified: the cost of shutting down Ridge Avenue service. When a signal cable failed near Erie, SEPTA stopped service out of expedience, resuming it when the RailWorks disruption ended. SEPTA now wants to permanently curtail off-peak service, if not totally abandon the line. Did RailWorks hasten that process?
Placating the public
A serious, but unanticipated cost arose when Suburban Station merchants went on a rent strike to protest the RailWorks diversions which deprived them of a large fraction of their customers. Prize giveaways, PR campaigns, and other efforts had to be made to mollify the shopkeepers, and a portion of their rent was rebated. If these efforts came from the PR costs included as capital items in the RailWorks budget, they came at the expense of more necessary efforts to keep passengers on the trains. More funds were diverted into a plethora of projects in North Philadelphia, boosting SEPTAÕs image in the neighborhoods most impacted by the construction. Total PR cost: $5 million.
Opportunities Lost
What could have happened if SEPTA had spent its $354 million more wisely? Crossings could have been improved or eliminated, reducing speed restrictions which increase cost & sap ridership. Track upgrades would improve running speeds. Enough infrastructure improvements and new equipment could have been purchased to restore rail service not only on the Newtown Line, but on the Pottstown, Quakertown, and Octoraro lines as well, while still fixing the North Phila. bridges. Small investments in numerous small projects would have paid off in increased efficiency and a better bottom line for SEPTA. But as long as managers choose glamorous megaprojects and gold plating over mundane but basic improvements, your fare & tax money will be squandered.
The citizens of the Delaware Valley need no less than a full and unbiased audit of RailWorks. How much of our money was wasted? What is this boondoggle going to cost us in the future? And most importantly, how is SEPTA going to be reformed so this blunder wonÕt be repeated?
RailWorks Ridership Recovery by Tom Borawski and Matt Mitchell
DVARP has determined that the revenue SEPTA lost during the first RailWorks shutdown can be very conservatively estimated at close to 4 million dollars. Monthly financial Reports said that RRD revenue for the 6 months prior to RailWorks was down 5% on average. If 5% of revenue each month was lost for reasons other that the project (a full investigation of these losses is warranted) a loss of $3.79 million can definitely be attributed to Railworks.
The assumption that all the RailWorks refugees will return to the system by now is crucial to SEPTAÕs FY93 budget, and is the biggest difference between SEPTAÕs and DVARPÕs projections of the cost of RailWorks. DVARP used the historic experience of the 1983 strike (see chart) as the basis for its projections. While one can argue that the strike was a total system shutdown for an undefined period and RailWorks had a definite start and finish, and spiffy alternatives were offered for RailWorks which were not offered during the strike, actual ridership losses were much closer to DVARPÕs predictions than SEPTAÕs. SEPTA failed to understand that when commuters change their habits, choosing to drive or vanpool or stop traveling instead of enduring the inconvenience of a shutdown, they keep their habits when the railroad reopens. In this respect, there is no difference between strike and shutdown.
Dueling press releases
In August, DVARP distributed a press release showing a ridership decline of 42% over 1991 levels using a Òrider indexÓ formula consisting of five times the weekday ridership plus the weekend ridership of the RailWorks lines plus R8 Chestnut Hill West. In a letter to the Board, Lou Gambaccini objected to our formula, saying DVARP missed shifts of R3 West Trenton passengers to the R7 Trenton Line and missed shifts to transit ridership. The objective of our index is not to gauge simple retention of ridership, but to measure the value of the RailWorks alternatives offered and the progress of recovery.
Frankly, a person driving away from their normal West Trenton station to the Trenton line is something SEPTA should be ashamed of. We include the Trenton figures in this round as to show the effect: it brings the figure up from Ð42% to Ð37%, still far from SEPTAÕs projected loss of only 19%.
Though those driving away from their R5 Doylestown and R6 Norristown RailWorks alternatives are included in the DVARP figures, we consider them evidence of failure of those alternatives and a demand for direct rail service to Philadelphia. Finally, SEPTA must acknowlege passengers on the R6, R7 and R8 lines whose weekend service was abandoned.
Meanwhile, SEPTA uses vague transit ridership claims to prop up their overall ridership retention percentage. All through the shutdown, we never received ridership figures for the R6/R7 shuttles. There was never an effort to count the meager number of passengers who used other transit alternatives. Despite DVARPÕs encouragement to do so, few people rode them. Without real counts to back them up, SEPTAÕs figures arenÕt any better than DVARPÕs.
RailWorks: Improvement or Make-Work Project? by John Pawson
ÒTemporary inconvenience, permanent improvement.Ó That has been the effective sales pitch for the ÒMain Line SystemsÓ project, now at the halfway mark. Unfortunately, evidence is mounting that much of the work being done by SEPTA & its contractors is something less than a cost-effective investment.
This doubt began with inclusion of the four-tracking of the Broad Street Subway between Erie and Olney Avenues (a subway improvement). It increased with the $10.5 million Fern Rock Transportation Center (which diverts passengers from the commuter trains to the subway). Another eyebrow raiser was the elaborateness of the new Temple U. station, which is to cost between $10 and 30 million to replace a station now serving just several hundred passengers daily. Finally, a SEPTA executive told us that the $290,000,000 Main Line Systems project would not appreciably reduce running time along the trunk of what (alas) is the nationÕs slowest commuter railroad system. (More of that in later articles.)
Frankly, this writer should have known better. In 1972, he interviewed out of curiosity for several jobs offered in SEPTAÕs Engineering Department. It was shocking to learn that the philosophy then (if not now) was first Òto replace everything,Ó and only after all that was done, to make the changes and improvements that the contemporary marketplace demanded! Whether or not the real intent was Òjob security,Ó the result is that under such a philosophy many jobs must be done twice.
LetÕs concern ourselves just with the aspects of Main Line Systems which relate to train speed and ridership potential. Cinders has reported that between Brown (where old and new lines join) and 16th Street Junction (where R6 branches off), the general speed limit was just lowered from 45 to 35 mph. The railroad structure and track here are better than ever; so why a lower speed? Either speed is too low for the trunk line of a commuter railroad.
SEPTAÕs engineers designed three sharp reverse curves into the line just south of the new Temple U. station. The outside inbound track is especially sharply curved. Last summer, all tracks were were built upon their own new bridges. Thus on three tracks, low speeds have been Òcast in concrete.Ó Straightening the track to raise speed is now economically prohibitive.
Fortunately, SEPTA executives were able to change the engineersÕ plans at North Broad station. As originally planned, there would have been no conceptual changes; and trains would have continued to negotiate the 30-mph curves at the north end of the site. Instead, the center platforms will be entirely removed; and tracks will be straightened to eliminate the 30-mph restriction. New platforms will serve the outside tracks only.
Just a half-mile north, however, SEPTA staff has already given us a replacement-in-kind which utilizes physically new but functionally obsolete track components which will continue to restrict trains to about 30 mph. New double-slip switches replaced the old ones. Good railroad practice has avoided such components in main-line use for decades. In addition, an improperly conceived new crossover from the inner to the outer outbound track permanently subjects all traffic on the latter track to 30 mph. So in 1992, we have gotten a 1920-era junction. It will cost millions in the future to redesign and re-equip 16th Street Jct. for high speed operation of the main line trains.
Finally at the new Fern Rock Transportation Center, it was SEPTAÕs Òsocial engineersÓ who have proved wrong. They supposed that many railroad commuters would desire to transfer there to the subway. In reality at 5:30 one recent weekday afternoon, this writer saw only about ten persons waiting on the outbound railroad platform to make the transfer. Fern Rock, like the new Temple station, promises to become a sizable maintenance Òcost center.Ó
These conceptual and design blunders are typical of what can be expected of the Òsystems approachÓ which was taken in the Main Line project. This technique is advocated on the basis that once the work crews are on the scene, additional things can be done efficiently at the same time.
Unfortunately, this theoretical advantage, at least in the present case, was outweighed by (a) the future costs of rectifying the mistakes of this systems project, (b) the extra money spent for things that are too elaborate for what business they offer, and (c) the present value of items which could be deferred many years because RailWorks blotted up all the capital dollars. The systems approach, particularly in the closed SEPTA capital projects and engineering environment, allows those inside and outside SEPTA who desire ÒgoodiesÓ to advance their favorites and fantasies with little opposition. This process is what we learned in high-school Problems of Democracy class as Òlog rolling.Ó
After the work began, we learned that the systems approach was taken only after an intense struggle within SEPTA. Many wanted the project to include only highly productive elements. However, secrecy and log-rolling prevailed. Blunders only came to light as physically they were created. This writer believes that the philosophy, conception, and development of the Main Line Systems project caused the costly mistakes. SEPTA should be abandoning the systems approach and its excesses, not abandoning passenger services.
On the Railroad LinesÉ
Rumor has it that it that the year 2 RailWorks¨ shutdown will be two weeks longer than initially announced, 4 1/2 months instead of 4. Signs on ticket machines now out of service have had the 1993 ending date removed.
SEPTA Plans RRD Layoffs
SEPTA plans to lay off 4 engineers and 15 passenger attendants. DVARP has received no word of any service reductions in the December 6 schedule to complement these layoffs. -TB
R1
CombinedÊTimetableÊBetterÊLateÊThanÊNever
At this writing, the combined R1, R2, R3, and R5 timetable for service to Jenkintown and Glenside is promised by SEPTA, but not delivered. Many of the several thousand passengers using this part of the line have taken four different timetables, an expense SEPTA can ill afford to bear.
Why the delay? This and why no Combined Timetable was published in October are still a mystery. The revised schedules were made up well in advance, and the individual route timetables were made available to the public a day earlier than usual. The volunteers of the Jenkintown Station Improve-ment Committee had their new schdule poster up and ready. Communications gaps are also a mystery; customer service personnel learned of the impending combined schedule publication from DVARP, not from RRD management.
Stopping patterns improved, but running times not
One of the key changes on the Reading side was dropping the Melrose Park stop from most off peak R5 trains. Melrose had temporarily enjoyed service of unexpected frequency once R1 Airport were extended in local service to Glenside. The December timetable leaves the half-hourly R1 service available at all times except part of each rush hour when R1 trains terminate at Fern Rock. Various R2, R3, and R5 trains serve Melrose and Elkins Park then. There is a significant gap, though: northbound in the early morning.
Though the stop was deleted and most R5 trains now run non-stop on 60 mph track from Jenkintown to Fern Rock, nobody adjusted the timetable to reflect the time saved. Regrettably, that has been SEPTAÕs practice for years. Track personnel issue Òslow orders;Ó but with nobody in RRD looking out for the passengersÕ interest, there are no Òspeed-up orders,Ó a situation often lamented in these pages. As a result, trains poke along system-wide as well as through Melrose Pk. The lack of hustle seeps into other parts of the operation.
R2
SundayÊChangesÊforÊWarminster
While the senseless duplicate R1-R2 shuttle train operation was ended with the new timetable, the news for Warminster passengers is not all good: service hours were cut back significantly. Service stops northbound with the 8:00 from Center City, making it awfully hard for passengers to count on a train to get them back from weekend trips. Route 22 bus service does parallel the R2 from Glenside to Warminster nightly until late, but train and bus schedules are not coordinated at all; very few people take advantage of the extra connections.
R5
ParkingÊLotÊOwnerÊUsesÊCommutersÊasÊPawns
In a fit of pique over a Whitemarsh Twp. code violation dispute, the owner of two parking lots at Fort Washington Station closed off the lots. SEPTA leases the lots for slot-box parking, but says the code violations are a matter between the owner and the Township, not SEPTA. Until the dispute is resolved, commuters who canÕt find a space at Fort Washington should try Glenside and Oreland lots, which have had vacancies since RailWorks.
¥Riders on both sides of the R5 should look for a new Sunday timetable.
On the way to Thorndale?
SEPTA has announced plans to construct a new station at Thorndale. Ground is to be broken in spring, should Caln Township approve the proposal. The station is to include parking for 450 cars, with direct access to Route 30.
$150K For A Parking Study ?
SEPTA awarded a contract Òfor consultative services for a parking feasibility study for the Ardmore Regional Rail StationÓ the total contract price Ònot to exceed $153,879.Ó A multi-level parking garage is being talked about; it would be SEPTAÕs first. Those of us in the general public can hardly wait to see what a $150K+ parking study looks like. It certainly makes oneÕs imagination overheat with the possibilities.
R7
MontCoÊCommissionersÊUnderÊtheÊGun
A Norristown Times-Herald story last month quoted Lisa Mancini, SEPTAÕs Director of Budgets and Planning, giving a July 1 deadline for Montgomery County to pay an estimated $440,000 to retain weekend service on the Norristown line. The ridership has not come back after RailWorks. The positive side of the story is that the County Commissioners seem very supportive. County Planner Leo Bagley proposed a $1 weekend fare on the line, the article reported.
News compiled by Matthew Mitchell, Tom Borawski, John Pawson
Cross-County Road Show
ÒStep right up ladies and gentlemen and see the transportation wonder of the age!Ó was the message brought to both the Greater Valley Forge Trans-portation Management Association and the Sierra Club last month. The push to sell the counties on Cross County Metro sell seems to be a response to the results of the election, anticipating increased transit spending for an economic jump-start instead of for useful transit services. It appears from the literature that the $100 million project can cure both congestion and dyspepsia. -TB
BSS
SmoothÊTravellingÊAfterÊRailWorks
Subway operations have been almost like clockwork since the end of RailWorks¨-induced service increases. Express, local, and Ridge Ave. schedules have been set up to make across-the-platform connections at Erie and Girard much of the time. Overcrowding has relaxed too.
However, commuter rail passengers should not expect to find the quick transfer they were accustomed to at Fern Rock. The cashiers booth on the commuter station upper level is only open limited hours. When it is closed, use the exit at the north end of the inbound platform, and walk up the sidewalk to the main subway entrance. Traveling from subway to commuter train, you can still use the convenient ramp.
MFSE
AnotherÊConstructionÊHoliday
Frankford El riders can enjoy their holidays: Construction-related shutdowns of the line are suspended until the new year.
STD
Schedules,ÊFareÊZonesÊRevised
Pick up new November 23 schedules for the Media-Sharon Hill and Norristown trolley lines. Most Red Arrow bus route timetables have been revised, too. One of the highlights is the revision of fare zone boundaries to Springfield Mall, making transfer trips on Routes 101, 109, 110, and 111 more convenient and less expensive.
Turmoil at SEPTA HQ by Matthew Mitchell
The top management structure of SEPTA has been shaken up at the behest of General Manager Lou Gambaccini. Almost a dozen key personnel were reassigned in last monthÕs shake-up, the largest since Gambaccini dismantled the unorthodox management scheme he had inherited from predecessor Bill Stead. Politicians and SEPTA observers in all five counties were suprised by the move, and most are still wondering why it happened.
The most controversial of the moves was the transfer of former Chief of Operations Charles W. Thomas to the post of Assistant General Manager (AGM) for System Safety and Risk Management. Most of our sources see this as a demotion for Thomas, who is the highest-ranking black person in SEPTAÕs hierarchy. They quickly add that they see no racial motivation whatsoever to the transfer. George T. Hague, who had been AGM for Safety, has become AGM for Surface (CTD bus and trolley) Operations. Former Surface Division AGM James McCormick was transferred to a newly-created AGM post in charge of SEPTAÕs compliance with environmental rules.
Former Subway-Elevated AGM Hal Davidow is now AGM for Planning and Development, replacing Ronald DeGraw, who had been Acting AGM for Planning since the departure of Eugene Skoropowski earlier this year. Davidow in turn is replaced by Judith Pierce, who had been Chief Administrative Officer. Gambaccini associate Kyra McGrath has been promoted to Chief Administrative Officer from her previous role as Director of Constituent Relations.
Key personnel who were unaffected by the transfers include Railroad AGM Jim Palmer and Deputy General Manager Howard Roberts, who is known widely as GambacciniÕs right-hand-man. Roberts has made an increasing share of key decisions as Gambaccini spends time in his role as a national spokesman for transit. The administrative side of the organization was generally unaffected too, aside from the Kyra McGrath promotion, Treasurer Feather Houstoun, legal chief James Kilcur, and most of the other half-dozen administrators with AGM rank go on in their present assignments.
Inside circles are rife with speculation about the rationale for the shake-up. Though neither DVARP nor those persons who are willing to talk to us donÕt know what prompted it, two theories predominate. In the ÒCircle the WagonsÓ scenario, Gambaccini made the changes to reward his loyalists and move perceived enemies to positions of less influence. A ÒKremlinÓ scenario paints the move as an internal struggle between Roberts and Thomas, who would be leading candidates to be SEPTAÕs next General Manager.
A more benign view sees the Thomas transfer as a way of trimming layers of management which had isolated Gambaccini from the everyday operations of SEPTA. DVARP has led the call for a management reorganization which would give the divisional AGMs much more power over and responsibility for their operations, but these reassignments do not make the key changes recommended by DVARP, dismantling of many system-wide offices and dispersal of their functions to the operating divisions. Will a second phase of the reorganization carry out the moves DVARP wants? We have no idea.
Dedicated Funding Going for a ÒBlack Budget?Ó
SEPTA quickly insulted those who lobbied in Harrisburg for the dedicated capital funding source by using it to ÒconvertÓ the North Philadelphia trolley lines. By making available to management ready-money for the trackless trolley conversion, SEPTA could keep fixed guideway subsidies from the feds. This was the linchpin argument (net present value-wise) justifying the conversion to the Board. If you turned the other cheek then, prepare to be slapped again.
An innocuous entry to the Act 26 funding list in the 1993 Capital Budget was $5 million for ÒDebt Service.Ó With all the other disasters bursting overhead no one thought to ask what SEPTA was going into debt for. Certainly the budget document offered no answers.
Part of the answer: for the new SEPTA Headquarters. During a recent Board meeting, Carol Lavoritano, AGM Program Analysis, acknowledged that there was no line item for a new headquarters building but there was a line item for Òdebt service.Ó She indicated that the new headquarters building will be merged into the Òdebt serviceÓ line item. The 1993Ð2004 Capital Program budgets a total of $60 million for Òdebt service.Ó Clearly Òdebt serviceÓ has the potential to become a SEPTA black budget: no description of this line item appeared in the budget.
Recently, there have been news stories speculating on a possible new SEPTA HQ to be built on the Gallery II site. There has been much speculation regarding the passivity of The Gallery management during the RailWorks project. The Gallery must have lost significantly more than the Penn Center merchants who have withheld rents and are contemplating lawsuits. The headquarters building issue throws gasoline on the speculative fire.
The issue of centralizing SEPTAÕs office in Center City appears to run counter to DVARPÕs proposal to have each SEPTA division semi-autonomous. Central planning and control looks like a great idea on paper. Ask the former Soviet Republics how well it works in practice.
Other SEPTA Headquarters-Related issues:
¥SEPTA is currently spending over $150,000 to renovate the second floor of their leased space at 714 Market Street.
¥In June, the Board voted to allow management to modify the existing terms of the lease for SEPTAÕs space at 841 Chestnut Street. Management can notify the owner of the building on Feb. 28, 1993 (Ò...with a further directive on May 31, 1993") at to the terms of each unit of 841 Chestnut leased.
¥The Board awarded an $854,500 contract to Jackson-Cross to act as a real estate consultant in the Òoffice consolidation effort.ÓÑTB
Board Pays the Price for Deaf Hearing Process
Chairman Undercofler sent a letter to individuals who have spreviously poken at SEPTA Board Meetings requesting that only one person from an organization speak each month and that all parties keep their remarks under 4 minutes, regardless of the number of important issues that month. While Board meetings should remain businesslike, The Chairman doesnÕt seem to understand that the reason so many people feel they must speak directly to the Board is that they have no confidence in the current public hearing process: hearing examiners know that to render an anti-management report can mean an end to the gravy train.
A possible solution to this dilemma could be to extend SEPTAÕs current contract with the American Arbitration Association to include the running of public hearings. The public will have much greater confidence in the AAA on a long term contract than the current practice of hiring examiners who seem to know their place.ÑTB
Can PCC Equal Profit?
It has been reported that the Newark City Subway, operated by NJ Transit using rebuilt PCC trolley cars, earns more in revenue than it costs to operate. Meanwhile, SEPTA continues to wail about the horrendous operating costs of the PCCs. The old question recurrs: what does NJT know that SEPTA doesnÕt?ÑMDM
Employer Trip Reduction: Big Business Quaking in its Boots
Two public hearings were held last month on proposed Pennsylvania regulations mandating that employers take steps to reduce the number of cars their employees use to get to work. Business leaders speaking at the meeting expressed fear that the cost of compliance would be exorbitant. Some ÒChicken LittlesÓ speculated that the law might cost as much as $5,000 per employee. Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce President Charles Pizzi mentioned a more logical figure of $200 per year per employee. DVARP notes that many employers spend much more than this subsidizing employees who drive to work; a committment to mass transit may save business money.
Though DVARP was not invited to testify at the hearings, a full statement was submitted to the state Environmental Quality Board. The Board sought public input before it answered important questions like how average vehicle occupancy goals should be set and what the role of transportation manage-ment agencies should be. (a copy of DVARPÕs statement and the proposed regulations is available, send $2.00 for postage and handling)
DVARP and other mass transit advocates were highly disappointed at SEPTAÕs lack of participation in the process. The results of the hearing will do much to shape demand for SEPTA services for the rest of the decade. SEPTA, the leading mass transit provider in the region, needs not only to ensure that regulatory mandates wonÕt force them to run services which will break the bank, but more importantly they need to position themselves as the source of transportation solutions to city and suburban employers.
It is in this role that SEPTA has failed most definitively. SEPTA could have taken credit for providing the mobility which keeps Center City functioning. SEPTA could have touted its low cost compared to driving. SEPTA could have told how much its riders contribute to clean air in the Delaware Valley. SEPTA could have developed a plan for quick and inexpensive restorations of abandoned or suspended train service. Instead, they have chosen to sit back and wait for customers to be forced onto their trains and buses. Elected officials and clean air advocates arenÕt that patient. TheyÕll replace management personnel until somebody gets the message that Òbusiness as usualÓ wonÕt work in the 90s.ÑMDM
Op-Ed Piece Slams SEPTA Holiday Rail Service
An Inquirer guest column by an R8 Chestnut Hill rider and supporter took RRD management to the woodshed for its weak response to the biggest travel period of the year. While other railroads issued special schedules boosting service, SEPTA ran reduced schedules, and adjusted only a few consists. Thanks to the lack of planning, the pre-holiday getaway saw crowded trains before the traditional evening rush, while evening peak trains ran with half their usual loads or less. All the New York-area commuter lines moved the peak of their schedules earlier, but SEPTA didnÕt.
The column also ripped management for doing little to propote the trains on Thanks-giving. Service reductions prevented many families from using the train to reach the parade. A last minute decision was made to operate a Saturday schedule on ÒBlack Friday,Ó but fortunately someone remembered that a lot of commuters still had to work that day. An extra West Trenton train was added, last monthÕs schedule slash left the first inbound R3 arriving at Suburban Station after 9:00.
The Sunday after was the worst, though. Two-hour headways left many passengers to wait around at 30th Street, while slashed hours of Sunday service caused others to have to drive instead of taking the train. Despite the heavy travel, additional ticket agents were not assigned to 30th Street. Because ticket machines there are out of service, passengers were given the unwelcome choice of missing their trains in ticket lines that were 20-deep, or paying confiscatory fare penalties. Altogether, it was a black eye for SEPTA on the one day that many potential passengers try out commuter rail service.ÑMDM
ACÊextension:ÊatÊlastÊ!?
NJ Transit staffers are firming up details for extension of Atlantic City Rail Line trains to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. NJT and Amtrak agreed last month to terms for use of the Northeast Corridor tracks from Frankford Junction to 30th Street. Several AC trains already travel to and from Philadelphia every day, deadheading to the maintenance terminal there. The projected start of service is April. Meanwhile, the proposed station at the Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill will become a reality, but not until late 1993.
The extension is vital if the ACRL is ever to fulfill its potential. DVARP has maintained for years that a rail service oriented towards A.C.-bound commuters will never be as successful as a service to Philadelphia. Revenues to be gained from tapping even a small fraction of the Center City commuter market will exceed the incremental cost of the extension.
The next step in increasing the effectiveness of the line is to eliminate restrictions on travel to or through Lindenwold. The NJT trains have a somewhat indirect route and will not reach the central business district of Philadelphia; PATCO service from Lindenwold reaches the office district more quickly. However, PATCO does not make any direct connections in Philadelphia with SEPTA commuter or Amtrak intercity rail services. The two carriers will serve distinct markets, so they must be partners rather than rivals. Integration of fares and coordination of schedules will boost ridership on both lines by making the combined service more convenient than the sum of its parts.
Twenty years ago, DVARP was formed with an initial goal of saving the Atlantic City train service. The NJT announcement is a wonderful way to wrap up our second decade. ÑMDM
NJ Legislators Push Mandatory Privatization
A bill quite similar to one rejected last year in Pennsylvania has been reported out of committee in the New Jersey Assembly. The proposed law mandates that NJ Transit privatize 5 to 10 percent of its bus service each year for five years, totalling a quarter to a half of the entire service. Assemblyman Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) thinks that privately-run service can be operated without state subsidy, as the Republican-controlled legislature seeks major reductions in state spending. NJT itself will be permitted to bid for the contracts; the billÕs supporters hope competition will force NJT to cut costs.
NJT and Florio administration officials, and unions representing operating employees oppose the move, saying that the savings are overestimated and are likely to be absorbed by costs of soliciting bids and ensuring that private carriers comply with their contracts. The workers also fear losing their jobs. The law does not mandate that private operators hire former NJT employees. An NJT representative said that Federal regulations would require the agency to provide six years full pay and benefits for laid-off workers. Passengers are concerned that privatization would reduce the integration of transit services: would they be able to transfer from one carrierÕs bus to anothers? The possibility of trading safety for profit is also a big worry, especially in North Jersey, where a recent fatal bus accident was caused by the private carrierÕs lack of maintenance.ÑMDM
The DRVP: Now Appearing on Your PC!
Have a PC? Want quick access to information from this newsletter? DVARP is now pleased to announce that Volume X of The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger is available on IBM (5.25Ó or 3.5Ó) or Macintosh-format floppy disks. To get your disk, send $8.00 to DVARP with your name, address, and the desired disk format.
Volunteer needed to index newsletter
If you have a word processor and would like to lend a hand to DVARPÕs work, volunteer to create an index to The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger. WeÕll supply the materials; you can work at your own pace. To volunteer, call Betsey Clark on DVARP Voice Mail, 215-222-3373, message box 4.
Newsletter changes: Your opinion counts
Go back and read pages 8 and 9 of this newsletter again. Note the difference in the print? Latest word-processing technology makes new type fonts available to us, but they make your newsletter easier to read. With the new year will come a few more minor improvements in the format of the newsletter. But before we settle on a newsletter Òlook and feelÓ for its second decade, we want to consult our customers.
Opinion of members at last monthÕs general meeting were exactly divided between the two styles, after they were picked out from a dozen samples. You have to break the tie by registering your opinion via DVARP voice mail. Call 215-222-3373, message box 3 to register your vote on the two type styles (page 8 or page 9 and make any other comments you have on the format and content of the newsletter.
YouÕll also note that your newsletter was sent by first class mail this month. No, DVARP isnÕt reversing its shift to bulk mailing; we have been advised by postal authorities that bulk delivery times increase dramatically amid the crunching December flow of holiday mail. The ongoing compromise between cost and speed tips toward speed this month. The rest of the year, bulk mail cuts our largest recurring expense almost in half. A switch in printing companies has brought more savings.
Those savings are essential to keeping DVARP in the black while increasing the number of pages in the newsletter and holding dues steady at the same time. Regular membership dues have not increased since 1988! (The increase before that was all the way back in 1981.) Meanwhile, postage rates increased twice and the number of pages in the newsletter has risen from an average of 11.0 in 1988 to 15.5 this year.
Technical notes: page 9 is in 10 point AppleÕs TrueTypeª New York font, while 8 is set in 12 point Adobe Garamond. Garamond has a little lighter appearance, which makes blocks of text less foreboding, but at the expense of smaller details. (the Ôx-heightÕ)
Articles for the newsletter are received on Macintosh or IBM disks, by modem, or read off typed pages using an HP scanner and Caere OmniPageª software. Editing and layout are done on an Apple Macintoshª Plus computer running Microsoft Wordª. Pages are printed out using a 360 dpi Apple StyleWriterª printer and photoreduced to 80% by our printer.
The technology makes electromechanical interlockings seem simple, doesnÕt it? ItÕs easier to think of the results: a bigger, more timely, and easier-to-read newsletter, requiring less volunteer effort to put together.
Opinions expressed in The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger are not necessarily
those of DVARP or its members. We welcome your comments.
No Dues IncreaseÑRENEW TODAY!
Our new membership year begins January 1. Despite our increased activity and increased expenses, DVARP again will not increase membership dues. Regular membership will remain just $15.00, Family membership $20.00. Higher membership categories are available, they provide additional support of DVARPÕs educational and lobbying efforts. While youÕre getting your year-end business wrapped up, take a moment to write a check to DVARP, renewing your membership. (use the handy coupon on page 15)
It was decided at the November General Meeting to simplify introductory membership rates and procedures. Introductory membership will now be available only from April through September.
Membership categories
Regular - $15.00 Family (one mailing, two votes) - $20.00
Supporting - $25.00* Sustaining - $50.00*
Patron - $75.00* Benefactor - $100.00*
*Upgrade Your DVARP Membership, Receive a Special Gift!
For the first time ever, and in celebration of the victories won in our 20th year, DVARP is offering an incentive gift to members who renew their membership at the Supporting ($25.00) level or higher: a free copy of ÒCar-Free in PhiladelphiaÓ the guide to public transportation access to hundreds of places in the Delaware Valley. To receive your copy of the book, pick a membership category marked with a * on the list above and renew your membership by January 31.
Up and Down the Corridor
News of other Northeastern commuter rail and rail transit services
If itÕs December in New YorkÉ
theyÕre playing politics with subway and commuter rail fares again. NYCTA management threatened a subway fare increase if they didnÕt receive enough money from Albany or if funding formulas werenÕt revised to shift money to the TA from MTAÕs bridge and commuter rail subsidiaries. Governor Cuomo raised the ante by planning a raid on MTAÕs dedicated funding; he would divert 74% of the $700 million in transportation funds to fix the general state budget. Meanwhile, suburban legislators are defending their piece of the pie; they have the votes to block any budget compromise. As always, there is more smoke than fire, but when policy is made in this fashion, bad things can happen.
Dates of Interest
GVFTMA Transportation Solutions Workshop: Transit Chek 60ÑYour Bonus Benefit and Telecommuting: The Employment Future Now Tue., Dec. 15, 8:00 am at Upper Merion Municipal Building, King of Prussia.
SEPTA Citizen Advisory Committee: Tuesday, Dec. 15, 5:45 pm at SEPTA Board Room, 714 Market St., Philadelphia.
SEPTA on Site (Suburb. Tran.): Wed., Dec. 16, 7:30 to 9:30 am at 69th St. & Norristown.
IEEE Vehicular Technology Society: Wed., Dec. 16, 7:00 pm at 216 Moore School, Univ. of Penn. 33rd & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia. info: 569-1795
SEPTA on Site (RRD): Thursday mornings: 7:30 to 9:00 am, at Subn. Stn. or Market East.
SEPTA Board Meeting: Fri., Dec. 18, 3:00, 714 Market St., Third Floor, Philadelphia.
DVARP General Meeting: Sat., Dec. 19, 1:00 to 4:00 pm at 12 South Ave., Jenkintown.
Delmarva Rail Passenger Association: Thurs., Jan 7, 6:30 pm at Wilmington Station. info:ÊDoug Andrews, 302-995-6419.
DVARP Commuter Rail Committee: Sat., Jan. 9, 12:00 at Chestnut Gourmet, 1614 Chestnut St., Philadelphia.
IEEE Vehicular Technology Society: Wed., Jan 13, 7:00 pm at 216 Moore School, Univ. of Penn. 33rd & Walnut Sts., Philadelphia. Topic: ÒAllied Jct./Secaucus TransferÓ
DVARP General Meeting: Sat., Jan 16, 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Temple Univ. Center City
Listings based on information provided to DVARP. Contact sponsor to confirm time & place.
