With rising gas prices, SEPTA ridership up

A SEPTA train pulls into a station on the Market-Frankford line.

With gas prices still on the rise and many Philadelphia residents choosing to leave their cars at home, SEPTA is stepping up to the challenge of satisfying an increasing number of customers.

In response to this higher demand, SEPTA has implemented a series of new initiatives to accommodate the heavy increase in ridership.

According to SEPTA spokesman Felipe Suarez, the transit agency has recently adjusted train schedules and provided additional vehicles and seating for many of its operating lines.

For example, SEPTA has extended its peak services on the Market-Frankford line by half an hour. The agency has also begun to operate trains during off-peak hours every six minutes, as opposed to every eight minutes before February of this year.

"This equates to about a 12 percent increase in ridership throughout the day," said Suarez.

Additionally, Suarez estimated that SEPTA has provided about 1200 additional seats during peak hours by implementing extra vehicles on four Regional Rail lines, including the R3 West Trenton line and the R5 Lansdale-Doylestown line.

SEPTA attributes the heavy increase in ridership it has experienced in the past eighteen months to the country's skyrocketing gas prices, Suarez added.

Many students agree, saying that using public transportation is preferable to splurging on gas.

The price of having a car today is "definitely expensive," said Engineering sophomore Karen Liao. "If I'm going to be going into the city, I'd rather just take a train."

While rising gas prices also affect transit agencies like SEPTA, Suarez said that so far the increase in rider revenue on SEPTA trains has outstripped the increase in fuel expenses.

SEPTA will collect about $40 million more in fares this year than in previous years while spending only about $10 million more on diesel.

"SEPTA is obviously the better choice," said College sophomore Emily Anderson. "It's cheaper, and faster in the sense that you don't have any traffic to deal with."

This increase in the use of public transportation is not just limited to the Philadelphia area.

"When I'm working this summer I'm going to be driving to the station and taking the train from there because gas prices are soaring," said Anderson, who lives in California.

Suarez is optimistic that SEPTA will continue to see an increase in ridership and revenue. Despite increases in operating calls for gasoline, he said SEPTA is not expected to raise fares in this upcoming fiscal year.

Fuel costs, on the other hand, are only expected to grow.

"From what I've heard . fewer people are going to be able to afford gas at the rate that it's headed," said Anderson. "I know that I personally am going to try to make as few trips as possible using a car."

Comments (3)

Lara Seligman�?s article, �?With rising gas prices, SEPTA ridership up,�? highlights how high gas prices have created a strong economic incentive that has compelled many to choose SEPTA over driving for their daily commute to work. It is important to mention another economic benefit of taking public transportation that we don�?t often think about- environmental health. Auto emissions are largely responsible for the poor air quality that can greatly affect our health, particularly during these hot summer days when ground level ozone and other air pollutants are at their highest. In a city with very high rates of child asthma, choosing alternatives to driving such as public transportation, bicycling, and walking could help lower heath care costs for many people, in addition to saving you from $4.15 per gallon at the pump.

I agree 100% with the idea of promoting the public transportation. But unfortunately the public transport systems like SEPTA are yet to meet the demands of the daily commuters who reside in the Suburban areas. Even in the villages of lesser developed countries, there is always a tight network of frequent bus and train service. But here, its almost impossible to travel from the outskirts of a city to the center city without the help of a personal vehicle. Its impossible to think of using a locally available septa bus in a suburban area to go to a grocery store located 5 miles away from home. Why should the country mandate the purchase of a personal vehicle in such a developed country? Why is it not providing such a basic facility for its own people? The frequency of buses need to really improve and a very thoughtful approach should be given to planning the services for people living outside the cities. Come on SEPTA, please do something about it. Please improve the network, increase the frequency. No one will want to drive their personal vehicle once a good public transportation is in place! If we truly want to be green, thats the way to go!

This is clearly a result of the financial crisis. People no longer afford the increasing gas prices and chose not to use their cars anymore. public transportation has only to benefit but car manufacturers have to close their gates and lay off workers. Ones wining is the loss of another. manager

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