LUCY loop expands University City services

Penn students can now go from Student Health Services to the 40th Street McDonald's without straining their legs and for less than the cost of the Big Mac they order.

The LUCY buses, a public transportation system that runs throughout University City, expanded its route to 40th and 42nd streets Monday. The three main lines still cover the original routes around the University and Veteran's Hospital area, but benefit from the addition of a sixth bus to the Midday line.

Penn students and affiliates of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Veterans Administration Medical Center ride free with proper identification, since those organizations subsidize the loop.

The expansion did not result in added costs to passengers, SEPTA or the University City District, a local organization that works to revitalize the area. SEPTA merely used one of its additional buses to supplement the loop.

The familiar shuttles now transport passengers to newer local hot spots like the Freshgrocer and the new Bridge Cinema.

The UCD, in collaboration with SEPTA, proposed the expansion in the summer months to better serve passengers. UCD spokeswoman Allison Kelsey cited the area's growing westward commercialization as what spurred the expansion.

"There's a big difference between 40th Street when we started [LUCY] in 1999 and now," Kelsey said. She went on to say that "in the interest of funds and riding time and where people were in 1999, we decided not to [expand farther west]. Clearly, things have changed."

Of the three LUCY loops, the Midday serves primarily hospital employees and will make stops every 20 minutes and more frequently from 9:20 a.m. to 3:55 p.m., Monday through Friday. LUCY's Green and Gold lines will venture to 40th and 42nd streets respectively, but continue to run every 12-35 minutes during the week from 6:10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This week, SEPTA employees will be available at 30th Street and JFK Blvd. to answer any questions during the Green and Gold's morning rush.

And riders are generally quite happy about the expansion, according to SEPTA spokesman Jim Whitaker.

"People seem happy about the [new] service," Whitaker said.

Kelsey affirmed that there have been "literally only a couple of comments, mostly [with the changing of stops] -- people are creatures of habit," she explained.

The loop was created to give University employees a more affordable way to get to work, as well as to encourage public transportation use. LUCY is the only transportation that solely serves the University City area.

Revised bus schedules are available at www.golucy.org.

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