Rene Alvarez | UA shuttle wasteful, hurts the city

Thanksgiving. That distinctly American holiday set aside to express gratitude for gifts and blessings received during the year. But before we can enjoy being with family and friends for food and fun times, we first have to get where we are going.

Thanksgiving is traditionally the busiest traveling season in the United States. This week thousands of people will follow the example of that John Candy-Steve Martin movie and use planes, trains and automobiles to reach their final holiday destinations.

There is a reason holiday sojourns are ripe for comedy by the likes of Candy and Martin. Traveling can be a pain. Too much traffic, too many people and too little courtesy.

If you are fortunate enough to be a Penn undergraduate, however, at least some of your traveling difficulties can be lessened. Once again, students are entitled to receive all the benefits of Penn's private mass transit system - Penn Transit. The Undergraduate Assembly, in partnership with Penn Transit, will take students from the front of the Quadrangle directly to Philadelphia International airport tomorrow and Wednesday.

This year's program has expanded to the two days before Thanksgiving and guarantees seats to student who pre-register for a ride.

While the privilege of taking the UA shuttle enables Penn undergrads to avoid having to suffer the indignities of utilizing Philadelphia's public transit system, a program like this robs SEPTA of ridership.

And SEPTA needs us.

You can't walk within 20 feet of a SEPTA station without hearing complaints about reliability. But rejecting SEPTA all together - and starting our own mini transit system - does not solve the problem.

It makes it worse. Fewer riders provide less of an incentive for public transit to make any service improvements.

Some undergrads agree - to a point.

"I support public transportation. It's a great way to get around the city," College and Wharton sophomore Wilson Tong said.

Tong is also a UA member and chairman of the UA's Facilities and Campus Planning Committee. Tong and his committee are overseeing the implementation of this year's airport shuttle program.

"I grew up using public transportation. I took it every day this summer," Tong said. "I would hope that some students would take SEPTA if it's convenient."

And by inconvenient, he's referring to the lengthy walk between the Quad and the regional rail station next to Franklin Field. That's a long five blocks. Really.

"If students want to do that, we're not going to stop them. The biggest factor [for the UA shuttle] is cost and convenience."

But just because something is easier and cheaper does not inherently make it better, particularly for the long term.

SEPTA is heading straight into another (yes, another) fiscal crisis. In the second half of this year alone, the public transit organization is $37.5 million in the red. Siphoning off another $10,000 in potential revenue will only exacerbate the problem. And Penn students will pay the price when SEPTA raises fares to make up the difference.

Three dollars now doesn't sound like such a deal in the face of $3 SEPTA fares, does it?

(The current fare is $1.30 with a token, for those of you who take cabs everywhere.)

The shuttle also further harms the reputation of Penn students. The expansion of Penn's private transit system - which includes airport runs not only before Thanksgiving, but also prior to winter and spring breaks - perpetuates the stereotype of Penn students as privileged and entitled.

Tong said the UA's long-term goal with the airport shuttle program is its institutionalization so that future UA members will not have to re-initiate the program year after year before each break. That would be a huge mistake, as a permanent program will only exacerbate the problems the current program creates.

One of the best things undergrads can do during their brief time at Penn is to help this city grow by using its resources and adding to city coffers in the process. I'm sure students are hip to the bar and restaurant scene and many partake of Philadelphia's lively artistic and cultural offerings. So why stop there?

You are not only a student at Penn, but also a resident of this city. Embrace your inner Philadelphian. Ride SEPTA and encounter real Philadelphians on the region's trains, the buses and the trolleys.

And have a happy Thanksgiving.

Rene Alvarez is a sixth-year History Ph.D. candidate from Chicago, Ill. His e-mail address is alvarez@dailypennsylvanian.com. Rico Suave normally appears on Tuesdays.

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