(The following story by Andrew Overton appeared on The Bulletin website on July 29.)
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Gas prices have pushed city commuters onto public transportation in droves. SEPTA Regional Rail lines are experiencing their highest ridership in 27 years, and every line is near capacity.
In June, when gas prices topped $4, the regional rails encountered their biggest jump. Monthly ridership was 22 percent higher last month than a year ago, as average weekday ridership climbed past 124,500.
Each line, except the R7 to Trenton, experienced growth in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to 2007. The R6 to Cynwyd increased the most (27 percent), followed by R6 to Norristown (12 percent), the R7 to Chestnut Hill East (11 percent), and the R2 to Warminster (10 percent).
SEPTA is now faced with the “happy problem” of dealing with passenger capacity, said Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) Director of Planning, Rich Bickel.
“They have crushed loads on their rail lines, already where people are standing, and there’s not enough seats,” Mr. Bickel said.
“At peak times some railcars are standing room only and commuter parking lots are nearly full. All Regional Rail lines are running near full capacity and the train station parking lots are at “about 90 percent capacity or more,” SEPTA spokesman Felipe Suarez said.
SEPTA has already taken some steps to limit congestion. It recently purchased eight railcars from NJ Transit, which will go into service next month. Also, parking-expansion projects are planned or underway in Exton and Jenkintown.
“We continue to closely monitor ridership and have altered our regional rail schedules to effectively serve the highest number of passengers,” Mr. Suarez said. “We’ve added cars to increase capacity and have added express trips to certain lines to address overcrowding and improve travel during our peak hours.”
Opportunity For Growth
While increasing gas prices are driving the rise in rail commuters, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) said even if gas prices drop significantly, many commuters likely would still continue commuting by rail.
“What we found is that once people start taking public transportation a good number of them stick with it because it is an incredible bargain,” APTA spokesman Mantill Williams, APTA said.
Mr. Bickel agrees that new SEPTA commuters will continue to take the train, assuming they have a good experience overall.
But trains filled to capacity might come back to bite SEPTA if commuters feel uneasy on the crowded trains.
“They have to be comfortable with the experience, and that’s were the over crowding issue comes in,” Mr. Bickel said.
“[SEPTA] needs to be bold and take big steps…take advantage of this moment and build strong ridership,” said Mark Stier, a leader of the Pennsylvania Transit Coalition lobby group.
Smaller Carbon Footprint, Fatter Wallets
Many Philadelphia public transportation advocates welcome this trend, pointing to its potential impact on reducing city congestion and minimizing its carbon footprint.
“The growth in SEPTA ridership is great for Center City because it means far less traffic congestion and air pollution and more people who walk on the streets of downtown,” said Center City District President and CEO Paul Levy.
According to APTA, by taking existing public transportation to work instead of driving a car, a single person with 20 miles round trip to work saves 4,800 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, equal to a 10 percent reduction in all greenhouse gases produced by a typical two-adult, two-car household.
Taking public transportation is the “single most significant act you can do to decrease your carbon output,” Mr. Williams said.
Taking the public transportation could also help save riders thousands of dollars annually.
On average, individuals save $1,800-2,000 per year when they keep their car but travel to work using public transportation. APTA estimates by eliminating a car altogether, a person living in an urban or suburban area with effective public transportation could save as much as $6,200 annually.
Philly Is Not Alone
SEPTA is not alone. Across the country the APTA has found that the biggest jumps in ridership have come on the commuter rail lines running in and out of city suburbs.
Only five other U.S. cities had a greater increase in their commuter rail lines, according to the APTA’s most recent statistics.
New Jersey Transit enjoyed a 3.8 percent increase in total ridership during their third quarter and according to spokesmanJoe Dee, “the trend that we’ve seen overall is accelerating.”
“In some cases peak period service is already full,” Mr. Dee said. “All of out trains are full headed into New York.”
NJ Transit has begun to employ multileveled railcars, which provide for 15-20 percent more costumers per train and is encouraging its riders to leave a little later or a little earlier for work in order to make use of every possible seat during peak train times.
Mr. Dee said NJ Transit, like virtually any transit system, is experiencing a “parking crunch” and at some parking lots there is a waiting list.