Campus & Region
SEPTA strike impacts commuters
Monica Burke
Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: News
Commuter's tempers flared and patience was running low at the start of day two of the SEPTA transit strike. Just after 7 a.m., whatever patience travelers had left for the SEPTA organization went up in smoke with the first car of the R5 Paoli-Thorndale line. Leaves have been blamed for the fire that suspended all service on the R5 Paoli line until after 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The Septa strike, which began at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, left commuters throughout the city and the surrounding counties stranded and scrambling for ways to get to and from where they need to go. The car fire on the R5, which services Cabrini students at the Radnor station, only created more problems and delays for the overly crowded regional rail, the only public transit running during the strike.
SEPTA's regional rail connects the suburbs with service to Center City, Philadelphia. There are stops at 30th Street Station, Suburban Station and Market East Station. The scene inside Suburban station on Wednesday evening was chaotic with frustrated commuters packing the cattle-pen like structures that led to the platforms. Delays were as long as 90 minutes for the Chestnut Hill East train going to Trenton.
"There isn't anything we can do about the situation so I've just been making the best of it. One thing I have noticed is that the delay has people slowing down, not by choice, but you are getting a chance to talk to your fellow commuters," Jack Crawford, a graduate student at Villanova who works in Center City, said.
His observations were correct. Conversations on the R5 platform could be overheard with some commuters commiserating on the length of what is normally a speedy and efficient commute. Some were discussing the Phillies' loss, the stock market and business in their respective fields.
One thing the strike did was bring people together. "During a normal trip home I would move as quickly as possible to get on the train, put my headphones in and have a quiet ride home, this week is different for some reason. I guess it's nice to know that everyone is in the same boat as me," Crawford said.
The Septa strike, which began at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, left commuters throughout the city and the surrounding counties stranded and scrambling for ways to get to and from where they need to go. The car fire on the R5, which services Cabrini students at the Radnor station, only created more problems and delays for the overly crowded regional rail, the only public transit running during the strike.
SEPTA's regional rail connects the suburbs with service to Center City, Philadelphia. There are stops at 30th Street Station, Suburban Station and Market East Station. The scene inside Suburban station on Wednesday evening was chaotic with frustrated commuters packing the cattle-pen like structures that led to the platforms. Delays were as long as 90 minutes for the Chestnut Hill East train going to Trenton.
"There isn't anything we can do about the situation so I've just been making the best of it. One thing I have noticed is that the delay has people slowing down, not by choice, but you are getting a chance to talk to your fellow commuters," Jack Crawford, a graduate student at Villanova who works in Center City, said.
His observations were correct. Conversations on the R5 platform could be overheard with some commuters commiserating on the length of what is normally a speedy and efficient commute. Some were discussing the Phillies' loss, the stock market and business in their respective fields.
One thing the strike did was bring people together. "During a normal trip home I would move as quickly as possible to get on the train, put my headphones in and have a quiet ride home, this week is different for some reason. I guess it's nice to know that everyone is in the same boat as me," Crawford said.
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