Trains do not keep a rollin’

Trains do not keep a rollin’

Posted on October 21st, 2023 by Scott Warnock

I live in Burlington County and commute to West Philly. I support public transit, which is a tough sell in South Jersey, the land of the car, but it’s especially tough lately, because our transit systems appear to have given up.

Believe it or not, there’s an easy three-train commute from Western Burlington County to University City. I know because I did it for more than a decade. During rush hour, the RiverLine, PATCO, and the SEPTA El got it done: An easy RiverLine-PATCO connection at Walter Rand in Camden followed by an easy PATCO-SEPTA El (Blue Line) connection at 8th Street.

I loved surprising people by telling them you could board the RiverLine at 7:55 a.m. in Riverton and walk up the El stairs in West Philly before 8:30.

Those days are mostly gone. The commute started collapsing pre-pandemic. Now it’s often intolerable.

You may have seen news stories and press releases from SEPTA and the RiverLine. Jabber about faulty equipment, lack of operators, train unavailability–it’s a mess.

I’ll lay off PATCO, which is mostly fine. PATCO’s problem is the closure of the Walter Rand Transportation Center head house several years ago. Now, the transition between PATCO and the RiverLine involves walking across Broadway, and there’s little protection from the elements while you await the weakest link in this commute, the RiverLine.

Ah, the RiverLine. What could be… In a September 20 Philadelphia Inquirer article “NJ Transit apologizes for ‘less than satisfactory’ performance of River Line light rail” NJ Transit tries to explain away a rash of cancellations, delays, and packed trains.

But the story goes back a ways. Talk to RiverLine riders. Even my local public transit diehards are exasperated with the RiverLine. Many drive to PATCO’s Ferry Ave. Station. Some drive into Philly.

RiverLine passengers must punch a ticket or use an app, but there are only consequences for freeriding if you’re caught, and I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw a ticket checker.

There’s also a meanness to the RiverLine. On numerous–really, numerous–occasions other riders and I would dash to the RiverLine from PATCO and were actually touching the train as it departed. We’d look at each other in disbelief as the operator, avoiding eye contact with us, would pull away. Three seconds and we’re on that train. With schedules stretched to every 30 minutes recently, you’re stranded at Walter Rand, rain or shine–and hope the next scheduled train arrives.

SEPTA has deteriorated too. Stand on the 30th Street platform and save money on your smoke of choice: Just suck in secondhand clouds. As a voice drones over the loudspeaker “Smoking is banned on all SEPTA properties,” people puff away.

SEPTA’s app lists schedules, but that information is a fiction. The EL should run every few minutes, but you can wait many minutes as the crowd builds and you get your smoke on–where’s the train?

I’m a frustrated commuter, but what about people who need public transit?: People without a car, the elderly, people with small kids? And note I’m not even touching safety issues here.

Where is an economic review of the lost revenue because people are fed up? The Inquirer ran a story about frustrations with SEPTA on October 8, but these systems are simply bad services. It’s a company/business death spiral: A terrible service means nobody uses it so you have no cash flow to improve it.

The RiverLine and SEPTA must put people in charge who can revitalize these systems. Do the minimum so riders return!

But then glimmers of hope… as I prepared to click “publish,” the RiverLine announced it is resuming normal service. And when the Phillies, the Flyers, and a Mexico-Germany soccer game took place on the same night last week, SEPTA offered free service from the sports complex.

I didn’t give up on public transit anyway. I do drive now, but only 3.8 miles to the Pennsauken Transit Center, where I take the NJ Transit AC Line one stop, about 20 minutes, to 30th Street Station. That train is on time and orderly, and conductors take your ticket.

Rarely, a conductor will race through, missing some riders. If they miss me, I still activate my e-ticket: Whether someone checks or not, it’s a ride worth paying for.

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Scott Warnock

Scott Warnock is a writer and teacher who lives in South Jersey. He is a professor of English at Drexel University, where he is also the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences. Father of three and husband of one, Scott is president of a local high school education foundation and spent many years coaching youth sports.