Tritransit Area

Jul 28 2008, 02:21 AM

philabob1

Jul 15 2008, 09:07 PM

Southern_8100

Jul 14 2008, 11:52 PM

27 is too long. It shouldn't go to Plymouth Meeting - it should be cut back to Barren Hill. The Manayunk Ave routing should also be reconsidered - very slow. The entire Expressway routing should also be rethought - often, the express via local route service is faster (once a regular Friday afternoon thing).

The 27 does need some reformulation to get it out of the red zone (it is not meeting the SEPTA ridership standards). However, Plymouth Meeting Mall service IS necessary. For instance, the 27 is the ONLY bus on Ridge Pike up to Ridge & Butler Avenues in Conshohocken. Also, there are many people that take the bus to the mall and to the Metroplex, especially overnight workers at Target. You want to deny them service? I know personally, as a rider to takes the 27 from Center City (and occasionally Wissahicken Transfer Center) to our lovely mall in Plymouth Meeting to transfer to suburban transit services, I wouldn't waste time trying to catch the bus to/from Barren Hill.

If you ask me, the part that should be cut is the section between Broad and Washington and I guess Broad and South/Locust. Buses are generally empty here outside of school hours, and traffic on Broad Street tends to cause delays for the buses.

At first, I thought the Manyunk Ave route was slower than just going up Ridge Pike. However, one day a late running driver went via Ridge Pike in an effort to make up time. With all of the traffic lights (remember, Manyunk Ave only has stop signs) it seemed to actually take longer going via Ridge Pike than it would have just going up Manyunk Avenue. I cringe to think of how the artics handle those hills in the snowtime, especially since it seems that they always manage to pass each other on that narrow road.

There was a proposal a couple years ago to take the 27 off of the highway. Instead, it would essentially go via the diversion routing, going down the Parkway. With the longer routing, the route would be cut back at Broad and Locust. I thought it was a fantastic idea, but the idea was shot down as being "Not Recommended". The 98 Ambler short turns being extended to the Fort Washington Business Complex suffered the same fate.

Too bad a lot of artic runs may likely be cut in the fall. Like other routes, it's suffering the "New Flyer Fate". Well, it'll be a lot less interesting to ride - so much for having a way to get an "artic ride home". Does the 14 really need artics 24/7 though as SEPTA is allegedly calling for? I think that's a bit overkill, especially as the route runs hourly headways in OWL service.

Agree that 27's Center City routing is too long. This dates back to the A being pushed from Delancey St to South St and then to Carpenter St (and later to Washington Ave). It is often the source of delays on the route. Broad & Locust (the former C North stand west of 13th St) would work but this has been given over to metered parking.

Am aware of the full-time local route suggestion (I helped develop it). It would be and has been faster very often when it's used. One of the thoughts with this was the possible addition of stops at Ridge & Midvale to allow East Falls riders to have an express bus to/from Center City. There are lots of transferring passengers at Wissahickon who must ride the wrong way or backtrack to get to/from Center City by bus who would likely welcome this idea. SEPTA didn't give them a chance to weigh in when it turned down the idea.

As you noted, Ridge Ave is often slow but it is quicker compared to Manayunk Ave. Manayunk Ave has many school buses during the school year and the artics often have to pull over at intersections to allow the less-experienced school bus drivers to pass in the opposite direction. It often gets avoided (sometimes officially, sometimes not) in snow. It is a very narrow street and one illegally-parked car can tie up the entire line.

My thought would not be to deny service to anyone. The shortened 27 would add another route that would run between the Mall and Wissahickon (I called this the 90 when I made the formal suggestion, but a real 90 has been established since then), replacing 27 on Manayunk Ave and running via Ridge Ave north of Dupont/Leverington to help cover 9's territory. The new route would not be subject to Center City/Expressway delays and the 27 wouldn't get caught in Ridge Pike jam-ups.

Yes, riders who can now make the Center City to Mall run at one fare would have to pay for a transfer but this was a suburban zone add-on until the last fare hike (a move I didn't agree with since suburban zones should be kept especially on this long a run) and the service reliabilty would be greatly enhanced.

SEPTA made 27's already-anemic recovery percentage even lower when the Mall extension was added (quite a bit of this number relates to riders who use transfers, and any 27 op will tell you that very few transfers are issued or accepted, except during the school year). The truncation would help beef up 27's numbers.