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Safe, reliable service –– that’s what participants of a conversation hosted by WHYY News Tuesday hope to see from the public transportation in the region.
The discussion was the second of a three-part Bridging Blocks series regarding public transit, and Eric Marsh, WHYY News’ manager of community and engagement, said the feedback wasn’t far from what attendees brought up last week.
Participants were asked to consider questions such as the challenges of public transit, what people get wrong about it and who is getting left out of the transit conversation. Marsh encouraged them to think beyond SEPTA and reflect on pedestrian and cyclist accessibility as well.
Many participants expressed the potential of Philadelphia’s public transit system to be a “gold standard” for similarly sized cities. Philadelphia has the capacity to transport hundreds of thousands more people each day than it actively does, according to Robert Previdi of the Save the Train coalition, and Media resident Steve Laarkamp said it has all the right infrastructure to do so.
“Philly’s got the old fabric that facilitates walking places, taking the bus, taking the train, riding a bike. But it’s not being exploited to its fullest,” Laarkamp said.
While there were positive acknowledgements of the convenience of the system’s connectivity and the benefits for city workers to ride for free or discounted rates, common issues like safety and cleanliness were not lost on the group.
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