transportation : In The News

Time stops for no one and nothing, but that doesn't make the thought of losing the flipping departures board -- and its iconic flapping sound -- at 30th Street Station any less sad.

The ticking departures board at Philadelphia's main train station could make its own exit soon. Just how long the letters will continue to flip and signal passing trains at 30th Street Station remains in question.

Amtrak spokesman Mike Tolbert says the plan to swap the Solari board with a digitized model is in its early design phase with no replacement timeline. A flipboard has directed station travelers for at least 35 years.

Tolbert says the model has grown obsolete, making it difficult to find replacement parts.

Amtrak wants to improve the passenger experience with easier-to-read displays and says a digitized board with synchronized audio and visual components would comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Original source: Associated Press
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The on-demand delivery service continues its expansion, landing in the City of Brotherly Love. 

Talk of the ride-sharing company bringing its UberEATS service to Philadelphia has been around for months now, following an earlier job opening posted by Uber indicating Philadelphia was in line for the service. Uber quickly squashed any talk that it would be coming to the city.

Uber, however, has ended that months-long wait. UberEATS will [made] its official Philadelphia debut at 7 a.m. on Wednesday.

UberEATS will be separate from the Uber app, so new users must download the dedicated UberEATS app. Users can use their existing Uber account, including home address and credit card information, for UberEATS when they get started.
The app is available on iOS and Android devices, and online.

Philadelphia is one of the first 25 cities to receive the standalone app after it launched in 2015 in Toronto, Canada. Other cities that have it include San Francisco and London. A select few beta users already got a peek at the app, which had a soft launch in Philadelphia on Monday.

Original source: Philadelphia Business Journal
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On September 24, miles of the city's streets will close to car traffic. The event was inspired by the fun had by bikers and pedestrians during the Pope's visit.

City officials have confirmed that on Sept. 24 they will temporarily close a swath of the city from South Street to Fairmount Park to vehicular traffic.

Clarena Tolson, deputy managing director for infrastructure and transportation, on Tuesday gave residents of the Bella Vista Neighborhood Association a heads-up about plans for the first Philly Free Streets event, according to Mike Dunn, city spokesman.

"The planned route will generally run the length of South Street winding its way through Fairmount Park ending at the Belmont Plateau," Dunn said in a statement.

LeeAnne Mullins, chair of Open Streets PHL, the nonprofit working to have select streets closed to traffic for recreational events, said she was at the meeting and pleased to hear about the upcoming event.

"We are really excited to be included at the table to assist the city in putting on an event of this scale," she said.

"I think a lot of people will be excited, pleased, and impressed," Mullins said.

Original source: Philly.com
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The long-awaited debut of SEPTA's automated pay system should finally arrive in June.

The transportation agency is making 10,000 SEPTA Key cards available on June 13 through a first-come, first-serve pilot program. Riders can buy the cards at kiosks in subway stations, and the cards will be usable as weekly or monthly transpasses on the subway, trolleys or buses.

The card program, which was originally scheduled to debut in 2013, is supposed to bring SEPTA’s antiquated fare system into the modern age. The card will allow riders to pay for fare plans with a debit or credit card.

On June 13 riders will be able to buy a $24 weekly plan on the new SEPTA Key cards. Monthly passes for July will be available June 20. SEPTA installed readers throughout the city’s transit network that will register fares when the card it tapped against them. If cards are lost or stolen users can put holds on them and get replacements. Users will eventually be able to set up accounts with Key similar to E-ZPass that will automatically replenish the card when funds get low. There will also be cards with more flexibility, including cards for single rides, coming down the line. Regional Rail wasn’t included in the initial rollout because of its size and more varied fare rates. It should be added to the network in 2017. SEPTA would like to eventually eliminate tokens and cash payments entirely.

Original source: Philadelphia Inquirer
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A big boost of funds means smooth sailing for local cyclists, as plans for new protected bike lanes comes into focus. PlanPhilly has the complete list of projects.

Thanks to $300,000 in federal Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) funds recently awarded by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and another $200,000 expected to come from PennDOT, the Philadelphia Streets Department will soon upgrade and expand the city’s bike facility network with new protected and buffered bike lanes.

“Protected” bike lanes refer to lanes that use flexible plastic delineator posts to help physically separate automobile and bicycle traffic. “Buffered” bike lanes are slightly wider bike lanes that use a bit of extra paint to create a more visible buffer...

The goal of more and better bike lanes has already been approved in City Council through adoption of two iterations of the city’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, Philadelphia’s Complete Streets Design Handbook, the city’s comprehensive Philadelphia 2035 Citywide Vision city plan, and in all of District Plans completed so far—each developed after three rounds of public feedback meetings planned in conjunction with district councilmen and RCOs. There will be at least one more public feedback session per bike infrastructure project. And with each, another shot for opponents to shout the project down.

Original source: PlanPhilly
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A major national conference focused on the growing Bike Share industry is coming to the City of Brotherly Love.

People For Bikes, a biking coalition based in Boulder, Colo., has teamed with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the Association of City Transportation Officials and Philadelphia to hold the Better Bike Share Conference from June 22-24.

These parties have worked together before. In 2014, they teamed up to award grants to cities to build more bike share systems. To date, they've handed out $375,000.

"The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems is committed to ensuring equitable access to our Indego bike share system and all modes of transportation," said Clarena Tolson, Philadelphia's deputy managing director of transportation and infrastructure.

According to its event page, the conference is appealing to "city officials, bike share operators, community-based organizations and nonprofits working at the intersection of transportation and equity."

Original source: Philadelphia Business Journal
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As airlines start flying to Cuba, there's a race to add routes. Frontier is looking to fly from Philadelphia to Varadero.

U.S. airlines are looking to serve Cuba primarily from their large hub cities, with Havana being the most popular destination.
At least eight carriers submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation Wednesday outlining what routes they would like to fly. The government will spend the next few months reviewing the requests and is expected to award the contested Havana routes this summer. Flights to smaller cities — if uncontested and lacking any contentious issues — could be approved much sooner...

U.S. tourists still won't legally be allowed to visit Cuba but the start of commercial flights will make it much easier for those who fall into one of the authorized travel categories. Charter flights are expensive, frequently chaotic and lack many of the traditional supports of commercial aviation such as online booking and 24-hour customer service.

Nearly 160,000 U.S. leisure travelers flew to Cuba last year, along with hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans visiting family. Tourism is still barred, but the number of legal reasons to go to Cuba — from organizing professional meetings to distributing information to Cubans — has grown so large and is so loosely enforced that the distinction from tourism has blurred significantly...

Frontier Airlines applied for one daily flight between Denver and Havana, three daily flights between Miami and Havana, one daily flight between Miami and Santiago, four weekly flights between Miami and Camaguey, three weekly flights between Miami and Santa Clara, one weekly flight between Chicago and Varadero and one weekly flight between Philadelphia and Varadero.

Original source: The New York Times
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Uber's carpooling option is coming to Philadelphia, allowing budget-minded ridesharers to save even more dough.

UberPOOL, a new feature from the San Francisco-based ride-sharing company that allows customers to share trips with people heading in the same direction, will launch in Philadelphia, according to multiple sources familiar with the development.
UberPOOL is usually 50 percent cheaper than UberX. In Philadelphia, riders could save $0.55 per mile, which should make it appealing for solo riders or a pair. The option doesn't work for three or more riders summoning an Uber together...

UberPOOL launched its private beta with Google in August 2014. It's already available in at least eight markets including Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and Austin, Texas, along with Paris and Bangalore, India.

The addition of UberPOOL to the Philadelphia market comes at a strange time between the city and app. Uber has an office and a huge fleet in Philadelphia, although it is operating illegally in the city since its UberX service is not regulated by the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Uber lashed out at the PPA late last week after a Philadelphia Daily News article revealed the extent of the PPA's sting operations against Uber drivers. UberPOOL is its first real commitment toward expanding its services in Philadelphia beyond UberX. The company declined to establish UberEATS in Philadelphia.

Original source: Philadelphia Business Journal
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Remember that adorable Fiat Pope Francis used to cruise around Philadelphia in September? It's going up on the auction block.

A tiny black Fiat 500L that ferried Pope Francis through Philadelphia during his historic first visit to the United States will be auctioned next week, officials said on Wednesday.

The car, which the 79-year-old Pontiff chose as a symbol of his concern for the environment and desire to put aside some of the rich trappings long associated with his office, will be auctioned on Jan. 29, said organizers of last year's World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, they said. The car will then go on display at the Philadelphia Auto Show, officials said.

Original source: Reuters
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The budget airline has announced a slate of new destinations from Philadelphia, including Portland, Austin, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kansas City, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle and Nashville.

Most flights start in mid-April, but at least a half dozen won’t roll out until May or June to accommodate delivery dates for some of the 18 new aircraft the carrier has on order.

None of these new flights will begin as daily service. Depending on the route, schedules are either Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday or Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

“The day of week schedule helps capacity meet initial demand as we enter these new markets,” said Frontier spokesman  Jim Faulkner .

The new routes are being introduced with fares as low as $39 one-way and target markets the Denver-based carrier considers “historically overpriced and underserved.” In in most cases the new routes put Frontier up against service offered by Delta, United, American or Southwest.

Original source: USA Today
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Flying Kite contributor Jake Blumgart tells Slate readers about the magical Open Streets moment Philly experienced during the pope's visit. And he thinks other cities should try it, too. 

It was wonderfully, serenely, even disarmingly quiet in downtown Philadelphia this past weekend. At the order of the U.S. Secret Service, 4.7 square miles were cleared of automobiles for two days as Pope Francis, his entourage, and his devotees descended upon the city. While the expected massive crowds never quite materialized, the streets filled with local children playing, cyclists lazily pedaling about, and clusters of pilgrims wandering between events—all without a car in sight...
 
Original source: Slate
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The Toynbee Tiles -- linoleum text squares embedded in pavement across the city -- are a Philadelphia institution, and they're in danger of disappearing.

The city’s paving agreements stipulate that paving contractors must halt resurfacing and notify a Streets engineer if they come across a Toynbee Tile, those strange mosaic messages embedded into the pavement across Philadelphia.

The Tiles are at once part of our local lore and art known the world over, the product of a South Philly man with a tenuous grip on reality and a tremendous amount of creativity. The tiles have inspired imitators and thieves alike, not to mention numerous news pieces and one award-winning documentary. And with all signs suggesting the mysterious Tiler has left the city for good, the tiles are becoming ever more rare and in danger of extinction in their native habitat, Philadelphia.

The Streets Department wants to save a few for posterity, before their slow resurfacing process destroys the few left remaining that have managed to survive years of city winters and SEPTA buses. For Tonybee fans, that’s reason for hope.Read the complete story here. 

What a weekend! The pope's visit transformed Philadelphia, giving pedestrians and bikers the run of the town. This editor spent three days tooling around the open streets, luxuriating in the car-free experience -- and even cruising on the Ben Franklin Bridge.

The Inquirer's Inga Saffron raved about the experiment, and encouraged the city to incorporate the lessons learned into everyday life.

When Pope Francis spoke about joy this weekend, he probably wasn't thinking about the ecstasy that comes from being able to stroll down the center of Walnut Street without a car at your back. Or the rapture of skateboarding the wrong way on Pine Street. Or the bliss of biking 20 abreast on Broad Street. Or the pure, giddy fun of playing touch football in front of the Convention Center on Arch Street.

The unprecedented shutdown of the five-square-mile heart of Philadelphia was driven by the need for security (or rather, the perceived need for security), but it inadvertently created the kind of car-free city that urbanists dare imagine only in their wildest dreams. The virtual absence of vehicles in the sprawling secure zone, from Girard to Lombard, was a revelation. Instead of locking us in, it turned out that the much-maligned traffic box liberated us from the long tyranny of the car.
Philadelphia has always claimed to be a walkable city, but this weekend we saw walkability redefined...

While no one would advocate making the traffic box a permanent feature of the city, this carless weekend has opened our eyes to the possibilities of closing streets and limiting traffic. We've seen that closing Center City streets, far from paralyzing the town, can make it a more joyful place.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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The Pope Ride took advantage of car-free streets and drew thousands of cyclists -- from weekend warriors in spandex to kids in cargo bikes. Philadelphia Magazine compiled their favorite social media images from the event.

Original source: Philadelphia Magazine
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After naming Philadelphia one of its 52 places to visit in 2015, the New York Times checks in on its latest tourism asset.

With the April launch of Indego, Philadelphia’s 24-hour bike share program, the city now has a network similar to New York’s Citi Bike; Washington, D.C.’s Capital Bikeshare; and bike programs in other cities. (Philadelphia is also on our list of 52 Places to Go for 2015.) A bike can be rented with a credit or debit card at any Indego docking station for $4 per half-hour, an ideal option for neighborhood trips. There is also an option to find open bikes at individual stations online.

Now, it’s time to explore the city.

Center City Philadelphia would be an excellent place to begin, given the density of docking stations in the neighborhood...

With Independence Day quickly approaching, it’s only natural that American history will play an oversized role in any summer trip to Philadelphia. Traveling east from City Hall, Old City has the Independence National Historic Park, which includes Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Benjamin Franklin Museum. Christ Church Burial Ground, the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence, is near the park.

Continue east and you’ll discover Elfreth’s Alley, a collection of 32 brick rowhouses on what is considered the oldest continuously occupied residential street in America.

Original source: The New York Times
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