Interview

Husband and wife live at Naval Square in Southwest Philadelphia. Usually Mike drops off his wife Jackie at work (Comcast building) and then he drives to work in NJ. He usually picks her up after work or she'll take the bus. When going out in the city or shopping or going to dinner they usually drive because they have parking in their complex and don't want to deal with the hassle of finding a cab late at night.

They never take the subway. Don't own bikes. There is Phillycarshare in their complex which is a community car, but they haven't used it yet. There is also a shuttle which goes to Center City but they rarely use it. Don't know when it comes, not always dependable.

They enjoy walking when it's nice and run every morning so they don't always need their exercise walking to work.

Interview

2 co-workers both female and both live in Fairmount and work in Center City. In the morning they both take the bus unless they are running late. It takes about 20 minutes. They will walk when the weather is nice and they don't have to be anywhere where they're dressed up that day. They take a cab home at night because they don't want to wait for the bus, it's usually late at night and they want to get home quickly.

On the weekends they use their cars because they both have garages and it's easier to get to Center City. Cabs don't come very often and calling one can take a lot of time.

Usually take a cab or drive and park at the airport. Rairly take regional rails unless they need to get out to meet husband in Berwyn.

Neither likes taking the subway. They don't feel safe. It's not clean and not convenience to where they live. Only if going to the Sports Complex and in a group of people and only 2 times a year.

Having a garage has changed their transportation habits as they both drive much more often.

One of the girls bikes for recreation, wouldn't use it to get around. Her husband loves to bike but he mostly uses his company car to get around. He travels to and from NYC alot.

Both like to share cabs rather than pay for the cost on their own, but also don't always like walking.

Switching office location from center city to 30th&market

Lindsay works at the Cira Center in Philadelphia (located next to 30th street station). Its location is possibly one of the best for people living the suburbs of Philadelphia and companies enjoy the building as it sites in a Keystone opportunity zone, giving tenants a break on state and local taxes. Dechert (law firm) moved from Center city, representing a 1.5 mile move. Even though this distance is very minimal, Lindsay has noticed a difference in her commuting to work. "I always toke the subway at the peak time everyday but commuting to center city was still very easy. I always thought that the subway was the most crowded between my original 2 stops but I have noticed that more people board the train in center city then more people get off. The additional 6 minute subway ride was many times unbearable". 

Lindsay has switched over to taking the bus form 2nd and market all the way to the Cira center. The bus is also crowded but Lindsay fells more comfortable and less claustrophobic in the bus. She wakes up earlier since she has now a longer commute and the bus is not as fast, but overall the extra time spent is well worth it. 

Speaking of subways, here is a video showing "Oshiya" or "pushers" in Tokyo, Japan. And we thought that subways in Philadelphia were crowded???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axwMxUBL_ws

Interview with LaSalle student

Taryn Trachtenberg  is a student at LaSalle University pursuing a master in Speech and Hearing Science and working at Elwyn diagnosing children with special needs. Her most common of transportation is driving, she has to drive to school located in the north of Philadelphia. Her classes are at night and some days finishing at 9 pm, the main factor contributing to her mode of transportation. "there is a subway, and i would commute by train but the combination of the late classes and the safety issues makes it unreasonable."

"Its not so much the problem of driving to classes that bothers me, its the fact that since I have to go straight from work to school, it leaves me no choice but to drive and park at work as well"

Indepth Interview #1

Demographics: 25 year-old male, 3rd year medical student, lives in Washington Square West
Could be considered an "extreme user" because he rarely does anything but walk

Comments regarding reactions to various modes of transportation:

Walking

• cheap, easy, quick if you're going close by
• can continue moving at intersections
• aren't hampered by traffic jams, buses stopping, etc.
• just walk in when you get there
• freedom to go wherever he wants
• beneficial to health
• don't have to worry about parking
• can't go anywhere further than walking distance
• "no one comments on my sweet ride" (jokester)
• can take a long time
• susceptible to the elements
• not as flexible (great deal of planning/expense if going out of the city)

Bike

• get places fast-ish
• expands radius that he can go to
• can get hurt easily - especially on busy city streets
• worry about locking it up and storing at apartment
• maintenance issues (flat tire, etc.)
• really only good for three seasons
• not good when it's raining or snowy
• have to adjust attire

Bus

• can smell
• “rough crowd” at times
• Quicker than walking
• Requires payment
• Have to wait for it
• Time schedule

Subway

• Smells really bad
• Only goes to a set number of places
• May have to wait
• Safety – “take your life in your hands” if taking a certain times of day
• Either have to get tokens or use pass
• Fast and connects main quadrants of city

Cab

• Fast and direct
• Keeps you out of the elements
• Dangerous drivers
• Expensive

Interview

Harry and his wife live in Center City Philadelphia above Suburban Station. Harry commutes to NYC every day and his wife walks or takes public transportation to Jefferson Hospital where she is a resident.

Parking Wars

For those of you that haven't seen Parking Wars, it is on A&E and is following the Philadelphia Parking Authority around the city. I am an avid watcher as I love seeing our city on television and occasionally see them filming around the city. I think the shows goes along with the fact that people generally don't like parking in Philadelphia as it's generally cumbersome, and almost everyone has had a parking ticket at one time or another.

See a clip from the show:

Interview

Interview with a 26 year old female who lives and works in Old City

A typical week: I'm fortunate enough to walk to work everyday--I live at 2nd and Church (half a block above Market) and work at 6th and Market. It's such a short distance that it's silly not to walk and I get in a bit of exercise. At the end of the workday, I walk to the gym (5th and Spruce) and then walk home. On days I have class (Wednesdays this semester) I walk from work to 15th and Market. After class, I used to take the El home because it's convenient--there's a stop outside TUCC and outside my apartment (2nd and Market). It's cheap and easy to use. I've only taken the bus once and I think it's a pretty intimidating experience--I never know where it's going to stop--and it's a bit stressful to determine whether I should pull that cord over the window or not--and when to do it. So the El is usually my choice. However, a few weeks ago, a man got attacked at an El stop in Center City. Since I am traveling by myself at night, I decided to forgo the El for a bit and grab a cab or convince my boyfriend to pick me up after class. I'm pretty satisfied with the cab situation in the city...the drivers are usually pretty friendly and know where they're going. I take cabs whenever I'm going out on the weekends or a random weeknight. It's nice to hop in and go--without having to figure out a public transportation route or walk anywhere. I don't have a car in the city--I'm the world's worst parallel parker, and I couldn't justify the costs of gas, insurance, and parking when I would only use it to go grocery shopping about twice a month. When I have to make a trek to the supermarket, I borrow my boyfriend's car, or bum a ride when a friend also has a grocery trip planned. Lucky for me, all of my friends have cars. And I'm OK with being a mooch. Finally, I'm a big fan of trains. I take Septa Regional Rail lines to see family in the suburbs--probably at least once a month for a baby shower, trip to see my grandmother, or other family get-togethers. Or I'll take it to the airport to catch a flight or pick someone up. It's reasonably-priced, has regular convenient schedules, and the Market East station (12th and Market) is close to work and home. The trains usually run on time--and it's never disgustingly crowded, which is nice. Each summer, I take the New Jersey transit train every weekend to Atlantic City. Someone will pick me up from there to take me to North Wildwood where my family has a house. If friends come with me, we drive, and I skip the train.

So that's that. To sum up, here's a day when I take a few modes of transportation--I walk to work (why not?), and then to class (clear my head after work and it doesn't cost me anything), and then take the El home (runs pretty frequently, cheaper than a cab, door-to-door service (sort of)). The next day, I borrow a car to drive the grocery store (I go to a place on Columbus or 5th and Spruce, which aren't so far that I have to drive, but there's no way I'm lugging bags anywhere). Then, I might jump on a train to head somewhere out of town--(again, convenient, I don't have to ask to borrow a car for a long period of time, and I get some time to get some work done or read a book.)

Interview

Interview with 25 year old female who lives and Works in Center

Monday through Friday, I walk from home to work. Home is 16th/Spruce and work is 21st/Market. I take the same route everyday, up 16th to Locust, down Locust, through Rittenhouse, up 19th, down Chestnut and up 20th to Market. I take this route because most of the Patco people walk right up 16th Street (Patco is one block from me - 16th/Locust) and I hate walking through congested sidewalks. I walk fast and most people who don't live in Philly don't know how to walk on a sidewalk. Also, its nice to walk through Rittenhouse in the warmer months.

My other mode of transportation is my car. I use it probably 4 out of the 7 days a week. I use it for getting to Target, the grocery store, getting back and forth from old city (boyfriend lives there). When I drive, I take the same routes every time. To Old City, I usually take Pine St., because its not as congested as Chestnut, and Washington Square cuts Locust off. I also try and take the route with the most intersections that don't have a No Turn on Red sign, so I can get there faster. I avoid busy streets like Broad and Market. I drive for many reasons: Its more convenient, especially if I have a lot of stuff to transport. Lately, there's been subway attacks, so I feel like driving is also safer. I'm also not patient, I don't like waiting for buses or subways.
Finally, the last mode of transport I take are cabs. We take cabs mainly when we're in heels, or if its raining, or if we're drinking. Usually occurs on Friday and Saturday nights.

As an aside, I have only taken the bus twice since I've lived in Philly (been here four years). I only take the Regional Rail when I need to get to the airport and no one can drive me. Subway is for going to games at the Stadium, or taking it back and forth from olde city to center city if I don't have my car.

SEPTA BLOGS

A blog called Septa watch has been tracking Philadelphia's local transportation authority for a long time. To find a comprehensive look go to: http://septawatch.blogspot.com/.

Another interesting blog called SEPTAkid tracks a father who takes his son with him on Philadelphia public transportation and his journey in around the city. http://septakid.blogspot.com/

Interview #3 - LN

Car owner, two children.

After our interview she noted that the implications of pollution and emissions from vehicles is an important issue for her. Her daughter has asthma and finds that it's particularly difficult for her when around buses, etc. that produce excessive emissions.

Interview #2 - LN

Center City resident, married, two cars, Septa user

Transportation Journal - May 5

I've been keeping a personal transportation journal:

Morning Commute

• Walked 1/10 mi to bus stop. If bus isn't right there when I arrive, I continue walking north on 11th until it reaches me. I figure I can get at least a little more exercise in!
• Take bus north on 11th Street approximately 25 blocks.
  
• Exit bus and walk 3/10 of a mile of so to office building.
• Often stop for coffee or breakfast along the way.
  
• Observations:
• Customer flow - I've contemplated why some days the bus is jammed full with people and other days there's barely anyone on it. Fridays seem to be the slowest day - imaginably because people might be taking a long weekend.
  
• Busy and Chaotic - The bus on this Monday had lots of patrons and many children. Some were yelling, other were standing in aisle seeing if they could stand without holding on. A handful of people were chatting, and the overall sense on the bus was a bit of chaos.
  
• Sensory Overload - Mass transportation in Center City is like sensory overload. You see crazy things, listen to loud conversations on the bus, smell someone's massive application of perfume (or the funny smelling homeless person who caught the bus), see people and cars darting around, etc. At times I find that it can often be too much.
  

Evening Commute

• Depending upon what I have that night I'll either take the bus or subway. I debated this evening whether or not to take the subway, even though I didn't have class I needed to pick up my dry cleaning and it would kind of be on the way home. I would rather ride above ground though - especially on nice days - so I elected to ride the bus.
  
• Luckily as I was getting close to 12th Street, the bus was stopping - in an effort to take a picture of the train tracks near Temple's campus, I ended up seeing the bus and having to run to catch it ... hence the action shot below!

OBSERVATIONS/COMMENTS:

• Variety of options for transportation in Center City. On my bus route along I encounter several including bus, train and surface trolley.
  
• The grid system of Center City increases the ease of navigation. A woman from out of town stopped the bus driver and asked if the bus would go to Children's Hospital. He told her to walk to Walnut and take a bus West, getting off around 34th. Based on those directions, even though she was from out of town, she felt confident that she knew where to go.
• Diverse constituency using mass transportation. As I travel throughout the various areas of the city on my morning commute there is a wide variety of individuals - young/old, male/female, various nationalities - taking advantage of Septa. However, it's interesting to note that they generally are traveling within a certain area and not extending too far beyond that.
  

Walking to Work

Personal anecdote....

I have approximately a mile walk to and from work. Every day I take a different route depending on how traffic moves and the traffic lights change. No matter the time or weather, I like to keep moving and walking quickly, so my habits tend to be more around traffic than anything else. I never take public transportation to work because walking to and from work helps me prepare for the day, and decompress at the end of the day. That and I tend to use walking as a form of exercise and money saving method.

I also need to have a cup of coffee in the morning. That being said, recently my favorite coffee shop Capriccio at 17th and Locust has closed. I used to make sure that make walk evolved round stopping there, however since closing my walks to work have been very sportatic. I'm sure that my patterns will change once I find a new coffee shop that will take Capriccios place.

Interview

Jessica is a student at Drexel University and an intern a Maven Communications in Center City.

Broad Street Run

On Sunday May 4th, I participated in the Broad Street Run. It is now my 5th year, and I'm proud to say I got my personal best!

But enough about me, for those of you who don't know, SEPTA provides free service on the broad street and L throughout the day. Very convenient for those that cannot access the middle of the city for the entire morning.

One of my favorite and least favorite parts about the run is getting there. Because I live about half a block from the subway, I usually take advantage of the free service up to the start at Olney. The problem is I'm not the only one who does this. In fact 22,000 people participated this year, and most of them park somewhere around the subway and take it up to the start. It therefore becomes the ultimate battle to find a centimeter of space within the train, as the door opens at each of the stops. So many people are on the trains that it is actually hard to breathe. The train I was on actually skipped making stops because it was to maximum capacity. I would say probably 1,000 people were on my train alone. I did feel bad for the poor family that was dressed for church at the Race/Vine stop who could only shake their heads and hope that soon an empty train will come along. All and all, a great day!

Bike - Bus - Train Observation

This observation is from Sunday May 4th it is a mix of personal and external observation, I will try to keep them separate. I decided to go and visit my dad for a few hours, he lives in the suburbs, a half hour car drive or train ride from center city. I live a 12 minute bike ride or 20 min walk and subway ride from Center City. I decided to ride my bike to the train station and ride the train out to visit. At the time I didn't have the use of a car, which I am not sure would have changed my decision. But I chose to bike rather than walk to the connecting subway because it was quicker, cheaper, and a nice day outside. Along the way I made these observations...

I locked up my bike at the train station which happens to be next to the Greyhound Bus station and the Chinatown bus station. I took pictures of the Chinatown bus, which is truly a phenomenon to me. (http://www.chinatown-bus.org/) This bus has direct service to NYC and DC and leaves every half an hour from 8:00am to 11:00pm for only $20. At the time of the photo there were two buses lined up for departure.

I also decided to go into the Greyhound bus station and take some photos of the people waiting in line for the buses and some pictures of the timetables. Most everyone had some sort of luggage and appeared either tired or lost.

In the train terminal I snapped some photos of the line to buy tickets, the platform, and the train time display monitors. The train station had people hanging around and people waiting in line for tickets. The station I was at is located in a mall so some people were probably wandering. The people on the train were diverse. A group of younger kids got on in University City, which kind of confused me because it was relatively early in the day, 1:00pm and I was wondering why they would be heading out of the city at that time.

SUBJECTIVE:
Something that came to mind while writing this post is the amount of times that the ability for me to transport my bike on public transportation has definitely influenced my choices of whether or not to ride it in the first place.

Rittenhouse Spring Festival Observation

This observation is from Saturday May 3rd. The location was in Center City Philadelphia along Walnut Street in an area called Rittenhouse. There was a spring festival and they had blocked off Walnut Street for 5 blocks. Most everyone was walking at the festival except for two police officers on segways. There were also people pushing bicycles which looked very cumbersome amongst the crowd. Others were pushing strollers which also appeared cumbersome. It was hard to tell if most of the people at the festival were from Center City or the suburbs. I walked to the festival and a short distance from Walnut the city appeared normal and I did not see signs of traffic or congestion. Many people were also carrying bags of items they purchased and/or food from the many vendors.

The photos are in the slideshow.

Transportation - Self Evaluation

Since the beginning of school, my modes of transportation have changed dramatically. Between August and November, I would take the [R7] train into center city daily. To get to the train station required me to use my car to drive approx 2 miles from my house. Once in the city, I would typically travel by foot to wherever I would go. If it was hot out, I sometimes took the bus since I had a monthly SEPTA pass for the train (the pass could be used on all SEPTA transit lines - train, bus, subway and trolley).
Now that I live in the city, I typically walk everywhere. I find that I make this decision for a few reasons: 1. I do not have a bike lock, so that eliminates using my bike. 2. I like the exercise of walking. 3. It kills me to spend the money on a cab, when I know I can easily walk to just about anywhere in center city. This past weekend, I did ride my bike to the sports complex to watch the Broad Street Run. It was too far to walk, and how could I pass up an opportunity to ride down the middle of Broad Street without having to dodge cars or stop for any lights?
I find that the only time that I would use other modes of transportation in the city, is if I was traveling to main campus, or the Sports Complex (subway). This is mainly due to teh fact that there is a subway stop on my block, and it is easy.
In terms of route preference when I walk to places, I will typically change the route depending on the traffic lights. As we discussed in class, I am one of those people who does not like to stop at lights, and will often change the path of travel, depending on which light is green.

Interview #1 - LN

Non-car owner, Center City resident, student.

Photos - Sunday May 4

Photos from Sunday, May 4

Saturday Trans Acitivity - Lindsay

Today I ended up running errands and meeting a friend.

I headed out for a hair appointment that was scheduled for 11:30am. I left my place at 11th and Clinton at 11:22am pretty much anticipating I was going to end up being late since my appointment was at 3rd and Bainbridge. I grabbed my TransPass hoping to catch a bus on the way down - not only to speed up getting down there but because I had sandals on that tend to hurt after walking too much! No bus ... walked all the way and rolled in about 10 minutes late.

Walked back towards my place in the early afternoon and had to stop by the grocery store on the way. Since I hate walking on South because it's too congested and can often smell funny, I took Lombard - even though I would technically end up backtracking to get to Whole Foods.

Later that afternoon walked to meet a friend at 7th and Bainbridge for coffee. I documented some footage along the way and noticed how many things take place along any one walk. There was a family walking around in sombreros (early Cinco de Mayo celebrants?!), a dog that went nuts around anyone or any dog that came near, a woman sweeping her steps who acted as if we knew each other, skateboarders who cut me off.... There's really any overwhelming amount of activity for the senses to process.

General Observations

Generally when in Center City I walk pretty much everywhere. Before I started working at Temple (in North Philadelphia) I ended up walking absolutely everywhere - and strangely found myself electing not to go places if it involved jumping on the bus or a train. Too much hassle? Probably more like I didn't have enough spare funds laying around (I rarely carry cash and rely on my debit card as if it was a lifeline!). I tend not to plan well in advance and will end up being late for a train because I had to stop by the MAC machine.

However, when I started working at Temple (just under a year ago), I got a TransPass to ride the bus to and from work every day. Whenever not heading to work, I prefer walking - mainly because I hate not being able to continuing moving. I find riding in cars or cabs almost torture - especially when you're trying to get around Center City at lunch time. You can barely move and sit through red light after red light....

But the TransPass has encouraged me to get in and around the city more. I've used it many times to take the subway to the stadiums, the train out of Center City and so on. The convenience of the TransPass was the secret for me ....

Interview 4

Another short interview. Lives in South Philadelphia, extreme user of bikes. Currently working out of town in Houston. Says he takes planes and cabs everywhere now for work.

Interview 3

And another short interview. Lives in South Philadelphia, extreme user of bikes. Usually bikes everywhere, does not own a car.

Short Interview 2

Another short interview. Lives in South Philadelphia and works in Center City. Usually takes the subway to work, but says will start to walk now that the weather is getting nicer.

Interview 1

Short interview about choice of transportation for the day. Lives in center city, considered extreme user of bikes and walking, does not own a car. Chooses to walk today to bring the dog.

Personal Entry

This morning I called a friend and we decided to go to Center City to a festival, which is about 1 mile from where I live. He suggested that we walk from his house so he could take his dog. I started to contemplate how I would get to his house, which is about 1/3 a mile from my house. I debated riding my bike or walking. The fact that I wanted to pick up a cup of coffee and drink it on the way to his house influenced me to walk rather than bike. Along the way and throughout the day I took some photos as well.

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