The Automobile Subsidy

On Nov 21, 7:54*pm, (Matthew Russotto)
wrote:


> >That average speed door to door in rush hour traffic seems awfully
> >good. *Many places in the SEPTA service territory get congested at
> >rush hour, such as longer waits at major traffic lights. *Traffic near
> >office parks can get bad.
>
> I have experience, you have generalities.

What experience? You spoke solely of your own personal travel
needs.


> >So obviously SEPTA is not a good solution for you. *But SEPTA
> >obviously is a good solution for thousands of other people because
> >they choose to ride it every day.
>
> SEPTA is mostly the choice of last resort; people take it because they
> can't afford better. *If you can get a single-seat ride on a regional
> rail line, and live near it and work near it, it can be advantageous.

In the poorer sections of the city there are people who use the
transit division for that reason. But plenty of people within the
city and most of the people in the suburbs DO have a choice of driving
or SEPTA. They choose to use transit because it works better for
them.

During the rush hour and during certain offpeak events, traffic in the
metro area is lousy. Stop and go, sit and wait. The trains, both
commuter and subway-elevated, fly past all that. Those trains are
filled with people for that reason.

SEPTA attracts passengers from not only middle class areas, but wealth
areas, too, as you should well know. Many of those people not only
have cars, but even dedicated parking spaces downtown. But the train
is faster.

The same applies to other metro areas as well.