The Travelin' Grampa
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The Travelin’ Grampa Touring the U.S.A. without an automobile Focus on safe, fast, convenient, comfortable, cheap travel, via public transit. Vol. 11, No. 3 礪 March 2018 Photo credit: Bruce Neumann, WPVI Channel 6 ABC Philadelphia. t Eagles players wave from Big Bus during Super Bowl victory parade. See a report by WPVI reporters Rick Williams, Cecily Tynan and Jeff Skversky at: http://6abc.com/sports/eagles-honored-with-phillys-first-super-bowl-parade/3053345/ Most folks walked or rode to Eagles victory parade More than two thirds of spectators at the big Super Bowl victory parade and subsequent event in Philadelphia did not drive there. They walked or/and rode public transport. Even drivers ended up riding public transportation or/and often walking considerable distances*. Grampa includes as public transport: SEPTA, PATCO, NJ Transit, DART, Amtrak, Greyhound, Trailways, Uber share ride, Lyft share ride, taxicab share ride, commercial passenger airlines, CCT*, Community Transit*, TransNet*, Rover*, and charter bus services charging fare per passenger. The two-thirds number is based on an attendance estimate of around 700,000 by crowd counting experts hired by The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. The experts evaluated photos of crowds along the parade route and at the Art Museum climax event area. See story on p.3. * Grampa includes arrivals days before parade, and day or night before, camping-out in cars or slept in homes of friends, in Airbnb accommodations, hotels and motels, and in office buildings along the parade route. * Call-for share ride services: CCT, Philadelphia County; Community Transit of Delaware County; TransNet Suburban Transit Network Inc., Montgomery County; Rover Community Transportation, Chester County. 1 . Eagles Super Bowl 礪 Victory Parade Report . SEPTA subway and ‘el’ big winners on Eagles parade day Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority subways, railroads, buses and trolley cars transported perhaps 500,000 riders round-trip to/from the Thursday Feb. 8 Eagles victory parade and spectacular ceremony/entertainment at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.*. Subway and ‘el’ trains collected no fares that day. Instead, Independence Blue Cross, a health insurance provider, paid SEPTA $300,000. “The Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines are the workhorses of our system,” said Jeff Knueppel, SEPTA general manger. “We knew we would be able to transport 65,000 riders per hour on those lines with four- to six-minute headways.” The ‘el’ and subway are city-dweller mainstays. They also bring into Philly many riders from its suburbs, transferring from dozens of SEPTA bus routes from Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, two Delaware County light rail routes, and Montgomery County’s Norristown rapid transit railway, not to mention the Route 66 trackless trolleys from/to the Bucks County border. * Total parade day SEPTA trips: about 1.1-million; Market-Frankford subway-el 231,721, Broad Street subway 163,388; regional railroad about 135,000. SEPTA CCT Connect carried an unknown number to the parade/event. Photo credits: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority; B T Asbury, I SEPTA PHILLY. Left: Trolley and bus riders at SEPTA 69th Street Transportation Center transfer to Market-Frankford subway-elevated line to center city and the Eagles victory parade. Right: First SEPTA Regional Rail train from Ardmore station that day. SEPTA regional railroad system also played a big role SEPTA railroads transported about 67,000 fans round-trip parade day. “We knew we could successfully carry 70,000 riders across our Regional Rail network,” Jeffrey Knueppel, general manager, told metro, a tabloid newspaper circulated in and near SEPTA terminals, stations and stops. “With many businesses, including city offices closing for the day, we estimated 20,000 of our regular weekly and monthly TrailPass holders would use the system,” he said. “We made having a pass required to ride the trains, so that we would be able to accommodate the additional 50,000 riders.” SEPTA RR had about 135,000 passenger boardings that day. For more: www.metro-magazine.com/blogpost/728702/how-to-host-a-super-travel-day-for-fans Photo credit: Betsy Manning, Temple Now, Temple University. Owls cheer Eagles at Cecil B. Moore/Temple University station of the Broad Street subway. 2 . Eagles Super Bowl 礪 Victory Parade Report . Photo credit: Matthew Gambino, CatholicPhilly.com Nineteen mostly open-top double decker buses carrying Philadelphia Eagles players, coaches and officials along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Right: Vine Street Expressway (I-76) tunnel and Free Library of Philadelphia building. Eagles ride double decker buses in victory parade Players, coaches and officials waved from 19 green Big Bus* double decker buses up South Broad Street, around City Hall, and along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, in a Super Bowl victory parade that drew what some claim was at least a million spectators. Maybe two million? Led by the comical Eagle mascot waving from a National Lift Equipment flatbed trailer, each open-top Big Bus prominently advertised at least four times the name and logo of a paid sponsor. * * Big Bus Tours supplied the buses. For more: https://www.phillytour.com/ * AAA Mid-Atlantic, Acme Markets, American Airlines, Axalta Coating Systems, Bud Light, Children’s Hospital, Coca- Cola, Lincoln Financial, NovaCare, Rothman/Jefferson, Toyota, Xfinity, WIP-FM radio. Attendance: 700,000 to 3.5-million; take your pick Everyone doesn’t agree 700,000 was the parade attendance. “There’s no way only 700,000 people attended the Eagles parade,” scoffed Joe Trinacria, Philadelphia magazine. Dan Bradley, city emergency operations chief, supposed the crowd was larger than that, but lower than multi-millions. “Around 2-million,” said MC Traxx at Railroad.net. “Easily over 3-million and I think over 3.5 million,” supposed Howard Eskin, WIP radio sports commentator. “I've read 750K is pretty solid,” said Chrisin Abington, a crowd estimator who attended the parade. “Two million is pretty difficult to quantify. You'd need crowds well down cross streets all the way up Broad Street.” But that seems what happened, based on photos of crowds in cross streets, around City Hall, and on Broad Street and the Parkway. Organizers said they were set to handle up to 2-million along the parade route. “SEPTA Great job with transporting millions of us to the Eagles Parade!” a whit named Whit tweeted the morning after parade day. 3 . Eagles Super Bowl 礪 Victory Parade Report . NJ Transit 21 bus lines, two railways to/from parade New Jersey Transit has 21 bus routes into Philly, from nearby suburbs and far away as Trenton, Atlantic City, Wildwood and Cape May. On Eagles parade day, until 7 pm, all skipped using the big intercity bus terminal at 10th & Filbert, stopping instead near 6th & Race streets, a long walk from the parade route. NJT buses that usually stop at 30th Street Amtrak station, also used 6th & Race. Typical was a #551 bus at Avondale Park & Ride, Sicklerville. At 5:26 am, this was completely filled, leaving 30 riders standing outside waiting for the next #551. Two NJ Transit railroads serve Philadelphia: ● Atlantic City Line runs between Lindenwold, N.J., adjacent to the PATCO station, and 30th Street Amtrak/SEPTA station, and ● a New York City line that runs between Penn Station in Manhattan and a NJ Transit/SEPTA station in Trenton, N.J. Zoned one-way senior NJT bus fare to Philly: 85¢ to $11.15. Regular adult: $1.95 to $24.75. Maybe 6 rode NJ Transit Access Link to parade that day Prior to Eagles parade day, NJT said its Access Link call-for-ride system “will cancel all trips to and from Philadelphia” for that day. In response to Grampa asking whether any seniors rode any Access Link vehicle to any NJT RR train or bus, PATCO train or River Line into Philadelphia that day, Adam Katz, Director of Policy, Planning & Analysis, ADA Services, NJ Transit, replied, “According to our records, the count of riders utilizing Access Link from New Jersey to Philadelphia on February 8, 2018 was six. However, we would not have any information as to their trip purpose or intention to attend the parade.” Photo credits: Clavon Nedd, Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Transit Scene; Vincent Thompson, I SEPTA PHILLY. SEPTA Norristown High Speed Line train packed with Eagles fans en route to the Eagles parade. Amtrak Keystone trains booked solid days ahead Amtrak trains between Harrisburg and Philly were booked solid two days before the Eagles parade. They included nine-car Keystone trains #640, leaving at 5 am, #642 at 5:55 am, #600 at 6:45 am, #644 at 7:55 am and #646 at 9 am. Next train out was Keystone #648, which left at 10:05 am and arrived about an hour after the parade began. At 5:35 am, a large contingent boarded at Lancaster. Many from York. Eagles fans packed Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains Eagles fans heading to Philly outnumbered commuters boarding Amtrak trains at BWI Airport near Baltimore and at Penn Station in New York City. Eleven Amtrak trains from New York City arrived in Philly by 9:35 am, including five Northeast Regional, three Acela express, one Keystone Service, plus the Palmetto from Savannah, Ga., and the Carolinian from Charlotte, N. Car. Except for the latter pair, their passengers all disembarked at 30th Street station. “The 7 am Acela out of New York was full of Eagles fans,” wrote New Yorker magazine’s John Seabrook. One passenger, Peter Knox from Brooklyn, tweeted at 4:09 am from Penn Station: “My entire Amtrak train is full of Eagles fans, including me.” Another rider from New York City, name Brennan, tweeted at 8:16 am: “Just landed in the Eagles Nest at 30th Street Station Amtrak in Philadelphia.” 4 .