Few should have been surprised when it was revealed last month that the new, custom-made regional rail cars that SEPTA has been purchasing for the last few years to replace its aging fleet all have faulty welds that pose a threat to safe operation. More surprising is SEPTA's recent claim that its decision to force people to wait through lines to pay fares before even getting to the very late, jam-packed trains during the evening rush hour is an "issue of equity" and "fair treatment."
Massive overcrowding due to a third of the system's rail cars being out of service made it impossible on some trains for conductors to walk up the aisle, collect fares, and inspect passes. A SEPTA spokeswoman suggested on the evening news that some riders actually contacted the transit agency to demand that fares be collected for the miserable service being provided.
For the record, I'm not one of the riders who insisted that SEPTA charge for the privilege of riding trains that are often twenty, thirty, or forty minutes late, with all possible space for sitting or standing occupied by sweating, miserable commuters, and with some people turned away and told to wait to pay for similar space on the next late and overcrowded train. Nor do I know any other riders who demanded that fares be collected. (The fares, by the way, have been continually raised by SEPTA when energy costs were peaking, but since those costs have come down, SEPTA has never broached the subject of reducing its fares. It has only postponed another increase.)
Perhaps SEPTA was telling a fib. No one asked to pay it money. It just needed a way to collect without having to acknowledge that the payment of full fares would still yield terrible service. Of course, some people might question whether the cause of "equity" and "fair treatment" is really served by making people pay for a service that isn't worth the cost. But that, apparently, isn't the kind of equitable treatment SEPTA is concerned about.
SEPTA's board of directors, like those of many other public entities in our region, has long been dominated by people selected for their political connections. By law, elected officials appoint the board, and appointees aren't required to possess any particular skills. Without such a requirement, the only criteria that applies to selecting appointees is loyalty to elected officials.
Alas, toadies and hangers-on may find it challenging to run the complicated public entities they direct. Buying decent equipment for a railroad sounds like one of many activities involved in running a public transit agency that might be beyond the ken of SEPTA's board. Lately, it has proven to be so.
