Let me just say that the people on this thread are 10x more knowledgeable than me when it comes to improving our transit system. That said, I do want to make a few comments.
First, I feel like a lot of people (in general, not just here) feel that our transit system is already quite extensive considering the Regional Rail lines. However, as has been pointed out, those lines really just connect suburbs and some neighborhoods with Center City. I think the other problem is that RR is almost a whole separate transit system to itself. It has a separate (and higher) fee system, and there's no transferring from subway/el/bus/trolley to RR lines. This can limit use of RR and make it too much of a hassle if a trip requires, for example, taking a train and a bus.
On a separate note, it was personally frustrating for me to watch the recent construction on Germantown Avenue, thinking about how much money was being spent and how much people were being inconvenienced, knowing that originally there was supposed to be a subway line to Northwest Philly. Of course, there are probably more important transit projects than that (i.e. extending BSL south & north & into the NE), but the selfish side of me wishes that we had a subway line into Northwest Philly, and that money had been spent on that instead of new cobblestones and light posts.
Finally, I think this discussion is great, but I think a future step needs to be to put all of these ideas together prioritize them, and put pressure on the decision makers to pursue them. The current economic situation highlights this. If SEPTA and our current city leaders were focused on the real transit needs of the city, they would be using President Obama's stimulus package as an opportunity to seek federal dollars for the purpose of expansion. We should be looking at a triple-win of expanding transit, creating jobs, and stimulating economic growth in places that transit is expanded to. Instead, we're getting more of the same. We have to not just think about what to change, but also discuss how to change it.
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