Soon these things won't be as harmful to your lungs!

It’s Christmas in April for transit advocates as SEPTA reveals its capital improvement plans for 2010. Among the big ticket items on the list are more hybrid diesel-electric buses which, according to SEPTA “emit 80 percent less carbon monoxide and 31 percent less particulate matter, and get 29 percent better mileage than standard diesel buses.” Still not as cool as putting the Route 23 trolley back into action (full disclosure: it would go RIGHT by my house) but at least the air will be a little cleaner.

While buses get the bulk of the funding, there are some plans for rail line expansion including Elwyn to Wawa rail service restoration which should help to alleviate some of the traffic along Baltimore Pike.  Subway and trolley riders should also be encouraged by “smart station” upgrades that might not make the train come any faster but at least it won’t seem like as long a wait, since you’ll know when to expect it.

Finally, the “Smart-card” fare-payment project gets $14.4 million, bringing us ever closer to the end of the token and the dream of one, rechargeable fare card that can work on all modes of transportation.  With the end of the token, of course, will come the end of the ridiculous token machine at Broad and Tasker which gives users the option of inserting 3 one-dollar bills for two tokens, 1 five-dollar bill, 1 ten-dollar bill or 1 twenty-dollar bill and then spitting out as many tokens as that will buy with some change.  Using those instructions, tell me how to buy 4 tokens! And remember, you can’t insert a five AND a one. (Full disclosure II: I’ve been caught by this before.)

SEPTA Watch noticed that buried deep within the story about SEPTA’s new one-day passes came news of the city’s new representatives on the 15-member SEPTA governing board. Rina Cutler gets the nod from Mayor Nutter which comes as no surprise since she is in charge of transportation in the city.  Joining Cutler is Beverly Coleman of Neighborhoods Now, a group which, as SEPTA Watch points out, has been involved in promoting transit-oriented development in the city’s neighborhoods. Coleman also took part in a one of our old The Next Mayor Issues Forums about the need to make city government more accessible.  SEPTA Watch commenters are cautiously optimistic about the choices while Atrios points out the “absurdity” of a board on which the city government and the millions of transit users it represents only get TWO voting members.

And lest we get too giddy with what appears to be nothing but good news so far for SEPTA, including the fact that there are no fare increases or service cuts planned for the coming year, let’s not forget that the problems faced by other transit systems could soon make their way to our region.