SEPTA hopes federal stimulus will cure trolley woes

West Philadelphia residents commuting to Center City by trolley have likely noticed significant delays on the city’s subway-surface lines. SEPTA hopes to change that with the help of expected federal stimulus money.

West Philadelphia residents commuting to Center City by trolley have likely noticed significant delays on the city’s subway-surface lines. SEPTA hopes to change that with the help of expected federal stimulus money.

Transcript:
The five trolley lines that run to and from West Philadelphia enter a tunnel to get into Center City. But during rush hour, the automatic system that guides trolley traffic often malfunctions. SEPTA will spend more than $5 million in federal stimulus dollars to replace the system.

SEPTA Spokesman Richard Maloney says problems with the system have persisted for nearly a decade. He says they’ve been a huge headache for riders.

Maloney: “When the system isn’t operating, it stops the trolleys so they aren’t operating at all, so the system certainly has not been working reliably, which is a frustration that we share with our customers.”

Maloney says the money should be available within the next few months.

Listen:
Click on the play button below or right click on this link and choose “Save Link As” to download. [audio: reports20090316contract.mp3]