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UpsideMeh t1_j9vrgs6 wrote

Reply to comment by ComoSeaYeah in SEPTA approves $125 million for KOP rail project’s final design by RoughRhinos

It’s also that all areas septa services have equal say in projects, with the 6 or so outside Philly areas all coming together to vote down Philly projects in favor of projects outside the city. This is even when Philly makes up over 90% of ridership.

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AbsentEmpire t1_j9wbr4k wrote

This is bullshit, SEPTA does not block Philadelphia projects.

SEPTA rebuilt the entire elevated section of the MFL line not that long ago, just signed a contract for a new trolley fleet, is making all subway stations ADA accessible, and is looking for a new fleet of subway cars.

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phillyallthewaydown t1_j9x1669 wrote

I don't think they were saying SEPTA blocks Philadelphia projects. I'm guessing they were talking about the 11 SEPTA board members. There are 2 board members from each county +1 additional member. Philly is denser and more of its residents utilize public transportation than any of the other 4 counties, yet they all have the same number of board members. So Philly projects can get voted down more easily in favor of suburban projects that don't affect as many riders

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AbsentEmpire t1_j9x8c5k wrote

Again that's just pure bullshit, as I pointed to already in terms of recent and coming major capital projects.

The Philadelphia board members have veto power, they have disproportionate power on the board compared to the other members, additionally most of SEPTA's capital spending had been on city projects.

Everyone in here trying to push this conspiracy theory that the SEPTA board has it out for Philly, and that the suburban members block funding projects in the city is an idiot who who clearly doesn't know shit about SEPTA, how it operates, how it's funded, what it's agency objectives are, and what it's done already.

Quite frankly so many of the takes in this thread are from people who just to moved to Philly 5 minutes ago. That or they're actually still children who don't know shit about how SEPTA works and what it done just in the last 20 years.

They certainly don't know the dynamics of the metropolitan region, or how major infrastructure projects get done in the real world.

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phillyallthewaydown t1_j9xekdp wrote

It would be helpful if you shared some resources for everyone rather than calling them idiots and children and accusing them of conspiracy theories. You may know all the things, but many of the answers and details aren't readily available.

How does SEPTA work? How does it operate? How is it funded? What are it's objectives? What has it done in the last 20 years? How does the veto power and the ability to override the veto work? What are the dynamics of metropolitan area? How do major infrastructure projects get done in the real world?

I have a slightly above average understanding of how SEPTA works and yet I can't even answer all those questions. I'm not a child, idiot, or conspiracy theorist, and I have lived in and around Philly my entire life. I'd argue that very few people understand how infrastructure projects as large and unique as the KOP rail line get done in the real world, even plenty of people involved.

My biggest question is why a project projected to move 10k passengers per day would be prioritized over a project projected to move closer to 100k passengers. Similar cost estimates. Questioning that is not a conspiracy theory, it's a legitimate question about how cost benefit decisions are made

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BenderIsGreat64 t1_j9vtsas wrote

>This is even when Philly makes up over 90% of ridership.

Got a source for this?

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