Token Machines Surface At 52nd St.

Hallelujah! Despite opening sparking new stations at 52nd and 46th streets in West Philadelphia, SEPTA forgot to put up token machines. Why? Because SEPTA hates you, the rider. (This should really be their motto. It could replace all those old “We’re getting there!” signs.)

But, it appears they don’t hate you all that much. SEPTA Watch reports there are now token machines at 52nd Street. Still no reports of token machines at 46th and 40th, but, hey, it’s a start.

Token machines come to 52nd Street Station! [SEPTA Watch]

Use Your iPhone On The Subway

Earlier this week, AT&T announced it had secured an exclusive deal with SEPTA to allow its customers to use their cell phones while riding the underground portion of the El. Now when John Street rides on the subway, he can use his iPhone!

The deal is what it says, exclusive, so Verizon, T-Mobile and other customers are out of luck. As usual, SEPTA hates its customers. But that’s okay; its hatred has served a higher purpose this time. Think about it: Do you really want people talking on cell phones on the El? It can only lead to bad things.

I salute SEPTA for only allowing customers of a certain cell phone carrier to talk on the El, and I further thank them for choosing AT&T, so we know which people have iPhones. We can then steal them. Awwright!

El riders can now use their cell phones underground {SEPTA Watch]

Free SEPTA Rides, Courtesy Of Nature

The always-excellent SEPTA Watch posts this photo from the El stop on 40th Street. Much like the free rides when SEPTA runs shuttle buses to 40th Street, the “bathroom break” free rides at SEPTA are inexplicable and ridiculously gleeful when you get them.

But, hey, I suppose the money they lose on bathroom breaks is recouped by riders who have to pay with a five-dollar bill when it’s all they have and the El is coming.

Where everyone can ride for free [SEPTA Watch]

‘Inky’ Asks For Favorite El Memories With Predictable Results

After the jump, a sampling.

More »

Breaking: Truck Driver Doesn’t Know That Once You Enter Kensington, You Can Never Leave

Via Action News, a big rig tried to make it under the El:

A stuck truck is causing traffic problems this noon in Philadelphia’s Kensington section. Chopper 6 was over the scene minutes ago after a tractor trailer tried unsuccessfully to drive under the “El.”

SEPTA says no train traffic is affected.

Whoa. Somehow SEPTA hasn’t slowed down service. Rejoice, everyone, rejoice!

Big Rig Stuck Under El [6 ABC]

Philly Preteen Totally Awesome; N.J. Teen Slightly Less So

Last night, a girl from New Jersey became the first female since 1999 to win the National Spelling Bee. Pretty cool. The 13-year-old is from North Jersey, but that hasn’t stopped the local news from jumping on it. She won on the word ursprache, which means a parent language.

Fair enough. But, uh, she won a spelling bee. Which is fine, but not nearly as cool as a Philadelphia 10-year-old, who dove in front of the EL to save her brother.

KYW 1060 tells the story like so:

Last February 17th, Darien’s mom lost control of the baby’s stroller at an elevated train platform, and Alexandra jumped onto the tracks with a train heading toward them:

“My nephew got caught on a wind gust and his stroller got pushed onto the El tracks. And I had to jump down there because nobody else would. Then I put him up, and I got the stroller, but luckily nothing fell out but a binky.”

First off: Wind gusts can push strollers onto train tracks? Yikes. Second off: That’s amazing. Way cooler than winning a spelling bee. Can’t somebody give this girl a college scholarship?

Local 10 Year Old Girl Honored As Hero [KYW 1060]
Schoolgirl is first ever from N.J. to win national bee [AP/Inquirer]

Quickies: EL on Earth

• You saw the preview yesterday. Here’s the rest of Inga Saffron’s column about the new EL stops. [Inky]

• About six hundred kids were out sick in a New Jersey school. Sounds like there’s a huge outbreak of cooties. [NBC 10]

• No. 2 ‘Nova edged Cincinnati last night on a sweet inbounds pass layup in the final seconds. They’re at 24-2 UConn on Sunday. [Inky]

• And, finally, girls pledging a sorority at Penn are being attacked for their lunchboxes. Police suspect Yogi Bear has moved on from pic-i-nic baskets at long last. [Daily Pennsylvanian]

‘Inquirer’ unveils new way to annoy readers

I’m sitting at my desk, browsing Philly.com, and I see on the front page a link to Inga Saffron’s column about the architecture of the new SEPTA stations in West Philly. (Yes, my intro for this post was to tell you how I found this article. Shush.)

Great, I thought. It’s Saffron, whose writing I like, it’s SEPTA, which is so charmingly awful, and it’s West Philly, where I used to live. (Okay, not really. But I like West Philly. Shush again.)

I’m reading the article, and it’s all about how the new EL stations are supposed to blend in a little bit with the early-20th century rowhouses that line Market Street. To me, this is interesting stuff. (One more peep out of you and you’re grounded.)

Then I reach the eighth paragraph. I finish reading it, and see this note as the ninth graph:

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of this column in tomorrow’s Inquirer.

I think it’s about time to declare the newspaper/Internet mashup craze over.

Changing Skyline | SEPTA hits high and low notes with rehabbed station [Inky]