This past Sunday marked the beginning of new sets of train schedules for both SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill East and West lines.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
This past Sunday marked the beginning of new sets of train schedules for both SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill East and West lines.
Chestnut Hill West won’t experience an increase or a decrease in service. The times have simply been rearranged for “select morning trains,” SEPTA spokesperson Kelly Greene said in an email, which will better accommodate children starting the new school year.
Chestnut Hill East, however, is seeing midday service reductions to “accommodate track and survey work for station and bridge rehabilitation projects,” said SEPTA in a press release.
The SEPTA schedule changes maintain regional rail service at about 75% of pre-pandemic levels. Regional Rail ridership has returned gradually since the pandemic and is currently at about 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
For parents and students commuting from Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, the service reductions may create a double bind.
Just as regional rail is running less frequently, the school district is experiencing school bus driver shortages and is now offering to pay parents who drive their own children to school a $300 monthly stipend.
School bus driver shortage
The district currently employs 210 school bus drivers, which is down from 227 last year.
To combat the shortages, the district has incentivized the job hoping to get more applicants to fill the 105 school bus driver vacancies.
According to the school district, approximately 101,000 students use public transportation to get to school. Of those, 55,000 use SEPTA fare cards, 33,000 use the yellow buses or other school vehicles; and the remaining 13,000 are enrolled in the flat rate program.
