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After Monday post-DNC gridlock, officials urging more transit use

Shortly after making that announcement, SEPTA again suspended subway service to the Wells Fargo Center, "due to DNC security actions," according to a SEPTA news release.  As of 7:18 p.m., the Broad Street Line was running southbound only to Oregon Station; northbound service was still running from AT&T Station.

"You can't have 50 or 60 buses all leave the Wells Fargo lot at the same time.," he said.

Uber has an arrangement with the DNC to provide transportation, and had a lounge set up for customers outside the Wells Fargo Center.  The company reported 60 percent more customers Monday than compared to the previous Monday.

The city encouraged convention-goers to use public transportation if possible when leaving traveling to and from the Wells Fargo Center, said Lauren Hitt, spokeswoman for Mayor James Kenney.

"We are going to encourage people again to take SEPTA because we think that's the fastest way in or out," she said.

The Broad Street Line, the major public transit artery between Center City and the convention venue, was again briefly shut down today from Oregon Avenue to the AT&T Station late Tuesday afternoon, SEPTA reported. Unlike Monday, though, when protesters at the station killed subway service to the AT&T Station for everyone but people with convention credentials, full service resumed after about a half hour.

SEPTA again rerouted about two dozen bus routes, mostly those that traveled along or across Broad Street, due to disruptions caused by protests.

"I think we feel like we're communicating through every avenue we can," Hitt said.

City officials said the detours and delays caused by protesters is about what they expected.

"In terms of transportation elsewhere in the city I think we're pretty happy with how things are going," said Lauren Hitt, spokeswoman for Mayor Kenney's office.

Traffic on I-95 was still significant, but improved compared to Monday, said Eugene Blaum, a PennDot spokesman. PennDot decided to close a lane in each direction on the interstate because trucks weighing five tons or more were not obeying electronic signs stating vehicles of that weight were banned from the road for security reasons. The closed lanes gave Pennsylvania State Police space to pull over the vehicles and reroute them, Blaum said. PennDot has been advising drivers to avoid the highway or prepare for delays.

The only change on the highway Tuesday was a different configuration in the northbound lanes that allowed drivers easier access to exit 13 and the westbound Schuylkill Expressway, Blaum said.