On some bus routes, still a no-go; on others, a slow-go

At a North Philadelphia intersection Tuesday, Sidney Jones plotted his next move on the trek to work.

The 62-year-old wanted to get to his job near Rittenhouse Square. He made it as far as 22nd Street and Erie Avenue from Northeast Philadelphia via the Route 56 bus. But when he got there, he learned that the next stage of his trip, the Route 33 bus, was out of commission - it was was among 16 SEPTA bus routes still suspended Tuesday morning.

"Now I've got to think of another route to take," Jones said.

The Route 33 runs from 23rd and Venango Streets to Penn's Landing, all day, all night. It moves, on average, 14,182 people on a weekday, and it has been out of commission since Saturday because of snow.

In North Philadelphia, buses are a key link to work, medical care, family and friends. A typical neigborhood might feature rowhouses and a dollar store anchored by a fire station and police precinct. The average household is about $22,000, according to U.S. Census data, and more than 40 percent live below the poverty line.

And the Route 33, which goes past Cecil B. Moore and Fairmont Avenues into the heart of Center City, is essential.

"That's the most used bus in this area," said Jesse Morton, 57, who lives near the bus stop at 22nd and Erie.

Subways ran through Winter Storm Jonas last weekend, and most Regional Rail trains and trolleys were at least limping along by Monday morning. But for some who depend on SEPTA's 122 bus routes, their wait to reconnect with the rest of the city lingered into Tuesday.

In the case of the Route 33, until about noon Tuesday, when it was finally running again.

Some, like Jones, knew the bus system well enough that they were able to navigate alternative paths. Passengers waiting for the buses that were running rattled off a dizzying array of route numbers and train lines they have been using to get around.

"They make you do stuff you ain't did before," Kathy Ellerby joked as she boarded a Route 56 bus.

On Monday, so many bus routes were suspended, many commuters had just one option. Morton, who uses the H bus to get to his security job at the Veterans Administration on Wissahickon Avenue, had to walk 30 blocks to work.

"I couldn't afford to miss a day's pay," he said as he cleared snow from the street in front of his house. "When you've got a family to take care of, you don't worry about the miles."

Angel Caesar, 31, a home health aide at Plymouth Hall, a senior housing development on 22nd Street, usually uses the 33 bus to commute. Tuesday afternoon, she was walking a laborious mile back to her home at 17th and Diamond for the second day straight.

"You've got to find the sidewalks that's shaved," Caesar said. "Basically you're playing in traffic."