Commuters move out on foot as SEPTA strike grinds on

On Day Two of the SEPTA strike, commuters put on their walking shoes.

Maureen Cunningham started out from Porter Street in South Philadelphia trudging north to her job at Janney Montgomery Scott in Center City, a distance of more than two miles.

She was accompanied by a bright morning sun and a friend, Tara Lyons, who works for the city.

They walked past Marconi Plaza, named for the Italian engineer who invented radio, and the Gangemi Funeral Home, founded in 1937. They passed South Philadelphia High School, where Chubby Checker sang for classmates before hitting it big with the Twist.

They passed churches and hospitals, diners and coffee shops, pushed onto the sidewalk by a strike that idled all city subways, buses, and trolleys.

"Maybe I'll lose a little weight," said Cunningham, 41.

Lyons, 38, added, "We'll walk as much as possible until it's over."

On Day Two, the highways jammed, motorists endured long commutes and crowded parking lots, and businesses felt the pinch of absent customers. Indego - the bike-share program - saw a leap in ridership, with more than 3,500 trips taken Tuesday, compared with the usual weekday average of 2,400.

As the Wednesday evening rush hour began, Regional Rail trains were running, but late - an improvement over stoppages caused by picket lines Tuesday - and the passenger lines to board were long.

At 30th Street Station, commuter Patrick Steel, 34, surveyed what he called "controlled chaos" as he waited for a train to Media.

"I don't know why they're doing this," Steel said, made to stand in line with others before being allowed to board as a group. "My train is supposed to board in two minutes."

Inbound service on the Media-Elwyn rail line was suspended after a person was struck and killed at the Angora station.

On Wednesday morning in South Philadelphia, people moved out in groups of two, three, and four, carrying backpacks, coffee, and general good humor. It wasn't the Walking Dread.

Nor was theirs the longest trek of the strike.

Haydee Suarez was determined to get to work Tuesday, so she walked - more than seven miles, from her home in North Philadelphia to her job at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

"People depend on me to be here," said the unit secretary and certified nursing assistant. "If I'm not, it affects the whole flow of the unit."

And, she said, "I've got bills to pay." So staying home wasn't an option.

Suarez, in her 50s, wasn't familiar with the Regional Rail schedule or stops. So on Tuesday she left her home on foot at 11 a.m. and arrived at work just before her shift started at 2:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, she tried the train, walking about 10 blocks to a stop at Temple University, riding to Fox Chase, then walking several more blocks to the cancer center.

She was among hundreds of thousands of transit riders forced to scramble.

"Today was way worse than yesterday," said Stephen Imperato, who spent 90 minutes driving from Northeast Philadelphia to Center City with two colleagues.

"Sucks," said Arlene Krimmel.

They found a parking spot at Independence Auto Park on Sixth Street.

At the Community College of Philadelphia, where more than 30,000 students commute, the absentee rate was as high as 50 percent Tuesday morning. On Wednesday, that was still true for general courses, but upper-level and specialized classes were nearly full.

Faye Allard, an assistant sociology professor, posted her lectures online so students could watch from anywhere. Julie Odell, an associate professor of English, created a Facebook page to organize student carpools. When only three students showed up to Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela's English class Tuesday, she took them for coffee - and discussed the reading assignment.

On Wednesday, near the shuttered subway station at Broad Street and Erie Avenue, unlicensed cabdrivers called out to stranded riders.

Some were charging $15 to $20, others $25 to $30, for a ride to Center City.

"Opportunity," explained a driver named James, who declined to give his surname. "We'll take them anywhere. As long as they're not robbing banks on the way."

A woman who was unobtrusively selling rides quietly said, "Taxi," whenever a potential customer walked by. How much was she charging?

"No comment," she said.

Social media became a means to express frustration or support.

One person tweeted a list of picketing sites and urged people to go help. Another noticed how quiet the city seemed without buses. Others worried about the impact on people who desperately need to get to work.

"In a city with 25 percent of the population living near the federal poverty line," tweeted public-relations consultant Mustafa Rashed, "how many people are one absence away from losing their job?"

Striking worker Frank Brinkman, an electronics specialist on the Market-Frankford subway line, said the union had no other option.

"All we want is a fair contract," he said at a picket line at the 69th Street Transportation Center.

He and two dozen SEPTA mechanics set up a grill, tent, tables, and chairs. Bakery workers and police officers stopped by to drop off doughnuts.

"It's a shame for the public," Brinkman said. "We don't want to do this, but it's the only tool we have."

In Center City, the underground Dunkin' Donuts by the Market Street line had four customers Wednesday morning - usually the lines are six deep. At the 69th Street Transportation Center, business at the normally busy Gogo Pizza was dead.

"It's nothing," said employee Timo Gon. "We'll just keep going and see what happens."

jgammage@phillynews.com

215-854-4906 @JeffGammage

Staff writers Jason Nark, Mari A. Schaefer, William Bender, Susan Snyder, Julia Terruso, and Michaela Winberg contributed to this article.