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KRISTON J. BETHEL / Staff photographer

SEPTA commuters wait for the next train at Suburban Station yesterday. Contract talks could resume as early as today.

READER FEEDBACK

Tens of thousands of students affected by SEPTA strike

By DAFNEY TALES
Philadelphia Daily News

talesd@phillynews.com 215-854-5084

NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED

More than 58,000 Philadelphia students who use SEPTA to get to and from school were asleep when transit workers walked off the job in the wee hours of the morning yesterday.

Members of the Transport Workers Union Local 234 stopped operating subway, trolley and bus lines in the city at 3 a.m., bollixing up the students' morning routine. Later yesterday, district officials detailed how they would respond to the transit crisis.

"We're anticipating a number of students that will not be able to make it to schools because they won't have access to public transportation," said district spokesman Fernando Gallard.

The district noted that it would not provide other modes of transportation for the 35,000 public-school students who normally take SEPTA.

More than 23,000 charter and parochial and private-school students also use public transportation.

Absences during the strike will not count against district students' attendance records, as long school administrators receive a parent's note, he said. District officials also encouraged parents to send their children to public libraries if they miss school. After-school programs and sports activities will operate as usual.

District officials have not provided information about transit alternatives in the event the strike is prolonged.

If a student can't make it to school as a result of the strike, officials say, homework and lessons will be available for pickup at schools and regional offices.

For a list of regional offices, go to the district's Web site at www.philasd.org.

Students who choose to ride bikes to schools will be able to park them in secure locations near the school, Gallard said, although students are responsible for locking them up.

Guidelines issued by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman alerted parents that school-bus service will not be disrupted for students who ride them but that pickup and drop-off may run late due to traffic congestion.

School personnel are preparing for increased foot and bike traffic, Gallard said, and district and city police will be deployed in areas where officials expect a high volume of students.

For more information, call 215-400-4636.

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, the number of students who use SEPTA to get to and from school was changed to an incorrect figure is some editions of the Daily News. The correct number of students who use SEPTA is about 58,000.

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Comments

Posted 08:58 AM, 11/04/2009

concerns25

Bring a class action lawsuit by the people against the Union and Septa. There must be an ACLU lawyer who will protect my rights to public transportation, my rights are being violated, they are using taxpayer dollars, I have a right to public transportation provided by these dollars.

Posted 09:12 AM, 11/04/2009

dee99999

I agree with concerns25. Since my children can't use the SEPTA bus my tax dollars paid for, are we entitled to a refund? If a token costs $1.50 per day, and they take two rides per day, SEPTA can make the checks available at the schools, since they are saving quite a bundle on unpaid salaries.

Posted 09:30 AM, 11/04/2009

longshanks

The public school students of Philadelphia already don't go to school why would a strike make any difference? I see students walking around the city at all hours of the school day. This strike means nothing to them.

Posted 09:36 AM, 11/04/2009

aheckstall

I say get rid of all the GREEDY extortionists(the union workers) and hire all new ones. Maybe that will wake them up. Also, I think SEPTA needs to have some competition. They know there is no other alternative, so they basically do what they want when they don't get their way. Now because of them I have to shuttle my children back and forth to school and I have to leave work early to pick them up. Thanks a lot to the snakes at SEPTA. I say get rid of all these city unions, they have too much power. They have the city by the b*lls!!!

Posted 10:25 AM, 11/04/2009

2012 ~ Ron Paul

Public transportation spreads crime.

Posted 10:47 AM, 11/04/2009

Daniel Hoffman

The most disappointing thing about our union taking us out on strike is the fact that the brunt of suffering will be felt by people of color, the poor, the handicapped, and those too young or too old to drive. As a matter of fact, the majority of 234 members are people of color who are not getting paid at all, unlike the union's leadership who get both SEPTA pensions and TWU pay. Perhaps the lawsuit "Concerns25" wants the ACLU to bring should be brought because of the grossly disproportionate impact the strike has on minorities. The leaders of the union

Posted 11:40 AM, 11/04/2009

dee99999

To Longshanks: Not all Philadelphia school students are derelicts. For those of them who do go to school, and the concerned/responsible parents who work and pay taxes, this is an issue. Some of us are actually concerned about the use/waste of our money, increased costs to us, and how it will affect our own wallets. This, combined with increased costs, taxes and fees on just about everything, (without pay increases, though) does not lead to financial stability.

Posted 04:51 PM, 11/04/2009

spdude

@longshank, I beg your pardon,my children go to school and a very good school in south philly, maybe your education didn't go far, and if you are always seeing kids on the street what are you doing?????????????