From the General Manager
Message from General Manager
To our Customers and Commissioners - July, 2019 Report
SERVICE
Severe Weather Strikes PATCO Again – On the evening of July 22, strong winds felled trees, power lines and a pole across both PATCO’s and NJ Transit’s track east of our Woodcrest Station. Lindenwold and Ashland Stations were closed, as no trains could pass through the area. Westbound service originated at Woodcrest and eastbound service terminated there. PATCO strove to provide our customers with as much information as possible to help our customers make alternate arrangements until full service was restored on the afternoon of the 24th.
Ridership – Ridership in July, 2019 was 919,157, an increase of 19,971 (2.22%) when compared to July of 2019. Year to date as of 7/31/2019, ridership is 6,419,361, an increase of 164,574 (+2.96%) compared to the same period in 2018.
Celebration of PATCO’s 50th Anniversary at Haddonfield Station– On July 23, PATCO celebrated its 50th anniversary at Haddonfield Station. Each customer received a sewing kit and had an opportunity to spin for prizes, among which were preloaded ($50) FREEDOM cards, round-trip tickets, free rides, and assorted promotional items.
Customers also enjoyed delicious free samples from PJ Whelihan’s and Dunkin’ Donuts’ food trucks and soft pretzels.
The next 50th Anniversary event will be held at Broadway Station on August 27.
On-Time Performance – In July, 2019, we had scheduled 6,057 trips. Our on-time performance was 96.12% for the month and 96.97% for the year to date. Recalculating without the effect of the downed trees, cables, and pole as a result of the severe wind on July 22 gives us an on-time percentage of 97.20% for the month of July.
Although the weather is responsible for few incidents of delay, the lack of access to our maintenance facility during the blockage of tracks on July 22-24 significantly affected the reliability and availability of the equipment operating west of Woodcrest Station. By the second day, we had to take some equipment out of service, resulting in increasing the headway (times between trains), annulling some trains in order to continue the best schedule possible under extremely adverse conditions.
COMMUNITY
Celebrating Independence Day – PATCO promoted celebration of our nation’s independence through LCDs at every station and a raffle for donated VIP seating at the culmination of the festivities at the Parkway on the 4th of July. Customers entered the contest by posting PATCO pictures on Twitter and Facebook and by answering trivia questions posed in a customer newsletter. The collaboration rewarded 46 riders for participating in the raffle, encouraged potential customers to follow our postings, and supported off-peak ridership.
Camden County Library Reaches Out to our Lindenwold Riders – In response to a request from the Camden County Library, PATCO set up a table on Thursday afternoons at our Lindenwold Station and promoted their outreach through LCD signs and social media posts. Library representatives offered those who passed by the opportunity to take advantage of the many services they offer to County residents.
Haddonfield Crafts & Fine Art Festival – PATCO spoke with hundreds of customers and neighbors at Haddonfield’s 27th annual Crafts & Fine Art Festival. Many seniors approached the booth, aware of the Reduced Fare Program, but wanting to know more details. Others inquired about the SHARE card that customers can use to ride both PATCO and SEPTA (except Regional Rail). Event coordinators promote the event widely throughout the region, and PATCO ridership at Haddonfield was 10% higher than on an average Saturday and Sunday.
STEWARDSHIP
Woodcrest Parking Lots are Done at Last! – The $5.2 million rehabilitation of the Woodcrest Station parking surface and infrastructure underneath it was completed in July, much to the relief of our customers. The extensive project included complete replacement of the parking lots and access roads as well as the base layer, lot striping, storm water management, a new gate detection system for paid parking areas, conduits, a new sewer line and replacement of damaged curbs and sidewalk.
Elevators / Escalators
· Availability –We met our goals in the month of July. Availability of all escalators was 96.34% for the month and 96.93% for the Year to date. Availability of all elevators was 99.30% for the month and 98.73% for the Year to Date.
· Performance of Preventive Maintenance - Monthly preventive maintenance was performed on all elevators and escalators in July. Note that the new elevator at Collingswood is under warranty.
Passenger Services News – Passenger Services welcomed two new Station Supervisors into their ranks, but they were not new faces. Lavelle Coleman and John Thompson had worked as contracted PATCO Transit Ambassadors since 2015. Both are very well versed in PATCO operations and familiar to many customers.
FREEDOM Service Center – In July, the Service Center replaced 389 FREEDOM Cards that reached their 10 year expiration mark. In addition, 175 seniors (age 65 and above) and disabled customers signed up for the Reduced Fare Program, enabling them to take advantage of reduced fares during off-peak hours. Seventeen (17) students signed up for a FREEDOM card, saving the $5 cost of the FREEDOM card by showing their educational ID.
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