From the General Manager

Message from General Manager

Report to our Commissioners and Customers - December, 2020

Westmont Station Becomes Fully Accessible – On December 23, a very special gift was opened at our Westmont Station – a brand new elevator - making Westmont the 8^th station in New Jersey and the 11^th  of 13 total stations to be fully accessible to those with mobility challenges.  The completion of this equipment follows the recent installations at Ashland, Haddonfield, and Collingswood.

Only two stations remain in the elevator project: City Hall  in New Jersey and 13^th/Locust in Philadelphia.  In each location, an elevator from platform to concourse level and a separate elevator from concourse to street level will be built in the coming months.  The installation of those four elevators will enable all  our all customers to travel barrier-free among any of our PATCO stations.

Continued Response to COVID-19 - PATCO added to its arsenal against the novel coronavirus by stepping up its campaign to encourage customers to do their part by wearing a face covering.  Free disposable face covers are available for those passengers who arrive at a station without a mask.  Individually wrapped masks are stocked in self-serve dispensers, reducing interaction with staff and thereby contributing to social distancing at the same time as they are inhibiting the spread of the virus. 

During Christmas week, PATCO traditionally extends holiday merriment by having “Santa Claus” announcements on the train.  This year’s messages included lively “Santa” reminders to wear masks and to spread good cheer rather than spreading the virus.

Leaf Season Ends – Just as leaf season was waning, the incidence of the COVID-19 virus again surged in our area.  This unfortunate increase put a damper on our ridership that had been gradually growing since the spring.  To reflect the end of slippery rail speed reductions, we implemented a new schedule on December 5, providing service appropriate to the number of passengers and allowing them to practice social distancing.

COMMUNITY

Food Bank of South Jersey – On December 19, the Food Bank of South Jersey and White Horse Rotary volunteers held their monthly Hope Mobile at Lindenwold Station Parking Lot #1.  Since COVID-19 struck, they adapted their procedures to follow strict safety protocols, including mandatory face covers, social distancing, prepackaged food options, and drive-through distribution.   Each month 250 to 300 families representing approximately a thousand individuals come to pick up essential nutrition including 300-400 meal kits for kids and teens.  In addition, the Food Bank provides 400 to 500 wellness kits monthly.

STEWARDSHIP

Elevators / Escalators

·         Availability – Availability of all elevators was 99.77% for the month of December and 99.53% for the year to date, well exceeding our goal of 97%.   Availability of all escalators was 98.70% for the month of December and 96.76% for the year to date, compared to our goal of 96%. 

SERVICE

FREEDOM Card Service Center - The following services were provided to our FREEDOM Card customers.  Service is available every weekday at Broadway Station between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.; the Center in Woodcrest Station remains temporarily closed.

On-Time Performance – In December, our on-time performance was 96.93%.  Of the 4,958 scheduled trips,  9 were cancelled, 140 were late, and 44 stations were bypassed.  On December 16, we encountered several challenges as a result of the snowstorm; if we recalculate the on-time performance for December without that date, we would have achieved 98.05%.

For the year as a whole, our on-time performance was just shy of our goal of 98%.  Our performance has been steadily improving over the past five years from

95.81% in 2016 to

96.17% in 2017 to

96.45% in 2018 to

96.86% in 2019 to

97.92% in 2020.

Availability of Transit Equipment – PATCO closely monitors the availability of equipment to meet the needs of our peak service customers.  We achieved 100% for all 22 AM and 22 PM rush hours in December.

Ridership – COVID-19 continues to significantly affect travel patterns.  December’s ridership was 194,816, a decrease of 700,931 (-78.25%) when compared to December of 2019.   Ridership for the year totaled 3,949,450, a decrease of 7,158,024  (-64.44%) compared to 2019.