From the General Manager

Service

Santa Claus Speaks – During the week of December 17, PATCO customers were surprised to hear Santa Claus making announcements on the trains. This festive flair sparked hundreds of comments, with some very positive such as:

This morning, while sitting in the train, I heard the pre-recorded announcement regarding the last car being the quiet car. But this time it was different because it started with "Ho ho ho, Santa says..." and ended with a "Happy Holidays!"

I just wanted to thank whoever had that creative idea that changed my serious expression to a smile. I'm sure I'm not the only one who smiled. We are living in times of too much stress, so that injection of positivity/happiness is so much needed. It's the little things...

Santa’s voice inspired some riders to say, “Bah Humbug”.  In response to the social media buzz, Corporate Communications produced a clever video of Santa reading the Tweets on the train and responding to them, utilizing humor to remind everyone of the good spirit of the holidays.

New Year’s Eve Free Rides - For the third year in a row, PATCO’s customers enjoyed free rides on New Year’s Eve.  This special accommodation enables those celebrating the holiday to travel safely on the train as an alternative to driving.

This year we worked with Intersection, the company that sells advertising on PATCO trains and in our stations.  Their client Heineken sponsored free rides for revelers who boarded PATCO between 8 p.m. on the 31st and 4 a.m. on New Year’s Day as part of an ad campaign. 

On-Time Performance – In December, 2018, we had scheduled 5,682 trips. Our on-time performance was 96.48% for the month and 96.45% for the year overall.  After a rough start in January, when we encountered extreme cold and wintry weather-related problems, two PSE&G power outages at Westmont Station, and the Conrail pole incident, our performance for the year overall and for most months of 2018 exceeded that in 2017 – 96.45% in 2018 compared to 96.17% in 2017. (In November our on-time performance typically decreases due to slippery rail conditions associated with weather and leaf season.)  We continue to work on several fronts to improve even further.

On five days in December, we had no delays whatsoever.  However, on just two days, we faced a sudden need to perform emergency trackwork, resulting in a total of 48 late trains.  

Lost and Found – In 2018, PATCO’s Lost & Found Department processed 1800 items and successfully reunited 55% of them with their owners.  Items range from  many, many single gloves to much more expensive items such as laptops, phones, car remotes, and prescription eyeglasses.  Train Operators, Custodians, Transit Ambassadors, Customer Service Agents, Dispatchers, and Supervisors participate in ensuring that found items are forwarded to Lost & Found for recording and safekeeping until a customer claims them.  When an item includes identification, our proactive Lost & Found Supervisor sends the customer a letter; when we have unclaimed work IDs, we take the extra step of mailing the ID to the employer. 

Community

Student Field Trips – During December 30 students from “The Linc”, a high school on Erie Avenue, rode PATCO from Philadelphia to Camden to enjoy Adventure Aquarium.  In addition, students from two elementary schools and one school for students with special needs rode from New Jersey into Center City to enjoy the light show at Macy’s and other Center City holiday attractions.  In each case, a PATCO  representative escorted students on their initial free trip, providing information about how to ride PATCO safely and how to use their (purchased) one-ride tickets for their return trip. 

STEWARDSHIP

·         Availability – Availability of all escalators was 97.19% for the month of December and 96.21% for the year overall.