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Health & Fitness

Smooth and Rough Days for PATCO Riders Last Week

In the second edition of the PATCO riders' blog, it was an up-and-down week between South Jersey and Philadelphia.

This is the second installment of DVARP's blog series examining PATCO from the standpoint of its riders. If you're reading this blog for the first time, check out our first entry from last week.

Once again, our frequent rider volunteers below utilize a variety of different stations between Center City and South Jersey (including Collingswood and Ashland).

This week was a mixed experience for our riders, all of whom seem to have weathered the tornado watch last Tuesday.

Find out what's happening in Collingswoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mark Heston had a bumpy ride Tuesday:

The stops felt like the old roadrunner cartoons.....80 mph to 0 [mph] in ten feet, people were bouncing around like cattle.

Find out what's happening in Collingswoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Thankfully, things had sorted themselves out a day later:

The ride today was so much better than they have been.  The conductor was smooth in his driving and he announced all stops in a professional and courteous manner." 

Jeff Lyons was excited at the prospect of some new technology debuting Tuesday morning...

There's a new ticket machine coming to 8th and Market. Some honchos were giving demonstrations of it yesterday afternoon. I didn't really notice it until I was already through the gate. It should help alleviate crowds when there's a concert on the waterfront and there are tons of kids waiting to get a ticket.

...but had soured on the timing of its presentation by the end of the day:

That machine I wrote about this morning? It's now surrounded by big shots who are apparently trying to sell it to PATCO. So that entrance is blocked off by police. Yes, police. At the beginning or rush hour. Why not do this in the middle of the day? So stupid.

On Thursday, Lyons caught a break, however, in the form of a courteous driver.

I just wanted to thank the driver of the eastbound train at 8th and Market just after 12 [PM] today for seeing me tearing down the steps and reopening the doors so I could get on. I truly appreciate it.

To all you PATCO commuters out there: how have your riding experiences been lately? Tell us in the comments or let DVARP know @PhillyDVARP on Twitter or at mail@dvarp.org.

Andy Sharpe is Communications Director for the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers. Contact him at 215-RAILWAY (215-724-5929), sharpe@dvarp.org, or @PhillyDVARP on Twitter and Facebook.

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