How Some SEPTA Buses Will Control Philly Traffic Lights
Plus, is that the 70s I see in the forecast? Yes it is!
This SEPTA bus may soon be able to change traffic lights in Philadelphia. / Photograph by Perry Quan / Creative Commons / Flickr
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How Some SEPTA Buses Will Control Philly Traffic Lights
SEPTA has been trying out lots of different stuff lately. Those gates at the 69th Street Terminal that are supposed to thwart fare evaders. All those new route numbers. The under-development SEPTA Key 2.0. And now I’ve learned that SEPTA is rolling out a pilot program that will effectively allow SEPTA buses to control traffic lights.
SEPTA spokesperson John Golden confirmed for me on Wednesday afternoon that SEPTA is working with the city and California-based tech company LYT on the plan. LYT’s technology — it’s called Transit Signal Priority — in conjunction with existing city and SEPTA infrastructure will hopefully make SEPTA bus service more efficient and environmentally friendly. The idea is that if a bus is at an intersection dropping off or picking up passengers, the light will stay green so that the bus can continue through the intersection instead of idling there longer. The system can also make red lights shorter in duration in favor of a bus.
SEPTA is implementing the 12-month pilot program at 20 intersections in Philadelphia. Golden tells Philly Mag that SEPTA is focusing on SEPTA’s 47 bus route, which runs north-south from Whitman, through Center City, and up to East Oak Lane. The pilot program will focus on the Center City-adjacent chunk of the route.
Transit agencies in Boston, San Jose, and Portland, Oregon have already implemented LYT’s technology. According to a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which has LYT tech at three intersections in Boston, the program has reduced red light delays by more than 20 percent at those intersections.
About That Trump Speech…
One Philly pol whose chose to skip it out of protest was Congressman Dwight Evans. Here’s the statement Evans released yesterday: “As President Trump continues to act unlawfully and legally questionably, like his mass federal firings and refusing to deliver federal funding already appropriated by law, I feel he has not earned the honor of my presence to listen to his speech in person tonight.”
But I actually agree with the person who responded to Evans on BlueSky by saying, “Then go and show your dissent. Don’t stay home and be invisible.”
100 percent.
Wanna Buy a Building?
Then I have good news for you. The Trump Administration just published a list of “non-core” properties that it’s eyeing for “disposal”, which I presume means they want to sell them and not have Elon Musk come up with some newfangled thing that disintegrates them. But who knows, right? Anyway, there appear to be three targeted buildings in Philadelphia, including the Art Deco Customs House in Old City.
By the Numbers
72 degrees: Forecasted high for Philadelphia next Wednesday. Granted, that’s a week away. But here’s hoping the forecast holds.
$41.2 million: Value of Saquon Barkley’s new two-year contract extension with the Eagles. He’s the first running back to ever earn $20 million or more per year. Oh and get this: No matter what happens, he’s absolutely guaranteed to pocket $36 million.
$100,000: What the owner of a soon-to-open Chinatown sports bar is giving away as a grand-opening prize. So what do you have to do? Get a perfect pick on your NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket. That’s all. It’s never been done. Good luck. (And to the owner of that bar: Nice publicity stunt!)
$100,000: What some families in the area are spending on bar and bat mitzvahs. I hope these aren’t the same people who are complaining about the price of eggs! (BTW, I just scored a dozen eggs at Trader Joe’s for $3.)
Local Talent
Want to see what local bands are out there these days? Get thyself to the Fallser Club in East Falls. In conjunction with WXPN, the venue is hosting a four-night indie music festival featuring local acts. The Fallser Winter Music Festival kicks off on Thursday. Haven’t heard of the Fallser Club? It’s a non-profit event space just off of Kelly Drive. Used to be a movie theater back in the day. Check it out!
