Shuttle bus to 'circulate' U. City

A new transportation system that will run from 30th Street Station to several locations in University City -- including spots on the Penn campus -- will start service in late spring. The system will be free for University students, staff and faculty, as well as employees of several other area institutions. Officials have not yet decided where on campus the buses will pick up and drop off passengers. Besides giving students an easy way to get to and from the only train station in Philadelphia, organizers said it will also make commuting easier for employees. The system -- which has been in the planning stages for almost a year -- is being operated by SEPTA under a contract from the University City District, according to UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke. Citing the limited parking on Penn's campus, University officials said the new buses will be beneficial for workers commuting via SEPTA's regional rail lines -- transit lines which run from the city to surrounding suburbs -- and will encourage more people to take public transportation to work. "If we can provide, through the [service], a really good employee link to the regional rail system, it will reduce the amount of people driving to campus in personal vehicles," said Penn Director of Transportation and Mail Services Bob Furniss. According to SEPTA officials, the buses will run in two directions along the same route through University City, beginning and ending at 30th Street Station. The approximate wait time for a bus will be five minutes during rush hour and seven to eight minutes during off-peak hours. These institutions helping to pay for the system include Penn, Drexel University, the University City Science Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. People affiliated with the organizations will not have to pay to ride. The general public will pay a fare tentatively set at 50 cents, Steinke said. The buses will run 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except during major holidays. It will not run on weekends. The six buses in the system will each seat about 20 people. Steinke stressed that the main mission of the program is to provide area employees with a better way to commute to work, especially since parking is so scarce. Besides the convenience factor, Furniss said the mass transit system will help bring Penn in line with federal guidelines that require major employers to reduce the number of its employees who are driving to work every day. SEPTA officials said the "Circulator," as the bus project is currently being called, said the system and those like it are helping to encourage drivers to use mass transit instead. "We're trying to move as many people onto transit as possible," said SEPTA spokesperson Kimscott Heinle, who added that SEPTA has already implemented similar measures in suburban areas. Various institutional and public subsidies will help to fund the system, which will have an operating budget of about $500,000 a year plus marketing expenses. A federal grant will pay for most of the first year's operating expenses.

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