Position Paper. JGPotter & Associates

Reactivation of Route 23 Trolley
February 1997

The undersigned businesses and organizations from Northwest Philadelphia are committed to the restitution of electric trolley service on Route 23 from South Philadelphia to Chestnut Hill. We believe that modern trolleys, operating as close as possible to today's "light rail" standards, serve the best interest of our community and SEPTA's riders. We support discontinuance of the temporary diesel buses that now run on Route 23 and the purchase of new light rail vehicles (LRVS) to replace them, as agreed by SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia in 1992. This agreement includes Routes 15 and 56, whose reactivation we also endorse, to ensure the critical mass necessary for economic operation of trolleys. As of January 1997, SEPTA has purchased hundreds of new buses, but tabled the purchase of trolleys indefinitely.

Today's progressive cities build trolley lines, not destroy them. As each year passes, SEPTA's inattention to the 1992 agreement causes us more concern that the "temporary" buses will become "permanent." Route 23 retains a valuable 12.5-mile-long infrastructure of tracks, feeder lines, wires, and substations. We are determined to have these multimillion dollar components put back in use. To help achieve this goal, the Northwest community—which includes 90,000 residents and many hundreds of businesses—will cooperate with SEPTA and the City of Philadelphia on implementation and enforcement of the City's "Transit First Policy" (as described on page 4). We pledge our cooperation to SEPTA and to the City toward providing the best operating conditions possible.

Electric Trolley vs. Diesel Bus

The Northwest community needs a public transportation system that provides the best quality of life for its residents and the best business atmosphere for its entrepreneurs and professionals. Attractive, efficient, environmentally sound, well-used mass transit translates into higher real estate values and a broader tax base, beneficial to the entire city.

The electric trolley is both superior to the diesel bus and more appropriate for our dense urban community.

Air Quality. The exhaust fumes from diesel buses are offensive and noxious. Each of Septa's more than 1,000 buses is a pollution machine; each must have its own pollution control, properly and diligently maintained. In contrast, the energy to power electric trolleys originates at a single source—the main power plant, where pollution can be more easily controlled. The individual trolley is pollution-free.

A diesel-powered vehicle causes maximum pollution when idling. At layovers, buses keep their motors running to maintain heat and air conditioning. An electric trolley can provide these climate controls from a totally quiet standstill, with no air pollution. Additional waves of air pollution occur upon the buses' acceleration after each stop; there is no exhaust from a trolley.

Not only does bus pollution affect Philadelphia's struggle to meet clean air standards, each blast of exhaust has a particularly close, unpleasant, unhealthy effect on the many pedestrians using our narrow streets.
Rubber-Tired Vehicles. All rubber-tired vehicles contribute to the nation's massive tire-disposal problem. In addition, as the tire surfaces wear down in road use, the release of microscopic "tire dust" may be a substantial contributor to latex-rubber allergies and other respiratory ailments.

The weight of a bus accelerates deterioration of the street surface. On Germantown Avenue in particular, the right side of each bus bears down on the distinctive Belgian blocks that edge the street. Steel-wheeled trolleys, riding on rails, will eliminate the nearly 24-hour-day, round-trip pounding by 30 buses.
Size and Speed. Streetcars hold more people. A typical streetcar carries from 25%-33% more passengers than a bus. A streetcar accelerates faster than a bus, thus allowing for more rapid takeoff at each stop. The trolley's combination of increased capacity and more rapid rate of acceleration means that fewer vehicles are needed to serve a given transit route.
Comfort and Sound Level. When tracks are installed and maintained properly, a trolley ride is much smoother and quieter than that of a bus. The comfort level of a bus ride is largely dependent on the bus's engine, which operates at unpleasantly high decibels. Modern trolley service, gliding quietly and evenly along the rails, attracts and retains more transit riders. The electric trolley's low sound level (about the equivalent of a single automobile) reduces noise pollution for people who live, work, or shop along the route. END OF EXCERPT