Council's hearing on young riders' safety on SEPTA is set, five months after 15 members asked for it
Resolution 260652, from Jeffery Young Jr., was adopted June 11. The joint Transportation and Public Safety hearing is listed for Nov. 13, as Council weighs wider student passes.
City Council's hearing on youth safety on and around SEPTA now has a date. The Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities lists it for Friday, Nov. 13, at 10 a.m. in Room 400 of City Hall (meeting page). The resolution behind it calls for a joint hearing with the Committee on Public Safety. One weekly roundup, Broad and Market, listed the hearing for Nov. 11; our date comes from the city's legislative calendar. Check the city calendar before you go.
The hearing matters to a lot of families. About 50,000 Philadelphia students rely on SEPTA to get to school, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported. The resolution asks Council to look at how to prevent violence, support young people and protect all riders, in and around the system.
What our records add
Fifteen sponsors, 155 days. Resolution 260652 was introduced by 5th District Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr. and adopted on June 11, the day it was introduced. The hearing comes 155 days later. Fifteen of 17 members are listed as sponsors: Young, Anthony Phillips, Brian J. O'Neill, Cindy Bass, Curtis Jones Jr., Isaiah Thomas, Jamie Gauthier, Jim Harrity, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Kendra Brooks, Mark Squilla, Mike Driscoll, Nicolas O'Rourke, Nina Ahmad and Quetcy Lozada.
It is the only item on the committee's agenda. The same committee also holds Resolution 260897, the PGW shutoff hearing, which has no date (our story).
It connects to the student pass debate. Students and advocates have asked Council to make the student SEPTA pass work year-round and for more students. Superintendent Tony Watlington put a preliminary cost of about $64 million on that, WHYY reported (our story). Jones has said he wants a way to pause or revoke passes for misconduct. Harrity's newly introduced tax on robot deliveries and driverless rides, Bill 260927, is pitched as one way to pay for free transit passes (our story).
What SEPTA has said
SEPTA has described extra police staffing around school arrival and dismissal times, overlapping shifts, and virtual patrols using its camera network (SEPTA). Students can report problems through the SEPTA Transit Watch app or by texting SEPTA Transit Police at 215-234-1911, the agency says. Expect SEPTA officials and the School District to be asked about those plans at the hearing.
What's next
- Nov. 13, 10 a.m.: joint hearing, Room 400, City Hall. Our meeting page will carry the video and transcript once posted.
- A hearing resolution doesn't create a program by itself. Any change, such as funding for more patrols or wider passes, would need a bill or a budget action.