Septa

Are you a commuter who trudges into Philly everyday? Or worse, an urbanite who must leave the city every day to make a living? Philadelphia commutes are longer than the national average (31.5 minutes compared the to average of 25.5), and we have 253,000 workers commuting TO the city and an additional 147,000 city residents on the reverse commute daily. Philly has 25.6% of all commuters taking public transit, compared to 5% nationwide. This is half as much as New York's commuters (55.66%) in the number 1 spot, putting Philly at #7 after Jersey City, Washington DC, San Fran & other cities. Good, but not great. It's frustrating to see Philadelphia pat ourselves on the back for minor accomplishments when we could be SO much better. But in order to relieve our commutes, we need to improve SEPTA and public transit first. Here's what we have going for and against us:

Riding SEPTA isn't just good for sustainability, our public transit system is  learning to save dollars too, according to Plan Philly! SEPTA is in its third year of its formal sustainability program. All of the initiatives are trying to add environmental, social and economic value.  But, SEPTA is finding that sustainability is an easy way to save money too! Last year, they tried creating energy in creative ways, including  braking trains (captured & reused at power stations) and turned unused real estate into a self-sustaining urban farm. Here are some examples of how dollar bills were accumulating in SEPTA's pockets:

Are you an Instagram all-star? Or can you put your creative iPhone hat on for a minute to say why you SEPTA Philly? SEPTA is trying to get younger, hipper public transit riders by launching a SEPTA Instagram Contest starting today. SEPTA commuters are encouraged to (Find out about the contest, how to enter and what SWEET prizes you can win, after the jump!)

Dirty, homeless, beggers, unclear bus schedules apparently is the summary of how hometown heroes describe the Best Large Transit System in the Country! SEPTA beat out 64 agencies that

Stop hating on SEPTA... Philadelphia's public transit has just been given props! Walk Score, a website that rates the walkability score (to rank where you can drive less & live more), ranked Philadelphia 5th for residents' access to public transit with a transit score of (Find out why we ranked & what this means, after the jump!)

Yesterday's World Water Day helped bring awareness of how much water we use daily.  Here's what else went on in the green world this week:

Snow storms have hit harder than the norm this year - and it's not even February. Naturally, this has folks grumbling about the annoyance of digging their cars out. Further, driving can be tricky - and at times dangerous. What can you do to get around Philly easier during these sometimes treacherous months? This winter consider upping your use of public transportation. Staying out of the driver's seat will give you peace of mind. Plus, you're saving emissions and gas money. (Don't worry - even Julie survived her Low Car Diet run.) Here's a refresh of the public transportation options available to Philadelphia residents:

Hey guys- The last 2 1/2 weeks sans car have been quite exciting! I've got the train schedule down and have been taking the shorter Express morning train, finished 3 books (2 of which have been Chelsea Handler & Tucker Max) and have read the Metro every morning. Some other highlights include:

This Monday November 24th at 6:45 p.m. The Free Library of Philadelphia hosts 'What Septa is Doing to Help the Environment.'