SEPTA Releases Annual Sustainability Report, Featuring Cycle-Transit Plan

On April 22, SEPTA has released its fourth annual Sustainability Report, SEPTAinable. The report details a year of progress towards key performance indicators across twelve goals to make SEPTA a more sustainable transit organization, and in so doing, to participate in making Southeastern Pennsylvania a more sustainable region.

Of note, the report discusses an $87 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to seed-fund an Infrastructure Resilience Program designed to protect SEPTA’s system and services from the ill-effects of climate change and extreme weather. It also provides an update on SEPTA’s ISO14001 certification for environmental management as well as lighting, stormwater, and recycling projects geared towards improving environmental performance.

A key focus of SEPTA’s Sustainability Program in 2014 was the development of its first-ever Cycle-Transit Plan, a comprehensive blueprint to better serve the growing demand for multi-modal commuting and recreational travel in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Integrating with livable communities by expanding their non-automotive mobility alternatives is a key objective of SEPTA’s Sustainability Program.

In Philadelphia, bicycle ridership has grown more than three fold in 20 years. Based on documented demographic preferences and the imminent launch of a city bike sharing program later this week, this trend is projected to continue. SEPTA’s Cycle-Transit Plan, developed based on input from key stakeholders, explores a broad range of opportunities to better integrate bikes and transit. Initiatives are grouped into three categories:

• Bikes-to-transit: Opportunities to work with partners to ensure convenient connections to SEPTA’s stations for cyclists from surrounding areas
• Bikes-at-transit: Opportunities to provide bicycle-friendly infrastructure, especially sheltered or secure parking, at stations and key locations
• Bikes-on-transit: Opportunities to craft policies that balance capacity constraints with cyclist access to ensure multi-modal trips are as efficient and seamless as possible

For SEPTA, better integration between bicycle and transit networks is also an efficient and sustainable strategy to increase system capacity. “At a time when SEPTA’s ridership is near quarter-century highs and auto parking lots are approaching maximum utilization, encouraging cycle-transit use can serve as a cost effective strategy to grow ridership,” said General Manager Joseph M. Casey. “Proactive planning and implementation of this Cycle-Transit Plan is another step in a positive direction towards SEPTA’s vision of being the region’s preferred choice for transportation.”

SEPTA will work with bicycling advocates, transit riders, community leaders and others to implement this plan. Comments and opinions from the public are actively and continually encouraged via email.

The Annual Sustainability Report and Cycle-Transit Plan are now available online.