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No love for SEPTA’s new routes | Morning Newsletter

And an Airbnb scam

Roxborough residents talk to SEPTA planners at a packed community meeting in December. Many were upset at the proposed overhaul of bus routes, fearing their neighborhood would be severed from direct service to center city. SEPTA made adjustments in response to the opposition.
Roxborough residents talk to SEPTA planners at a packed community meeting in December. Many were upset at the proposed overhaul of bus routes, fearing their neighborhood would be severed from direct service to center city. SEPTA made adjustments in response to the opposition.Read moreJenna Miller / Staff
    by Taylor Allen
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Expect partly sunny skies with a high of 60.

Complaining about SEPTA’s service is commonplace.

It’s typical to hear about infrequent and unreliable service. And SEPTA agrees. It’s why the agency has worked for more than two years on a redesign of its regional bus network.

But not everyone is happy with the proposals. Our main story focuses on rider pushback.

If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

SEPTA bus riders favor change for faster service, but many hate proposed new routes

A majority of riders said they were willing to make more transfers or even walk farther to their regular stop if it meant getting to their destinations 10 to 15 minutes sooner, according to a survey of 2,456 regular bus riders.

But when SEPTA leaders released proposals for shorter, straighter routes in October, riders pushed back, saying such broad upheaval in their lives would do more harm than good.

Reminders: At a meeting last month, Roxborough residents were furious that two direct lines to Center City would instead stop at 30th Street Station, where they could transfer to the Market-Frankford El or other buses to continue. In response, SEPTA changed the plan to keep both routes.

People can still comment on the proposal by phone or email. SEPTA planners are making tweaks based on the feedback.

What’s next: A final plan is due in a few weeks. Then there will be another round of community meetings and formal hearings.

Continue reading to find out how the many of initially supported changes became contentious. 🔑

A family thought they’d rented a Philly home on Airbnb. But the owner never made the listing.

Molly Flaherty had a weird Christmas night.

She returned home from spending time with her family to find Nicole Brunet, who was with family of her own, trying to get in. Brunet had used Airbnb to rent the home for her parents who were visiting for the holidays.

But that was news to Flaherty, since she never listed the property.

The fraudulent listing wasn’t taken down until New Year’s weekend, after The Inquirer reached out to the company about its protocols for such incidents.

Keep reading to learn how scammers have found ways to work the system.

What you should know today

  1. More than 60 new restaurants are set to open in the Philadelphia area in 2023.🔑

  2. Mayoral candidate Allan Domb triggered the “millionaire’s amendment” for campaign fundraising.

  3. Philly Pops is launching a plan for survival by seeking to raise $2 million in philanthropic support.

  4. Anti-mask graffiti targeted two Philadelphia elementary schools.

  5. Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law to make N.J. first in the country to require media literacy for K-12.

  6. Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.

🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠

PrimoHoagies, which started in South Philly, will open stories in five new states in the new year. Where is the company not expanding?

A) Texas

B) Colorado

C) Michigan

D) Utah

Find out if you know the answer.

What we’re...

🗳️ Watching: The House voted for a sixth time to elect a House speaker for the new Congress and failed.

🎧 Listening: To the Ezra Collective’s Tiny Desk Concert.

🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩

Hint: A Jersey Shore town

LOANVA

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Chris Potts, who correctly guessed Wednesday’s answer: John Street. Email us if you know the answer.

Photo of the Day

And that’s it from me. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow. 📧