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SEPTA urges patience during parade

SEPTA subways, trains and buses will be overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of revelers expected to descend on Center City and South Philadelphia today.

SEPTA subways, trains and buses will be overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of revelers expected to descend on Center City and South Philadelphia today.

The crowds will exceed the capacity of the transit system, raising the prospect of a repeat of the Live 8 crush in July 2005, when thousands of hot and tired people waited hours for trains.

"Come early. Leave late. And be patient," SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said yesterday.

The Broad Street Subway will run trains as often as it can fill them up and move them out, but the Pattison Station near the sports complex can handle only about 15,000 passengers per hour.

SEPTA will have 30 free shuttle buses that will line up along Pattison Avenue to carry riders to Second and Market Streets. Each bus can carry 60 people.

SEPTA said it also would add service on the Market-Frankford Line.

Regional Rail trains, already at capacity, will run on their regular weekday schedules.

SEPTA bus riders "should anticipate delays and changes in routes" because of the parade and traffic congestion, the agency said.

The PATCO High-Speed Line will have extra service all day, with trains to and from South Jersey running every six minutes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and every five minutes between 4 and 6 p.m.

City and SEPTA officials urged revelers yesterday not to go to the South Philadelphia sports complex for the post-parade rally without tickets to get into the stadiums.

For more information, call SEPTA customer service at 215-580-7800 or go to

» READ MORE: www.septa.org

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