Regular service for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has not been interrupted and both sides are still talking.
As of Friday afternoon, there were no clear signs of an agreement, however, between SEPTA and the more than 5,000 Transport Workers Union (TWU) employees that operate and service the city's buses and trains.
If negotiations fail, more than one million city transit riders will be left scrambling to find new ways to get around.
Here's what SEPTA riders need to know if a strike occurs:
You will not be able to use:
- Market-Frankford Line
- Broad Street and Broad Ridge Spur Line
- City transit buses or frontier bus routes
- Trolley and Trackless Trolley routes
You will be able to use:
- Regional Rail Lines
- LUCY (limited service)
- CCT Connect
- Suburban bus and trolley routes (limited service)
According to SEPTA, Regional Rail lines are the best travel option during a service interruption.
Parking
Riders who decide to use Regional Rail can park at regional rail train stations for $1-$2, though spaces will likely fill up quickly.
Transpasses
Riders who purchased transit passes before a service interruption may receive full or partial refunds for unused passes.
Alternative Transportation
Bicycles: If you commute four miles or less, a bicycle may be your best option, according to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCOG). During the 2009 SEPTA Strike, bicycling jumped 38 percent, according to the BCOG. And a lot of the stranded SEPTA riders who chose to bike, were women. If you don't have a bike, you can rent one. Click here for some rental company names and numbers from the BCOG.
Cars: If you don't own one, you can rent one through any of the car rental companies. Most are located at Philadelphia International Airport. Some have satellite offices at other locations. You can also explore car sharing. Zipcar.com offers hourly car rentals and there is PhillyCarShare, which is now operated by Enterprise.
Carpools: You can lean on family and friends first, or you can hop online and find someone to carpool with. One service that helps match up people is CarpoolWorld.com. Share-A-Ride is another program that helps match you with a carpool, but the turnaround time is two business days.
Cabs: Click here for Yelp.com's list of Philly cab companies.
SEPTA will be posting updates about the ongoing labor union negotiations on its website. Additional information, including a full service interruption guide is available via mobile download here.
And the @SEPTA_SOCIAL team will be troubleshooting via Twitter and updates.
Photo Credit: NBC10.com