public transit

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:

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!)

It's part of our mantra, but we'll tell you again: Take the greener route this summer. Summers an amazing time to take advantage of vacations, near & far, but public transit can get you a lot further than you think. Headed to Atlantic City to gamble or the South Jersey shores? (Find out your boatload of public transit options, after the jump!)

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!)

Hope everyone had a Happy Earth Day Week and was able to get their green on! Here's what you missed in sustainability news this week: