So the article about SEPTA's new General Manager is worth reading here.

Top lines:

• The new GM rides the R3 ever day.
• He wants to make customer service and cleanliness a priority.
• Plans to extend peak service some to ease overcrowding.
• Beyond that, a new smart-card fare system is top goal.

Sounds pretty good...but I want more!

I know there is some passion for smart-cards among regulars, but I don't really get it. I understand the advantage abstractly, but when SEPTA can't get it together to make it easy to sell Transpasses now in neighborhoods, how are smart cards going to be any better? They may not always be legal, but most corner stores do sell tokens. Unless SEPTA installs machines on corners, or continues to allow vehicles to take cash, it's gonna be a pain if you forget to load your smart card up when you are in CC or at a major transit stop.

And in the larger context of a system that has plenty of room to expand its hours and routes, why put money into a fare system right away?

As I mentioned the other day, the DRPA and PATCO are talking about some really exciting things--expanded rail service in Gloucester county and a possible new trolley route in Center City. The new route could potentially run from as far as the Art Museum to the Waterfront.

And, like San Fransisco's well-known F route trolleys (which are actually ex-Philadelphia trollys) this could be a real tourist attraction.

Not only are they more eco-friendly, but trolleys hold 1/3 more passengers than buses and the creation of a new route would ease traffic and parking congestion in both Fairmount and the South Philly-Ikea route (which will get worse if the casino is built). The biggest problem this new route will face--I bet even more than the $--is dealing with SEPTA.

Let's not forget that SEPTA has promised to do something for years about the Route 23 and 56 trolleys, not to mention the electric trolley-buses in South Philly and IN Frankford that were supposed to have been replaced.

And no matter how great the new GM of SEPTA is, let's not forget that screwy board of directors that is way unfairly tilted toward the suburbs.

So I hope this new dude is really cool, but I'd like to hear a little more on vision.

(Let's not forget how cool it is that Mayor Nutter has revamped Mayoral office of Transportation, and Rina Cutler, his appointee sound great (but does not start till March). I can't wait to see what she does.

Transit development is a major tool for sustainable economic development, and a good transit does more to attract business and new residents than many of the other tricks we use now.