SEPTA Strike Forces Commuters To Find Travel Alternatives
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The SEPTA strike was inconveniencing riders who had planned to use the regional rails over the weekend. Those who anticipated using the regional rails were forced to make alternate plans to get to their destination.
READ: SEPTA Regional Rail Service Interruption Plan
"It's going to put me about four hours behind schedule to get to my daughter's home," said one commuter. "She lives in Warminster. So now I have to go to the airport, which is going to take an hour and a half to two hours, because the taxi ride is $30, where the train is like $5, and then I've got to pick up a rental car."
"It's a real inconvenience," said another rider. "I was going to Delaware, and then I had to go to 30th Street Station and get a $40 dollar ticket for Amtrak. I was going to the beach. I was supposed to be there early in the morning."
For some, the commute was much longer than usual.
"I wanted to come from Lansdale down to 30th Street Station," said one woman. "My husband had to drive us. He was not happy. (It took) two hours."
For others, the strike was unexpected.
"I had to get to the Amtrak station, and the regional rail system by my aunt's house was down," said another woman. "I had to get my cousin to drive me in. Fortunately, he was there, because if he wasn't, I don't know how I would've gotten here."
Many more commuters were expected to have problems at the start of the work week.
"I think just because it's the weekend that people are going to be okay, but if this goes on throughout the week, it's really going to affect people who live outside of the city."
And while many were being inconvenienced, there were riders sympathetic to the SEPTA workers' strike.
"We had planned on taking the SEPTA rail," said another rider. "But I understand the strike and I understand that people need to make a decent wage. So I support them."
READ: Complete Coverage 'SEPTA Regional Rail Strike'