SEPTA buses are usually carrying over 40 people, compared to a car's measly one. That's at least 40 less cars on your streets. I ride SEPTA buses every day and sometimes in order for the bus to move, it has to ignore the light, otherwise cars will NEVER give the bus a break. I think you should try riding on a bus to get the other side of the picture. Bus riders endure massive back-ups because buses cannot maneuver through traffic like cars can, and cars are causing the traffic.

The traffic on Ridge has two red lights that operate regularly to allow pedestrians to cross at the crosswalk and allow buses to pull out onto the street from the transfer center. That is the chance for the bus to move, not when the light is green and traffic is moving. If any other motorist were to pull such a move they would be ticketed for a moving violation, incur points on their license, and pay a higher insurance premium. There is no excuse for breaking the law, no matter how many passengers are on a bus. Traffic laws exist to ensure the safety of all motorists. I narrowly avoided a major accident last year when a bus pulled out in front of me against the light and my only course of action was to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid it. Fortunately there were no cars coming the other way. Up until 2 years ago I commuted by bus daily, so I understand the pros and cons of riding on a bus, which is completely irrelevant to this discussion.

I understand your reply, but I do feel it is indeed relevant. I would support you if you were instead advocating or suggesting a better system to ensure it's not dangerous. In this case, you appear to just want to the buses to obey a light signal that does not work. I've stood at the transfer center (at veerrryyyy long stretches waiting for a late bus) and it would be a massive back-up if the buses did not pull out against the light. And, the light goes on for much longer than necessary for any pedestrian to get across, so time is wasted while no buses are pulling out & everyone is just stopped. They need to look at that entire area, and deal with the *car* congestion and the absolute insane drivers that are going way too fast for that area, not the bus congestion and the fact that buses pull out against the light. If I am remembering correctly, right on red is legal there and done by all the cars as well - it's just noticeable when buses do it because it forces cars to slow down or stop. No doubt there are a lot of septa drivers that need a lesson in driver etiquette and even safety and I do understand that it is an unsafe area in absolutely every way possible (drivers, pedestrians, etc), but I'm sick of no one looking to the issue of the car congestion, and simply complaining about buses.

The signal does work and I often witness it work, yet there are far too many occasions when bus drivers are too impatient to wait for the light, sometimes merely causing an inconvenience to dozens of other people or worse, creating dangerous situations for moving traffic. You say yourself that the light goes on for much longer than necessary for any pedestrian to get across, which is also plenty of time for a bus to pull out of the driveway.

Drivers may only make a right on red when they YIELD to oncoming traffic. My entire complaint is when they do not yield to moving traffic, which is entirely illegal and unsafe to everyone involved.

This issue is not a platform for debate on the merits of bus vs. car travel. It is to address routine and flagrant traffic and safety violations committed by the employees of a single entity, for the benefit of everyone walking, biking, or driving on this stretch of road. By all means, please open a separate issue to address your other concerns about traffic in the area; it is most certainly a mess for a variety of other reasons as well.

closed

i don't get how this issue is closed if it's a daily occurrence? have SEPTA drivers been retrained on obeying basic traffic laws?