Subway--Comparative+System+Development+in+Philadelphia+and+Boston

__ A Comparative Analysis of Urban American Heavy Rail Subway Systems and __ __ Society’s Impact on Their Development __ In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the urban population of cities in the Eastern United States swelled to unprecedented numbers. With so many people gathering in such small geographic areas, the need for mass public transportation became more pressing. City planners and engineers began to explore the use of subways to solve these issues. The first of these underground rail systems was born in Boston in 1897, followed by Philadelphia later in the 1900’s. Since the construction of their subways, Philadelphia and Boston have shared similar statistics in population density and budget. In addition, both subway systems were purchased in the 1960’s by external transportation companies (SEPTA and MBTA, respectively). However, despite these similarities, the Philadelphia subway of today looks much different than that of Boston. The latter is cleaner, larger, more active, more modern, and more efficient. I hypothesize that this superiority is directly linked to societal factors, including lower unemployment rate and poverty levels, shown through historical statistics and articles regarding subway improvements and expansion. 1. Introduction 2. Inception of subways/rapid transit in the United States 2.1. Boston – The First Subway (1897) 2.2. Philadelphia 3. Early History 3.1. Boston 3.2. Philadelphia 4. MBTA/SETPA Era 4.1. Boston 4.2. Philadelphia 5. Population/societal statistics 1900-2007 6. Relation of societal data trends to subway technological history as previously examined 7. References // 2.1 BOSTON – THE FIRST SUBWAY // The Boston subway was truly started in 1887, when the city board voted in a small majority to build a sub-surface transit system. The initial system was designed to get streetcars off the street to limit traffic congestion that was rapidly becoming an issue in major cities such as Boston (Huse). The problem of such a major city was the result of not just its residents, but also the residents of all the surrounding areas. Though the population of Boston at this time was around 600,000, the total number of people doing business within the city limits was more than double that (Pinanski). The Tremont Street Subway Line was opened on September 1st, 1897 to lines of hundreds of people eager to get a ride on the newfangled electrically powered trolleys, making it the first subway in the United States (“First Car Off...”). // 2.2 PHILADELPHIA // The congestion problems of Philadelphia were nearly identical to those of Boston. However, heeding the advice of many experts called in to assess the situation, Philadelphia’s rapid transit system began with above ground and elevated high speed lines. The Market Street line was opened on March 4, 1907 and extended from 15th street to 69th street. Not long after, the line was expanded to 2nd street in an underground portion, giving Philadelphia its first subway in 1908 (SEPTA Museum). // 3.1 BOSTON // After the opening of the Tremont Street Line (today a partially underground trolley system known as the Green Line), Boston saw the addition of three additional subway lines. The orange line was opened in 1901 with a track length of about 2.75 miles. This line was then expanded in 1909 with an additional 4.25 miles of track. The blue line was opened in 1904, with an original track length of just over 1 mile. The blue line saw two expansions in this time period with an added length of about 0.25 miles in 1916 and another 4 miles in 1952. The red line was opened in 1912 with a track length of about 5.75 miles and expanded to a total of 10.5 miles. In 1963, the Boston subway system featured about 23.25 miles of track between these three lines (MBTA.com). During this period, subway operations were overseen by the Boston Elevated Railway Company until 1947 until it was purchased by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, or MTA. The original Boston subway cars were manufactured by Pulman-Standard (blue and orange lines), Standard Steel and the Laconia Company (red line). All of these cars were of steel construction, varying slightly depending on manufacturer. The blue line cars were unique in that they used a pantograph system to deliver their electricity, while the red line used on-board generators and batteries and the orange line used the more common third rail pickup. Advances in this period were seen in 1930 with the simultaneous operation of all car doors and lighting was placed in cars in the early beginning in 1947. // 3.2 PHILADELPHIA // William S. Twining, a consulting engineer who would later become the chief engineer of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, conducted many studies on the possibility and implementation of rapid transit in the city. When advising city officials, Twining could not recommend a subway system over surface lines simply due to the expense of the project (Twining, “The Investigation…”). Twining based much of his advice on a cost analysis of the situation and found that it was more economical to build surface lines rather than subways. With a great deal of buildings and structure already built above ground, it would have been very expensive to dig for tunnels (Twining, “A Study…”). Though it was necessary to build underground for a short section of track in the Market street line, much of Philadelphia’s rapid transit system remained above ground. The Market Street line added roughly a mile of underground track in 1908 and another 7.25 miles of above ground track in 1922 (SEPTA museum). The Broad Street Line opened in 1928 with 5.5 miles of subway track. This line was expanded in 1930, 1936, and 1956 with an additional mile of track. These lines were operated by the privately-owned Philadelphia rapid Transit Company until 1940, when it was taken over by the Philadelphia Transportation Company, or PTC (SEPTA.com). Track expansion stopped here until 1973, despite the recognized need for additional track in the Northeast sections of the city. Studies were performed which showed population shifts and issues with travel between the Northeast and center city, but nothing was ever done about the issue (Engineering Consultants). Both lines featured heavy rail steel cars powered by a third rail pickup system in their original design. These cars were manufactured by the Pressed Steel Car Company and the J.B. Brill Company. It was not until 1960 that the Market Street Line cars were replaced by the Budd Company made M-3 model cars (SEPTA museum). // 4.1 BOSTON // In 1964, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) took over control of the entirety of Boston’s public transportation services, absorbing the MTA (MBTA.com). The change occurred due to weak leadership of the MTA, which led to struggling ridership and overall stagnation of the system. The MBTA immediately began advertising, expanding its service and obtaining new equipment. The MBTA was also able to take advantage of a new federal funding program for expanding public transportation, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (MBTA.com). This turnaround led to the addition of 3.75 miles of track on the Orange Line in 1975 and expansions of close to 2.5 and 8.5 miles to the Red Line in 1980 and 1983 respectively (MBTA.com). The original 0500 Pulman-Standard rail cars of the blue line were finally able to be replaced in 1979. The current Blue Line cars are 0600 series models from Hawker-Siddeley Canada Car, which use a pantograph electrical pickup system to deliver power to the cars (O’Regan). The Orange Line cars were replaced in 1980 with the 01200 series Hawker-Siddeley Canada Car subway cars. Red Line cars were replaced in 1969 by the Pullman 01500 series stainless steel cars with additional 01700 series replacements coming in 1988 and the 01800 series added in 1994 (O’Regan). // 4.2 PHILADELPHIA // In 1963, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SETPA) was formed by state charter to consolidate public transportation and railway companies. It was not until 1968, however, that SEPTA took control of the Philadelphia subway lines. After the takeover, SEPTA provided some much-needed expansion of the Broad Street Line, adding 2.75 miles of track. This addition was only made to South Philadelphia, however, not to the Northeast where expansion had been needed since 1948 (Engineering Consultants). Though a new city proposal for this Northeast expansion was made in 1964, it failed to become a reality due to funding concerns and lack of support (Roosevelt Expressway). Other changes made by SEPTA include the eventual replacement of the Broad Street Line cars with the Kawasaki B-IV model cars in 1982 and the Market Street Line cars with the new M-4 series cars manufactured by Ad-Tranz in 1997. The new M-4 cars featured air-conditioning and a smoother ride (O’Regan). Customer satisfaction surveys from the MBTA and SEPTA were examined and personal interviews with people who have utilized both subway systems were conducted to explore the modern day differences of the cities. All data obtained shows a clear bias in opinion in a positive light on Boston’s subway system (MBTA.com, SEPTA.com, personal interviews). Riders are typically more satisfied with the service of the MBTA subway for its ease of use and cleanliness than the SEPTA system. Riders also mention that Boston has a subway link to the city’s airport, while Philadelphia does not, greatly adding to the convenience of Boston’s system. Statistical data of Philadelphia and Boston’s population, population density, labor force of the city from 1900-2005 and recent unemployment data form 1970 to the present was examined to explore any trends that may relate societal data to this slanted public opinion. The data reveals that the population of the city of Philadelphia has always been much higher than that of Boston city. Philadelphia has averaged a population of 1.7 million people since 1900 and Boston only 666,000. The population densities of the two cities, however, have remained similar over the past century, with Boston having an average of 14,600 people per square mile and Philadelphia at 13,600 people per square mile. The labor force of the two cities has also been appropriately skewed, at an average of 337,000 and 727,000 for Boston and Philadelphia, respectively. Unemployment data for as far back could be found reveals that since 1970, Boston has had a lower unemployment rate, at an average of 4.81% versus 7.25 percent. Finally, the median family income was also proven to be lower for Philadelphia families than families living in Boston over the past century (census.gov). Track length of the cities subway systems has grown with Boston typically having more track length. Currently, Boston has roughly 31.67 miles of subway while Philadelphia has a mere 24.68 miles. Recent ridership statistics also show that Boston’s subways seen an average of 353,766 riders a day, while Philadelphia’s subways handle 293,532 riders per day. After analyzing the population and statistical data of Boston and Philadelphia, the questions should be raised about why a larger city with similar density has less rapid transit than a smaller city. Both cities have shared similar subway histories, both beginning within 10 years of each other. The cities have shared similar population densities and population trends in this time period, but Boston has had more track and service nearly the entire century. The shifts in control of the subway systems have also been similar in time and number with takeovers of subway management by the Boston Electric Railway, the MTA and MBTA for Boston and the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, the PTC and SEPTA for Philadelphia. This statistical data shows a definite link between the subway system of a city and its society. Philadelphia’s larger population with fewer miles of quick and convenient subway track to service its city’s workers can be directly linked to the lower ridership. If fewer workers can get on the subway from their homes or to their job locations, they are forced to use other transportation modes. The lower ridership may also be linked to the general lower opinion of the system as unclean and unreliable, which can be directly related to the subway technology. The Philadelphia system typically upgraded its equipment later than the Boston system, resulting in a lack of modern technology. Data also shows a link between the unemployment and lower median income of families. Since the Philadelphia subway system cannot amply service the entire city, many families are left looking for other, slower and less reliable modes of transportation, which can easily harm their job performance. Thus the fewer miles of track to cover a greater city area with for a greater population can be linked to societal problems such as unemployment and income. Though no concrete scientific conclusions can be made from analyzing data such as this and drawing conclusions from popular opinion, this study has shown that trends between societal problems and the success of a city’s subway system as the most effective means of city transportation do exist and an effort to increase subway funding and care should be made in order to improve such issues. Primary: Bancroft, William A. __Statement on Behalf of the Boston Elevated Railway Company__. Boston: Geo. H. Ellis Co., 1915. Engineering Consultants, Philadelphia. “Preliminary Location Survey, Northeast Extension of Broad Street Subway.” //Department of City Transit//, Record 69.9, 1948. “First Car Off the Earth, The Tremont Street Subway Opens.” __The Boston Globe__. 7 Sept. 1897. Vol. LII, no. 63. Huse, Charles Phillips. __The Financial History of Boston__. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1916. Pinanski, A. E. __The Street Railway System of Metropolitan Boston__. New York: McGraw Publishing Co., 1908. Twining, William S. __A Report Upon the Proposal of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company__. Philadelphia, 29 March 1917. Twining, William S. __A Study and Review of the Problem of Passenger Transportation in Philadelphia__. Philadelphia, 29 March 1916. Twining, William S. __The Investigation of Traffic Possibilities of Proposed Subway Lines__. //Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science// 37.1 (Jan. 1911): 59-67. Secondary: Agosta, Daniel. Personal Interview. 19 January 2009. Carlson, Kelsey. Personal Interview. 17 January 2009. “Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority.” website. 22 Jan. 2009.  O’Regan, Gerry. “MBTA Blue Line.” Website. 14 Feb. 2009. . O’Regan, Gerry. “MBTA Red Line.” Website. 14 Feb. 2009. . O’Regan, Gerry. “MBTA Orange Line.” Website. 14 Feb. 2009. . O’Regan, Gerry. “Market-Frankfort Elevated.” Website. 14 Feb. 2009. . O’Regan, Gerry. “Broad Street Subway.” Website. 14 Feb. 2009. . Pelletier, Valarie, Personal Interview. 5 February, 2009. “Roosevelt Expressway: Historic Overview.” Website. 20 Feb. 2009.  SEPTA Museum. 1234 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA. Personal visit. 1 March 2009. “Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.” website. 22 Jan. 2009.  “U.S. Census Bureau.” website. 22 Jan. 2009. 
 * __ 1. INTRODUCTION __**
 * __ OUTLINE __**
 * __ 2. INCEPTION OF SUBWAY SYSTEMS __**
 * __ 3. EARLY HISTORY __**
 * __ 4. MBTA/SEPTA ERA __**
 * __ 5. STATISTICS __**
 * __ 6. TRENDS & CONCLUSIONS __**
 * __ 7. REFERENCES __**