Green Philadelphia Transportation
Aside from being voted the fifth-most walkable city in America by www.WalkScore.com, Philadelphia offers green ways of getting to and around the city in every capacity:
Getting Here
Amtrak
Many visitors to Philadelphia enter via 30th Street Station, a major Amtrak hub situated in the center of the Northeast Corridor with service to other points west and south. In 2007, Amtrak substituted electric locomotives for diesel locomotives on the Keystone Corridor between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, PA, resulting in improved fuel efficiency and schedules. Amtrak has committed to a 6% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from their diesel locomotive fleet from 2003-2010 with their participation in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Amtrak uses diesel fuel produced at a higher volume per barrel of crude oil and electricity produced in the Northeast from a variety of fuels.
The Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
The Philadelphia International Airport recently purchased 13,000 megawatt hours per year of clean, renewable wind energy. A full 7% of their electricity is now from wind power. This purchase offsets more than 14 million pounds of carbon dioxide - the equivalent of planting more than 970,000 trees, or not driving more than 12 million miles. In fall 2007, the Philadelphia Airport earned a Green Power Award from the Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) for these efforts. The airport is also involved with wetlands creation and restoration and in saving the endangered Red-bellied and Eastern-Painted Turtles in surrounding areas.
Getting Around
SEPTA – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is the nation’s sixth largest public transportation system. SEPTA’s multimodal network of buses, trolleys, and trains covers 2,200 miles and provided 334 million passenger trips in 2011 – the largest total since 1989.
SEPTA’s ridership growth is due in part to initiatives that have improved its quality of service. A comprehensive customer service program developed a plan to enhance SEPTA’s performance across the 4 C’s – Communications, Cleanliness, Courtesy, and Convenience. These programs have resonated with customers, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and utilization of all SEPTA modes of transportation.
A parallel sustainability program has advanced SEPTA’s achievement of economic, social, and environmental objectives through the purchase of more fuel efficient vehicles (including 472 hybrid-electric buses, 1/3 of the entire fleet) and environmental programs (including single stream recycling at all passenger stations on the Broad Street, Market-Frankford, and Trolley Line Stations as well as Center City Regional Rail Stations).
These initiatives and many more will ensure that SEPTA remains on the cutting edge of public transportation service for years to come.
Phlash
Center City’s popular purple trolley loop provides a quick, easy, and inexpensive transit option for visitors and locals. The Phlash is a quick and easy connection between the city's historic attractions and cultural institutions as it connects 21 major tourist stops between Penn’s Landing and the Philadelphia Museum of Art with daily service every 12 minutes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning in May and running until the end of October.
PhillyCarShare
A non-profit organization, PhillyCarShare began with nine members and two cars. The organization now boasts more than 35,000 members and a fleet of more than 400 vehicles in 80 different neighborhoods in the greater Philadelphia region, making PhillyCarShare the fastest-growing car-share program in the world. In fact, PhillyCarShare has already taken an estimated 12,810 consumer-owned vehicles off Philadelphia’s roads. The success of PhillyCareShare has prompted a national car-sharing company, Zip Car, to establish operations in Philadelphia as well.
Bike Share Philadelphia
Bike Share Philadelphia is a network of organizations and individuals working to bring community-use bicycles to Philadelphia. A working group has convened to develop a business plan and policy recommendations that will ensure a bikesharing program that is not only successful and sustainable, but also a national model of excellence. The installation of 1,400 new bicycle racks around the City began in September, 2008. The racks will increase the safety and convenience of bicycle transportation in the City and improve pedestrian traffic by clearing the sidewalks of improperly locked bicycles.
