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SEPTA riders feel unsafe and say mask enforcement could be better, COVID-19 travel survey finds

Riders feel safer going to a grocery store than riding SEPTA, according to the survey.

A SEPTA bus driver wears a mask while waiting at the light on Broad and Spring Garden in Philadelphia. SEPTA has released the results to a recent COVID-19 travel survey.
A SEPTA bus driver wears a mask while waiting at the light on Broad and Spring Garden in Philadelphia. SEPTA has released the results to a recent COVID-19 travel survey.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer

Riders believe that taking a trip on SEPTA is less safe than going to the grocery store and that the authority could do a much better job of enforcing the mask requirement it mandated in June, according to passengers who responded to its recent COVID-19 Travel Survey.

The results came from a questionnaire SEPTA released over the summer that “will be used to help SEPTA welcome customers back,” according to the authority’s COVID-19 recovery plan titled “Move Better Together” and published Tuesday.

“I was actually pleased with the survey, that people who have been on our system feel good and the more frequently they use the system, the better they feel," SEPTA General Manager Leslie S. Richards said. "I found that to be extremely positive.”

SEPTA collected the information from July 1 through 28. About 2,700 riders took part in the survey, made available through the authority’s website, social media platforms, email, as well as by outside groups like the University of Pennsylvania. Anyone could participate, not just those who have resumed riding since the pandemic, Richards said.

Respondents weighed in from across the authority’s service modes, including 1,425 who ride SEPTA buses, 1,343 Market-Frankford Line riders, 1,225 from Regional Rail, 969 from the Broad Street Line, 633 trolley riders, and 163 from the Norristown High Speed Line. Some were able to give insight on multiple modes.

The full findings of SEPTA’s COVID-19 survey can be found below: