From The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS), by Thomas Fitzgerald
As the CEO and general manager of SEPTA, Leslie S. Richards had ambitions when she arrived at the organization’s headquarters in January 2020.
But a deadly infection spread just two months later. The area closed. The combined number of passengers on buses, trolleys, the subway, the El, and the Regional Rail fell by 92%.
Believe me, it was a strange period. As she got ready to leave after four years and eleven months in charge of the nation’s sixth-largest transit agency, Richards remarked, “I was barely standing.” Friday is her last day.
The top priorities on SEPTA’s to-do list were survival and recovery. As of September 30, the system had recovered somewhat, with an average of about 800,000 riders each week. That is comparable to previous years, although it falls short of the 1 million travelers per day in 2019.
At the same time, some of Richards’ bold projects were completed or are under underway. However, in a statement released late in the afternoon on October 24, Richards, 57, abruptly announced her resignation.
She pushed for reforms to update SEPTA administration and realign services to better accommodate riders’ evolving requirements. These include modernizing the trolley network with new, ADA-accessible cars and fixed stops, as well as implementing a bus revolution to simplify routes and increase bus frequency and dependability. Employers can buy go-anywhere rail passes at a discount and give them to staff members for free thanks to Key Advantage. A program called Reimagining Regional Rail has started.
Although Gov. Josh Shapiro offered a $153 million lifeline by stretching federal highway monies to the transportation system on Nov. 22, the bus reorganization and upgrades to Regional Rail have been delayed as SEPTA continues to suffer financial insecurity.
However, SEPTA says that two long-sought vehicle procurements will go forward because they are fully funded: a $714 million contract to replace SEPTA’s trolley fleet from the Reagan era and up to $864 million to buy more than 200 rail cars for the Market-Frankford Line, which will replace a fleet that breaks down frequently. SEPTA’s highest federal grant, $317 million, was awarded for the MFL project.
Richards, a former commissioner of Montgomery County, chair of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and secretary of PennDot, represented a change in leadership for SEPTA, which has historically given preference to internal candidates.
Richards is credited by supporters with broadening the leadership ranks and attempting to establish a top-down structure through staff meetings and listening sessions.
Richards stumbled a little. In order to maintain transit, she directed approximately $40 million in pandemic relief funding into the engineering and planning of the King of Prussia train expansion in 2021. It was canceled two years later after the federal government rejected a capital grant that was required for construction. In addition to having poor ridership estimates, the KOP project’s price had increased from $500 million to $3 billion when it was first proposed in 2012.
aboard Tuesday, March 5, 2024, police respond to a fatal shooting aboard a South Philadelphia SEPTA bus. This is the third time in three days that someone has been killed while boarding, getting on, or getting off a SEPTA bus. The passenger who was shot on the bus has passed away from his injuries. (The Philadelphia Inquirer/Heather Khalifa via AP)
When the Federal Transit Administration ordered the transit agency to improve safety procedures due to a declining operational safety record, the general manager also suffered.
Richards talked extensively about her achievements, failures, and frustrations in an interview with The Inquirer.
Biggest frustration
yearly trip to Harrisburg. Going to our local counties, we are fighting for funds. Constantly battling for funds and attempting to convince others that transit is a wise investment.
SEPTA had a $240 million budget shortfall entering the current fiscal year last July due to the loss of federal emergency operational aid for transit and growing costs.
In order to give the legislature more time to negotiate a solid mechanism to raise new transit funding, including a megadeal that would also allocate new monies for roads and bridges, as Senate Republicans demand, Governor Josh Shapiro characterized the recently announced $153 million for SEPTA as a bridge.
For the time being, the action prevented severe service cuts and a 29% fare hike that SEPTA claimed would bankrupt the organization.
If nothing changes, the budget shortfall will be recovered in six months.
After being named one of the 150 most influential persons in the region in 2024 (No. 7), Richards told Philadelphia Magazine, “I’m an optimist who worries a lot.” This statement was credited to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
At a news conference in May, state senator Frank Farry (center) advocated for increased financing for SEPTA.Media Services Commonwealth
Crime and grime
“Crime rates that were out of control have been reduced,” Richards added.
SEPTA has had a 35% decrease in violent offenses over the past year, while the Washington Metro system, Northern California’s BART, and New York have all seen declines of 19%, 10%, and 5.4%, respectively.
In addition to hiring 100 new employees to clean stations, cars, and tracks for $72 million, SEPTA reports that it now employs roughly 250 sworn transit police officers, including patrol supervisors. Nowadays, cleaning has its own department.
According to Richards, no one individual was ever in charge of monitoring and measuring everything. None of them collaborated.
Diversity and culture
Compared to when I initially arrived, when my team had 7% women and no minorities, my own senior leadership team now has 55% women and 36% minority representation, she added.
According to SEPTA, minority representation rose by roughly 10% and the number of women rose by 15% at lower levels of management.
According to Richards, systematic initiatives to increase employee consultation—including a brainstorming session for cost-cutting ideas—have shown positive results. Hearing that workers feel like they have a voice has been amazing. Although we still have a long way to go, we are making progress.
Bigger role for planning
According to Richards, the deputy treasurer title in the finance division was the top planning post at SEPTA when I arrived.
In order to give planners a say in choices that are typically made by the engineering and construction departments, she established a separate planning division with a director in the C-suite.
Large, significant projects have been completed, including the new bus system and the ongoing wayfinding redesign that uses directional signs, lettering, and colors to make the system easier to use.
Prioritizing infrastructure repairs has also involved tight collaboration between planners and operations staff.
At my core, I am a nerd. Richards said, “I get bogged down in the details.”
SEPTA’s general manager and CEO, Leslie S. Richards, at her corner office at 1234 Market St. with a view of City Hall. She brought to the firm the sensibility of a professional urban and regional planner.TNS
Parting words
Richards stated, “I think we’ve done a lot of good things, and we have a wonderful team here.” It’s now time for the following group of workers to take over.
Her responsibilities as a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design, which offers graduate degrees in urban and regional planning, will expand.
Indeed, Richards, a Center City resident, intends to take the SEPTA to work.
According to her, I’m simply making a couple stops on the Market-Frankford Line and getting off at either 31st or 34th Street. I can take the 21 or the 42 bus routes up Walnut or the trolleys over to 33rd.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2024
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