SAY GOODBYE TO THE R5 (in name only at least)

PHILADELPHIA - Come July 25, the R5 (along with the R1, R2, R3, R6, R7, and R8) as most commuters know it will vanish into the history books.

On that day, SEPTA will officially drop the R designations and refer to it's Regional Rail lines by line names only.  For example, the R5 Paoli-Thorndale Line will simply be referred to as the Paoli-Thorndale Line. The only other Regional Rail line that will see a significant name change is the soon-to-be-former R6 Norristown line, which will be re-branded as the Manayunk-Norristown Line.  SEPTA will also be branding it's Regional Rail lines as a single color instead of the several different colors used to designate each rail line.

The new Regional Rail line names had been given a "soft launch" in recent weeks, as the R-desingators were removed from all city and suburban transit timetables starting with the June schedule change.  This marks the latest "re-branding" SEPTA has done for it's lines over the past couple of years, which has also inlcuded:

• The re-naming of the Route 100 rail line between 69th Street Terminal and Norristown as the "Norristown High Speed Line."
• The re-branding of all light rail lines - city and suburban - as a single color (green) on the SEPTA rail map.
• The discontinuation of the term "subway-surface" to designate the Routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36; they are now simply "trolley lines."

Separate from the name changes, SEPTA will be adjusting schedules on most of it's Regional Rail lines with the exception of the Airport, Chestnut Hill West, Cynwyd, and Warminster lines.

But, as long as were changing the names of most of the rail lines, why stop there?

Presently, there are eight bus routes that have letters as opposed to numbers.  This is a holdover from the old days in which bus routes were designated with letters and trolley and trackless trolley lines were designated with numbers.  During the 1980's and 1990's, most of the lettered bus routes were rebranded into numbered routes (for example, the E bus was re-branded Route 65).  The last route to be re-named was Route X between Chestnut Hill and Northeast Philadlphia via Glenside and Jenkintown, which is now Route 77.  This took place in 1995.

As long as SEPTA is making changes to everything else in the system - including renaming Pattison station after a major telecom company whose cell phone service leaves a lot to be desired - perhaps it's time to finish re-naming all of the remaining lettered bus routes into numbers.  There are enough gaps in the numbering system to make this possible.

For example, Route C - of which there are two separate branches that are essentially be two separate routes - would be re-named Route 41 (Cheltenham and Ogontz Avenues to City Hall) and Route 51 (Fern Rock Subway Station to Broad and Geary Streets).  SEPTA, in fact, attempted to re-name the C a few years ago as part of one of the doomsday route restructuring.

The Ogontz to City Hall branch would've been branded Route 41, but have been cut back to Olney Terminal; the Fern Rock to South Philly branch would've been named Route 72 and cut back to Broad and Erie.  Outcry from transit activists (save for the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, which supported the plan as part of its platform to redirect passengers off of bus routes and onto the more efficient rail system) put a stop to that plan and similar plans to cut back the 3 bus to Front and Berks and the 31 bus to 63rd and Market to avoid duplicating the El.

As for the other lettered routes:

• Route G between Overbrook/Lankenau Hospital and South Philadelphia would be re-named Route 45.
• Routes H and XH between Broad and Erie and Ogontz Loop would be given to separate designators: the H via Mount Pleasant and Easton Road would become the 63, while the XH via Washington Lane would become the 69.
• Route J between Germantown and Frankford would become Route 76.
• Route K between East Falls and Frankford would become Route 49.
• Route L between Olney and Erdenhiem/Plymouth Meeting Mall would become Route 16.
• Route R between Wissahickon Transfer Center and Frankford Terminal would become Route 4.

The reason the 74 designator is not being used in this example is becuase I have on at least two occasions over the years proposed that Route 74 be a limited stop bus route along Roosevelt Blvd. between Frankford Terminal and the Neshaminy and Oxford Valley Malls.  Despite the fact that the existing 14 bus is extremely busy, it's a long, lumbering trip because of all the stops along Roosevelt Blvd.

Also, Route 78 is being held as a proposed new route connecting the IRS campus in Northeast Philadelphia with Cornwells Heights Rail Station and 30th Street Station.  The rumored new route, which is scheduled to be launched in September, is being designed primarily for IRS workers whose shifts end after the R7 (oops, I mean, Trenton Line) ends service for the night.

Speaking of bus routes, since SEPTA no longer refers to the Market-Frankford Line as the "Blue Line" or the Broad Street Subway as the "Orange Line" - this was a half-hearted attempt to turn the SEPTA urban rail system into WMATA's MetroRail system as far as naming was concerned - answer me this.

Why are the night owl bus shuttles for both rail lines still referred to as the "Blue Night Owl" and "Orange Night Owl" when the colors are not used for the rail lines themselves?

Perhaps it's time to give these routes numbers instead.  San Francisco and Chicago have overnight routes with dedicated numbers that are not used during the day, so why not SEPTA?

Hence, the Market-Frankford Owl is designated Route 81, while the Broad Street Owl is designated Route 82.

See?  Problem solved.  Of course, this being SEPTA, the chances of any of these bus route name changes ever taking place are slim and none.

Of course, that's just my opinion... And, as always, you're entitled to it... =)