SEPTA Already Preparing For Challenge Of Pope Visit
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's more than ten months away, but SEPTA is already preparing for the Pope's visit next fall.
SEPTA officials have already been meeting with the city in anticipation of the announcement, and those meetings will continue.
"Everything is on the table as far as options," said SEPTA spokeswoman Jerri Williams, "and we're going to find a way to create new schedules and to make this happen."
When asked about the gridlock that happened for the Phillies World Series Parade, Williams said there is a big difference between that and the visit from Pope Francis.
"We only had a few days to look at the Phillies parade," she said. "It was on a Friday when we were already moving all of our commuters in and out of the city."
As for the smartcard, or SEPTA Key program, Williams said they will only roll out the service if they're sure they have enough time to work out all the bugs.
"Potentially, it could affect the timing of this," she said. "If we were planning to say launch it in July or August, that may not be enough time for us to work out the bugs before we have this big event in September."
And Williams said, SEPTA will do all it can to avoid inconveniencing regular commuters who are trying to get to or from work.
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