PATCO Cancels Recently Announced Owl Schedule Over Safety Concerns

LINDENWOLD, NJ (CBS) -- PATCO has announced that it is canceling the planned changes to its owl service after receiving feedback from the public about security concerns. The transportation company announced the decision on their website.

The plan, which was scrubbed on Monday, was announced early last week. It would have shut off service at about half the PATCO stations between 1 a.m. through 4:30 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. through 4:30 a.m. on weekends. The trade off was extra security.

"We had a goal to try and get a police officer on the train during Owl Service and to have the officers to be available in the stations when the trains arrived in the stations," said PATCO President John T. Hanson.

PATCO Postpones Implementation Of New Overnight Schedule

According to PATCO officials, the new security proposal came in the wake of a few recent incidents, including a late night sexual assault that happened on a PATCO back in January. The people who live near the half dozen stops that were going to lose overnight service say, the now cancelled plan went too far.

Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley was among the first to oppose the owl service changes.

"There's got to be a balance between the safety and what the needs are of the working public," said Mayor Maley.

The agency will continue to evaluate the feedback and study issues related to security during owl service hours.