``That's Joe,'' says Van Four's driver, recognizing the passenger's pickup point.
``Yes it is. He's going to be there at 8:05,'' Thornton responds.
Thornton is part of a van service system that SpectaGuard has set up for employees who usually depend on SEPTA buses, trolleys, the Market-Frankford El or the Broad Street Subway. She answers and logs an average of 600 calls per day. Account manager Fran McMullen also works the phones during the day, particularly during shift changes when the office receives a high volume of calls.
When the SEPTA strike began June 1, businesses such as SpectaGuard came up with transportation alternatives to ensure employees would be able to show up for work.
With great effort and expense, department stores, cleaning services, hospitals and other employers have rented vans, minibuses and drivers to transport the workers.
While getting their employees to work, retail businesses can't do the same for shoppers.
The 38-day strike has hammered some small businesses. Even so, Mayor Rendell's offer of interest-free loans to small businesses has drawn few applications.
SpectaGuard's employee delivery system is more complicated than, say, a department store's: Its workers don't all pour into one central location; they're assigned - and delivered - to jobs all over the region.
More than 3,800 passengers have been transported in SpectaGuard vans during the strike, including 900 passengers last week, company spokesman Larry Rubin said.
SpectaGuard's transportation command center is staffed 24 hours. Maps of Philadelphia and van schedules surround the phone switchboard. The vans do not provide door-to-door service, but have specified pickup and drop-off points.
``Why didn't you call in sooner?'' Thornton asks one caller. ``You needed to take two vans and you're only at 15th and Market now.''
Running substitute transportation services has not been cheap for employers.
