Septa

I CHECKED to see if Dan Geringer's article on the SEPTA hearing (Oct. 20) was a news article or an opinion piece. Or maybe humor. Let's see, Mr. Geringer is not listed as a columnist, and the article did not appear under "Opinion," so I guess it's supposed to be a news article. I learned from it that SEPTA is engaged in : " 'Show Me the Money!' " "doomsday," "scary," "mass hysteria," "sadistic bloodletting" worse than "Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees" and is "allegedly teetering on the brink of Transit Armageddon.

OVER THE last week, the state has come up with several hundred million dollars more for SEPTA. So what should the transit agency do with it: Save the transfers, use it to avoid higher fares, save specific services? Other suggestions? Send your replies to "Burning Question" at the addresses on this page.

Commonwealth Court Judge James Gardner Colins said he will issue a decision by Wednesday on whether to allow SEPTA to impose temporarily a city transit division fare increase. The agency sought relief from Colins after Common Pleas Judge Samuel M. Lehrer declared the fare boost illegal and enjoined SEPTA from charging higher prices while the matter is under appeal. SEPTA contends the authority, under state law, has the power to increase fares while the dispute is ironed out in court.

SEPTA's legal department suffered a massive breakdown in procedures, but engaged in no conspiracy when the transit agency counter-sued the mother of a boy maimed by an escalator in 1996. That is the main theme of the report of an outside investigation due to be released tomorrow, according to two SEPTA officials. One of the officials - both asked to remain anonymous - said a panel of attorneys interviewed about 30 to 40 people and reviewed reams of documents before reaching that conclusion.

Both After Six, Philadelphia's famous name tuxedo manufacturer, and SEPTA have been frequent visitors to the Daily News business and general news pages lately: After Six because of its flirtation with closing, and SEPTA because of its unstoppable loss of riders. Besides the common theme of adversity tying these unlikely partners together, the stories of After Six and SEPTA tell a composite tale of underlying problems in our city. Loss of ridership at SEPTA has generated a myriad of corrective ideas from transit experts.

Alexander Holley, the fired SEPTA trolley operator convicted of endangering the lives of passengers and crew after his trolley ran into the rear of another in Haverford Township, has been sentenced to 3 to 23 months in prison. Traces of cocaine and marijuana were found in Holley's system after the crash Jan. 26 on the Route 100 Norristown High-Speed Line. Seventeen people were injured in the 8:30 p.m. crackup just north of the Ardmore Avenue station. Holley's northbound trolley, testimony indicated at his trial, ran through a yellow caution signal and a red stop sign before ramming the rear of another northbound trolley that was stopped behind a disabled maintenance car. Holley, 26, of Jefferson Street near 61st in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia, was convicted in September on 27 counts of recklessley endangering others.

IT SEEMS that every few months the Daily News finds something new to expose about SEPTA's failing stewardship of its equipment and support systems. Instead of pointing out SEPTA's flaws in a piecemeal fashion, why not urge the state to form a commission to, once and for all, visit every site and every maintenance facility, test every device and make a clear, comprehensive determination of just what shape SEPTA and its equipment are in. I feel that this will result in a long list of problems that can be solved in the context of a broad maintenance maintenance program and will force SEPTA to do a better day-to-day job of overseeing its responsibilities to the riding public.

G. Bradley Rainer and William H. Black Jr., the independent examiners who conducted public hearings on SEPTA's proposal for massive service cuts, have concluded that implementing them would be "devastating" and have recommended that they be rescinded. The examiners are on firm ground on both counts. The SEPTA board should comply with their recommendation. Besides being devastating, the cuts would be unnecessary. Gov.-elect Robert P. Casey, who will take office in January, has made a firm commitment to deal on a priority basis with funding problems of SEPTA and other transit authorities in the commonwealth.

Since SEPTA General Manager Louis Gambaccini seems perplexed at the public's obvious refusal to believe that SEPTA is in fact "better than driving," I will explain the situation to him as clearly and slowly as I can. Ridership has not been dwindling to record lows in recent years because of some collective denial of SEPTA'S many wonders and benefits. To put it simply, SEPTA still sucks. I am among the unfortunate who must depend solely on SEPTA for transportation in and around Philadelphia.

If SEPTA doesn't dedicate more money toward improving city services and restoring urban trolley lines, Mayor Rendell says he'll derail SEPTA's program of transit improvements through the 21st century. "If these accommodations are not forthcoming, we will be left with no choice but to veto the SEPTA 1998-2009 Capital Budget and Program," Rendell warned in a blistering letter late last week to SEPTA General Manager John K. Leary Jr. "SEPTA is concerned and attentive to the issues raised by Mayor Rendell," Leary said in response yesterday, speaking through Stephan Rosenfeld, SEPTA assistant general manager for public affairs.