I-Team Undercover: SEPTA Money Up in Smoke

I-Team Undercover: SEPTA Money Up In Smoke

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
SEPTA commuters are being asked to foot a fare increase.

"I'm going to have to start paying more, and I've got to factor that into my budget," said one rider.

SEPTA is hitting you up for more money, so you expect SEPTA to spend it wisely. But wait to you see what our hidden cameras captured SEPTA workers doing, wasting your money and possibly putting you in danger.

It's pretty simple. The law says bus drivers, including SEPTA bus drivers, must not idle their engines. The only exceptions: If it's too warm or cold outside to accommodate passenger comfort. Shutting off the engine saves money and reduces pollutants, but some SEPTA drivers aren't getting the message.

We're in Suburban Square. Bus 5814 is waiting for passengers, and the official high temperature at the airport this day is 68 degrees. That's important because air quality regulations say drivers cannot idle when the temperature is between 32 and 75 degrees.

"You're not supposed to be running the bus," Eyewitness News I-Team reporter Jim Osman said. "That's the rule, sir."

"I understand that," the driver said. But we caught this driver idling for 12 minutes. He didn't shut off the engine until we pulled out our cameras.

"So you don't have to follow the rules, then? Is that what you're saying?" Osman asked.

On another day, we catch this SEPTA bus engine idling for 15 minutes, and another SEPTA bus sits idling for 25 minutes. Again, in both cases, the temperature is not warm or cold enough for the bus to legally idle.

"Do you normally idle the bus for that long?" Jim Osman asked one driver.

"No, sir," the driver said.

If every SEPTA bus idled 30 minutes per day, it would waste at least $200,000 a year in fuel, according to an EPA calculator.

"It's absolutely outrageous," said Logan Welde, who contacted us after he documented dozens of SEPTA buses idling for up to an hour in his Ardmore neighborhood.

"SEPTA on one hand can say they need to raise fares because they don't have enough money, and then on the other hand, they can get away with such abuse and such unresponsible, neglectful waste," Welde said.

Philadelphia's Clean Air Council says it gets a lot of online complaints about SEPTA at IdleFreePhilly.org.

"As soon as we created the website, we knew we had to meet with SEPTA," said Kate Zaidan of the Clean Air Council. "It's such a large fleet, and they are so visible in the city."

SEPTA's Richard Maloney says what we discovered is unacceptable.

"What's the tolerance level of this happening?" asked Jim Osman.

"There's no tolerance level," Maloney said. "Buses shouldn't be left idling."

And when SEPTA bus drivers don't follow policy, it can have serious consequences. In March a teen stole an unattended SEPTA bus. Police tell Eyewitness News the bus was left idling with the keys in it.

And look at this: A SEPTA driver leaves her bus and is headed to a bookstore. And her bus? Its engine is idling and the bus is unattended for almost 15 minutes.

The driver concedes the bus was running but claims the keys weren't in the bus. But she never addresses the waste of fuel and money.

A SEPTA spokesman says it is possible to have the bus engine running without a key, but you need the key to drive it.

As for the stolen bus, a SEPTA supervisor claims it was not idling when the teen got in the driver's seat. But Upper Darby Police told Eyewitness News again late today, they've determined the bus was left running with the key in it.

Idling is against state law and city law when the temperature is between 32 degrees and 75 degrees. It also violates SEPTA policy. We sent SEPTA information on the buses we focused on in our investigation. We'll let you know if any action is taken against the drivers.

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Video: http://cbs3.com/video/?id=101924@kyw.dayport.com

Related Article: http://cbs3.com/specialreports/I.Team.Investigation.2.1665665.html