SEPTA jumped into action immediately after the collapse of the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 close to the Cottman Avenue exit on Sunday and added additional routes in Northeast Philadelphia, writes Emma Dooling for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The transit authority also called upon their labor unions leadership to help with bringing emergency plans together.

SEPTA recorded an increase in ridership in the days after the incident, along with positive feedback from riders.

Considering that SEPTA has been grappling with low ridership as well as an imminent $240 million fiscal cliff, its CEO and General Manager Leslie Richards said she is hoping that the quick response it provided will result in more regular riders and lead to more funding for the transit authority.

“I hope everything works out so that we can always respond like this, and that we can work with our funders and our elected officials to make sure that we can always respond to something like this,” said Richards. “Because as we’ve seen, things can change overnight, and we want to be there for everyone.”

Read more about SEPTA in the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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