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penguinchange t1_j5muumy wrote

Is there any tip for riding the patco safely or is it a gamble at this point

I don’t mean for that ^ to sound bait-y, I know I’ve heard the el/septa is worse but still - the bums and stuff are out of control on the patco now. There was a dude at the haddonfield station tonight cursing and throwing trash all over the lobby, a dude stumbling around and staring oddly on my train cart through the seat crack, and lots of agressive dudes always in the 15/16 station. Is 12/13th or 9/10th better ? Is the cart by the front where the conductor is the safest? I have no choice but to use the train to commute home, but am very emotionally exhausted these last couple days - depending on what cart I choose I feel relaxed enough to read and next night a dude sits right next to me and positions himself to stare at me the entire ride as some sort of a power move. At the moment the only solution I can think of is pepper spray over the left shoulder for good luck!

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thefrozendivide t1_j5q9r6a wrote

Patco is spectacular and nothing like the BSL OR MFL. It's clean, on time, and a pleasant ride.

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LFKhael t1_j5qdean wrote

Just don't get off at Broadway/Walter Rand if you can help it.

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penguinchange t1_j5rk8d1 wrote

i have been taking the patco home from jersey into the city for the past 6 months , usually later at night and during these colder months it’s kind of not always as pleasant as it was in the summer so I think it maybe depends on what time you’re talking

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a-german-muffin t1_j5p19nr wrote

Back when I commuted on PATCO, 12th/13th was usually the least terrible of the bunch—the end of the line was only busy at peak commute times, whereas 12th/13th and 9th/10th would get used a bit more (people going to Jeff, etc.).

As for the trains themselves, sitting up near the conductor's usually a good bet if you're feeling unsafe — but PATCO's usually pretty responsive if you reach out about issues, which might help, too.

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PhillyPanda t1_j5y9a96 wrote

I don’t have any issues going from 15/16th to 8th and market. Homeless in the station, but that’s gotten better since the encampments during the pandemic, but not really on the cars themselves

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