So we have, as you all know, the best, coolest, nicest webmaster ever. Well, apparently, SEPTA, which can't tie its own shoes, get the smell of urine out of most of the train stations, let alone stop sitting on their hands long enough to rebuild the Ardmore Train Station with that $6 Million Gerlach got more than a year ago, but they can harass one person taking a photograph of an Ikea Billboard by basically saying it violates the The Patriot Act.
As we contemplate this latest SEPTA stunt, we have to say most delicately, that this is, as they say in the vernacular, crap....
Here's what our webmaster had to say (and he's waiting for a formal answer from SEPTA that we're interested in as well) in his own words:
SEPTA, and the "war on terror"
So, I took this picture at Market East Station in Philly tonight (SAC interjection: it's the IKEA billboard).I was going to make some snide remarks about how IKEA is really just a front for Furniture Porn, but then something interesting happened at the station.A "service manager" approached me, and wanted to know what I was taking pictures of. So I told him. Rather than go back to his desk and look at some hot chair-on-chair action, he proceeded to tell me how I am not allowed to take pictures of the trains or the engineers. (Apparently conductors are fair game, though. Sucks to be them!)
This is just abusurd.
Searching for "septa trains" on Google Images gives 153 matches, most of them rather high resolution, too. If I were a terrorist, would I really have have to spend the time to take pictures when there are so many readily available?
....So SEPTA, we have to ask: every time some camera guy from a local T.V. station goes into 30th Street Station to film delayed trains or something, that means when they film and we see it "Live At 11", that they are violating the Patriot Act as well, right??? Fair is fair, and if the newspapers and television folks are allowed to film and photograph, it really can't be construed that our webmaster was violating the Patriot Act by photgraphing an Ikea Billboard can it??? Just askin', but we all know we won't get an answer...that would require to many layers and levels of useless, paper pushing management to achieve.
What a shock...
SEPTA has had this paranoia about photography prior to 9/11. Apparently, they're afraid someone's actually going to take photos of things they'd rather not have made public (ie. employees sleeping on the job or breaking other rules, the shitty conditions of the facilities, etc).
And you can't help but laugh about SEPTA being concerned about terrorists. The "Transit Police" (aka SEPTA's "rent-a-cops with a gun") don't do a good job preventing crime on the system. In fact, not too long after telling NBC10 about it's plainclothes patrol program, they got rid of it.
If SEPTA's more concerned about people taking photos on their property (which we, as fare-paying riders and taxpayers, are paying for, by the way) than robberies, shootings, and other violent crime on the system, then someone at 1234 Market has their priorities screwed up.
photography on SEPTA
technically 30th st station is under Amtraks jurisdiction and not SEPTA but alas... I am a photographer and can tell you that you can shoot on SEPTA's system, but you need to get a photo pass from them and have a valid photo ID displayed at all times.
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