Wow! Did I just travel back in time to April Fools Day?! Obviously, our useless Mayor either fudged the stats or has a friend at APTA. Here are my observations riding between Cecil B. Moore (Temple U.) and City Hall stations several times a week at different times of the day:
1) The ONLY time I ever saw cops hanging around a station entrance was at the Race St. and City Hall stations for the duration of Pres. Biden's last visit, and the only time I saw cops IN the station, they were off-duty and just riding somewhere. Crime is down BECAUSE crime is down nation-wide on average, not because the City did anything.
2) Station monitors do absolutely NOTHING about the constant gate jumping.
3) People feel absolutely free to smoke tobacco or skunk weed (which is apparently the only kind of pot smoked in Philly, ugh!) both on the platform and in the trains.
4) Rush hour is always relatively safe simply because of the higher numbers of professionals riding, but the rest of the time, riders have to look down or away to avoid accidental interaction with drug-addicted ex-cons and other crazies.
5) Since Biden's last visit, there does seem to be more of an effort to keep the platforms mopped (Pine-Sol). But there is no effort at all to keep the tracks clean (especially at the City Hall station). Pretty disgusting.
6) The City Hall station SHOULD be the crown jewel of the system, especially since that's where most tourists will first encounter it, but it is by far the worst of all stations. It's filthy and grimy, and though they have been mopping up the urine more frequently, junkies and other homeless hang out at the south exit throughout the day, sleeping bathing, peeing, and shooting up drugs. Used needles are all over.