Good news for SEPTA riders, unless you're headed to Phillies game

If you depend on SEPTA to get around, there is good news this morning.

Unless, of course, you were planning to use mass transit to get to today's Phillies home opener.

SEPTA buses, trolleys and El are still rolling this morning, despite the fact that there is no deal in place yet between the transit giant and its unions.

Union officials said last night they would not strike. That's a good thing, because all four of SEPTA's unions have seen their contracts expire. If workers hit the bricks now, the region's entire transit system - with the exception of the regional rails - would be shut down.

You can get the latest details here.

That would mean no buses or trolleys, either in the city or suburbs. It also means the Market-Frankford El would be out of the loop.

While the regional rails would continue to run, they would undoubtedly be packed, kind of like the way they are when the Phillies hold that rarest of event, a World Series parade.

There will be no parade today. Unfortunately, there also will be no Phillies home opener. Team officials took a look at the forecast for this afternoon, with rain likely, and decided to postpone the opener until tomorrow. That's why they schedule that off day in there anyhow.

In the meantime, talks between SEPTA and the unions are expected to continue today. After several days of upbeat reports, things took a turn for the worse on Sunday. There is no guarantee that the system still will not be shut down by a labor shortage.

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