SEPTA Assists K-9 Classroom Riding the Rails to Aid Those With Disabilities

EVENT: SEPTA Assists K-9 Classroom Riding the Rails to Aid Those With Disabilities DATE: Saturday, April 19, 2008

TIME:
10:45 a.m.

PLACE:
Market East Station - R5 Platform
12th & Market Streets
Philadelphia, PA

DETAILS: SEPTA officials will join with regional 4-H puppy raisers for The Seeing Eye organization as they use the R5 SEPTA Regional Rail line as part of their orientation to familiarize future service animals to public transportation. Service animals assist individuals with disabilities. Clubs in Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, and Bucks Counties as well as Philadelphia regularly ride SEPTA with trainee pups to learn the system.

Approximately seventeen K-9 'students' and 38 'teachers' will board an R5 Paoli Regional Rail train en route to Market East Station. Another 'class' will be leaving from Lansdale en route to Center City.

The K-9 'students' will start to learn the complex tasks of being the eyes and ears of those they assist. Understanding how to respond to a variety of situations on the SEPTA system can be extremely challenging to both the individual and the K-9 partner. This training affords young dogs being raised for service the opportunity to learn to board, exit and move through vehicles, and become accustomed to platform noise and station environments.

SEPTA is dedicated to serving all customers, regardless of their mobility requirements, in accordance with Americans with Disabilities guidelines and recognizes that there is no part of our ridership more dependent on mass transit than people with disabilities.

"Use of SEPTA by riders with disabilities using the system has increased substantially in the past three years," said SEPTA General Manager Joe Casey. "One-hundred percent of buses in service on all City and Suburban Transit Division bus routes are now equipped with wheelchair lifts or ramps. Riders can now enjoy enhanced access at most stations and this week, SEPTA opened a new ADA accessible station at 46th St. on the Market-Frankford Line. This marks four all new, fully accessible stations in West Philadelphia, with Millbourne and 63rd St. in construction."

CCT Connect service remains available to those riders who are unable to use fixed route service. For CCT Connect information, please call (215) 580-7145 or for accessible bus route information call (215) 580-7800.

CONTACT: Gary P. Fairfax of SEPTA Media Relations, +1-215-580-7842

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- April 18/

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Source: SEPTA

Web Site: http://www.septa.org/

2008-04-18 17:16:50 0339897 PRNEWSWIRE