Heather Yost, a 51-year-old clinical research nurse at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, currently commutes 45 minutes by train from her home in Exton, Pennsylvania, three times a week. However, proposed cuts to the regional transit system, including the elimination of her Cynwyd line, could double her daily travel time, forcing her to drive. While she acknowledges her ability to adapt, she expresses deeper concern for her patients, many of whom rely on public transportation to access critical clinical trials for cancer treatment. For these individuals, especially those traveling from distant areas, alternative transportation options are limited, raising fears about disrupted medical care and broader consequences for the region’s mobility and economic stability.
— news from Bloomberg.com
— News Original —
Philadelphia Transit Cuts Portend ‘Mayhem’ on Commutes and Regional Economy
Three times a week, Heather Yost takes a 45-minute train ride from her home in Exton, Pennsylvania, to her job as a clinical research nurse at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. But with her Cynwyd train line slated for elimination as part of system-wide cuts, she faces spending at least twice as long each morning in the car — and she feels lucky to have that option at all.
“I’m more concerned about my patients,” said Yost, 51. Some of her cancer patients receive life-saving treatments in clinical trials. “Many of them, from all over, do rely on public transportation to get here. There’s not a whole lot else to offer them.”