SEPTA sends cleaning crews into the subway system overnight to fight a war on trash and dirt.
SEPTA workers deep clean transit stations five overnights a week. Each station gets a treatment twice a month. Here, a Whirl-A-Way surface cleaner, nicknamed the "lawn mower," buffs the platform at SEPTA’s 5th Street/Independence Hall Station.A pile of human waste was tucked in a corner and spattered on a blue-tiled wall in the westbound entrance of the Fifth Street/Independence Hall station on the Market-Frankford Line.
Although they wouldn’t describe themselves that way, the cleaners are unheralded heroes, fighting the good fight from 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday. “I could do this all night. It’s like a third arm,” Price, 33, said, patting the nozzle. Pressurized water howled in the enclosed space like a straight-line wind in a thunderstorm.Jones, 34, was scrubbing next to Wood and complimented the trainee on how well he scoured the station’s pillars.“That’s all it takes,” agreed Jones.
The transit agency has begun hiring 100 more cleaners to boost the force to 350 people. Custodians, represented by Transit Workers Union Local 234 earn $18.62 to $26.20 an hour, plus overtime. Benefits include a pension. While the crew that night was all-male, 23% of cleaners are women.In this crew’s territory, the toughest to clean are 15th Street Station, a large hub; 13th Street Station, and Eighth Street Station at Market Street.
“We double-bagged personal stuff just to be safe,” Price said. “There were creepy crawly things in the clothes, moving around.”refurbished in a two-year $20 million project
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