Station Review #100: BARTA Transportation Center/Reading Transportation Center (AMTRAK/BARTA)
BARTA Transportation Center is a station in Reading, PA. The station is located on Franklin Street, near the old Reading Train station
History
The old station, now a brewpub and transportation museum
There had been passenger rail service at Reading since 1871, when the Wilmington and Northern trains started stopping at a station on front and Penn Streets. Franklin Street station is the one pictured above. The original station at Franklin Street was constructed in 1884, and replaced by the Reading Railroad in 1930. This station was built as an infill for Downtown Reading, since the Reading Outer station was in the middle of the city.
The line changed owners many times until it eventually got to conrail, which allowed SEPTA service on the line. Trains ran here through to Pottsville and Philadelphia until 1981. The Pottsville line was one of the earlier lines to experience cutbacks that many other lines did as well. No trains ran here ever since.
The BARTA Transportation Center itself was opened in 2002, near the old train station. This was done after demolishing the old pedestrian mall on Penn Street ten years earlier.
Services
Many bus services operate at BARTA Transportation Center, these include:
Amtrak:
Amtrak runs a bus four times a day between Reading and 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. The fate of this bus is unknown, since Amtrak will stop running this bus after March 18th, and OurBus plans to run this bus after. OurBus plans to add at least two more round trips between Philadelphia and Reading, with one trip going directly to the Philadelphia International Airport after stopping at 30th Street from Reading. This bus will not stop at the transportation center, instead opting to stop at one of the bus stops on Penn Street.
BARTA:
Every BARTA bus runs to BARTA Transportation Center, this includes:
• 1 - Temple via 5th Street
• 2 - Fairgrounds Square Market
• 3 - Temple via Kutztown Road
• 4 - 10th/11th Street
• 5 - Albright College
• 7 - Pennside
• 8 - Reiffton/Shelbourne Square/Birdsboro
• 9 - Grill via Kenhorst
• 10 - Brookline
• 11 - Mohnton via Shillington
• 12 - Lincoln Park via Reading Hospital
• 14 - Wernersville vis Sinking Spring
• 15 - Berkshire Mall
• 16 - Broadcasting Square
• 17 - Glenside/Airport/Berks Heim
• 18 - Schuylkill Avenue
• 19 - Riverside/First Energy/Cotton Street
• 20 - Route 61/Hamburg
• 22 - Lyon Station/East Penn-Deka
These buses generally run in a pulse system.
Tour
The station from the outside
BARTA Transportation Center is a fairly large place, consisting of a loop with many berths as well as a large waiting room.
Some buses
It's very easy to get lost here, by the way.
Departure board
Bus stop pylon
Sign with a map
Parking
Not only is there a parking garage outside the station, there's one under it too!
Inside the station waiting room
There is an announcing system that says what departures are happening at each berth. These announcements are loud and some of them go very quickly and overlap with eachother, kind of like in an auction house. If you have anxiety issues you will have trouble here. I nearly had a panic attack while sitting in this place taking the pictures for this review, since I didn't have this warning. Do be cautious about that.
Also the seats aren't very comfortable but at least they exist.
More detailed departure board
Refreshments
There's a vending machine for snacks, one for drinks, a water machine, and a... coffee machine? Yeah, I'm not sure either.
Charging bank and pay phone
Yes, the pay phone does work. There is a sign on or near the pay phone saying so.
Stack of BARTA Ride Guides
Some agencies in Pennsylvania will publish a booklet with a map and the schedules of every bus route in it, and BARTA is no exception here.
I seriously don't know what you were expecting
WARNING: Either BARTA or the people who run BARTA Transportation Center are transphobic. Not only is there no gender neutral restroom, the restrooms have a sign outside them that says "no men in the ladies restroom". If you are a trans person I do not recommend that you use the bathrooms unless you absolutely must. The sheer fact that this is even allowed is nothing short of appalling.
One of the stall locks, broken.
Though frankly I'm not sure if I'd recommend you use this bathroom if you're cis either. That place is a dump, its covered in various fluids and smells horrific. It's also covered in graffiti, including the phrase "I HATE LIVING IN READING" carved onto the door, completely capitalized.
By the way, Amtrak Thruway departures to Philadelphia are not mentioned by the PA system that mentions the departure of every other bus.
Points of Interest Near the BARTA Transportation Center
Reading skyline from nearby parking garage
There's actually a lot in Reading, namely restaurants, a stadium, stores, Berks County services, a community college, etc. The city actually has a decent amount going on, and is actually surprisingly dense.
Statistics
Name: BARTA Transportation Center/Reading Transportation Center
Agency: Amtrak (soon to be OurBus), BARTA
Line(s): Reading Thruway, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22
Locality: Downtown
City/Township: Reading
County: Berks
State: Pennsylvania
Ridership: N/A
Amenity Checklist
Accessible: ✓
Bathrooms: ✓
Clean Station: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Convenience Store/similar place inside: ✓
Easy to get around: ×
Indoor Shelters: ✓
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓
Near places people are: ✓
Parking (in adequate amounts): ×
Seating: ✓
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ✓
Something relating to fares (atm, ticket kiosk, etc): ✓
Ticket Offices: ✓
TOD: ✓
Bus Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ✓
Updated Signage: ✓
Final Verdict: 4/10
Station Directory
--------Philadelphia County--------
30th Street
--------Montgomery County--------
--------Berks County--------
Reading Transportation Center
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