Passenger/Visitor Assistance

Throughout the last century, Travelers Aid organizations world-wide have expanded their services to include general visitor/passenger information. From 1901 to 1992, Travelers Aid Society of Philadelphia maintained offices in the Reading Railroad Terminal, the Broad Street Railroad Terminal, and the 30th Street Station Railroad Terminal and provided travel information and advice to the general traveling public. In December 2007, Travelers Aid re-opened a Passenger Assistance Booth in the Central Concourse of 30th Street Station. The Booth is operated daily by 18 students and volunteers, who provide the following services:

• Greeting and welcoming;
• Information on Station amenities and vendors (luggage storage, ATMs, ticketing, track locations, security procedures, rental cars, etc.);
• Directions and travel guidance; including information about Amtrak, New Jersey Transit, Greyhound, Beiber Bus, SEPTA trains, buses, and trolleys; and Lucy, Mega, Bolt, and Bolt buses;
• Provision of public transportation schedules and route recommendations;
• Assistance in securing safe and convenient hotel accommodations ranging from economy class to luxury;
• Restaurant recommendations and reservations;
• Information about and directions to local sites of interest; including, bus/trolley/walking/carriage tours, historical sites, theaters, museums, parks, and galleries;
• Information on current events occurring within the local community including convention, holiday, and children’s activities
• Identification of business services;
• Phone and internet use;
• Provision of informational tourism publications; including the popular Where and Insider magazines.

The Passenger Assistance Booth is open 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. It currently provides information and advice to approximately 1,800 passengers a week or 90,000 contacts annually. Included in this annual statistic are over 1,000 instances of assisting stranded travelers and assisting passengers through small travel crises, such as, assisting disabled persons in navigating the Station, locating passengers, finding family members to meet arriving passengers, directing homeless persons to shelter, language translation for foreign visitors, referring veterans to local services, helping locate property lost in transit, etc.