South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
The only mass transit company of south eastern PA. It is ranked in the top five of our nations transit companies with the highest base fare, which if I'm not mistaken is currently at $1.75
The transit workers union is currently headed by a toothless man with a bad perm, named Carl Brookens. On more than one occasion he lead the SEPTA workforce of bus drivers, train conductors, booth agents, and mechanics, to strike at the most inappropriate times to demand a better contract with the city to justify their already sky-high base fares, higher wages for it's workers, more benefits, etc. They can barely keep up with the schedules they print out for all of the transit routes they service. Their bus drivers already get paid a pretty penny to basically sit on their asses all day. They do what they want and get what they want from the city because there is no competition in the region.
I've had the misfortune of having to depend on SEPTA to get me back and forth to work and/or school. There is no other person in Philly that hates SEPTA more than I do. They've left me stranded in freezing snow storms, and rain pouring from the sky like a monsoon. They've forced me to walk close to 3 miles to get home because the bus was late quite often. I've had bus drivers slam the door in my face and pull off from the bus stop after I'd run 2 blocks to try and catch it. I've also had train operators close the doors of the subway on various parts of my body. The worst part of all that is, these were during the times when SEPTA was not on strike.
The day I was granted my driver's license was pure joy and happiness. I was free to make my own schedule and get to work at my own pace. That is until I realized I had deal with the rush hour traffic on my own terms. Screaming at the top of my lungs at those idiot drivers who make lane changes, sudden stops and turns without signaling.
SEPTA still causes me headaches even though I am no longer forced to use their 'service' They must send their bus drivers to the Sandra Bullock School of Driving. They all act as if they've got a bomb under the floorboards set to explode if they don't make their next stop on time. Sucks to be a commuter sometimes. I live in fear of every SEPTA driver in the region because of their complete lack of driving skills.
SEPTA does not service ALL of the Philadelphia suburbs, but they do service most of them. The Regional Rail division takes up the slack where the buses can't or wont go.
SEPTA trains stop running at 1am. They have shuttle buses that run almost every hour afterwards.
New Jersey and little bits of Center City is serviced by PATCO and NJT. Yes both of these companies would win out over SEPTA, I don't know about the cleaner vehicles part though. While everything else was correct, you forgot a few things:
Being able to sip coffee or nibble on a snack is always good.
Lots of comfy chairs on all their buses.
Not being forced to carry exact change for bus fare. You don't know how thrilling it was the first time I got on an NJT bus with a $10 bill. I was amazed when the driver made change, with the speed and dexterity of a bank teller.
Other than the chance for the perverts like me to cop a feel on some random booty every now and then, I still would not trade the serenity of my car for public transportation ever again in life.