SEPTA Public Announcement Audio Recordings
| Tracking # |
AP 2023-1579 |
| Submitted | April 10, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Sharp Hall
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act, I hereby request the following records:
Any and all audio recordings made for automated public announcement in SEPTA stations and on board any SEPTA vehicle including subway cars, trains, busses, and trolleys. This should include, but should not be limited to, route welcome announcements ("Welcome to Route 34...", etc), announcements for stops on a route, public safety announcements, next-to-arrive announcements, and door closing announcements.
If it exists, the search should include any chimes, bells, or other alerting noise that accompany these announcements.
If possible, the search should include recordings made for this purpose which are not actively used in SEPTA stations or on board SEPTA vehicles.
Recordings made for temporary use and intended for a limited time, for example announcements of temporary detours or schedule modifications, should be excluded from this search.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Sharp Hall
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Pennsylvania Right to Know Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 10, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Pennsylvania Right to Know Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 10, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Pennsylvania Right to Know Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 10, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Pennsylvania Right to Know Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 10, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Sharp Hall
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act, I hereby request the following records:
Any and all audio recordings made for automated public announcement in SEPTA stations and on board any SEPTA vehicle including subway cars, trains, busses, and trolleys. This should include, but should not be limited to, route welcome announcements ("Welcome to Route 34...", etc), announcements for stops on a route, public safety announcements, next-to-arrive announcements, and door closing announcements.
If it exists, the search should include any chimes, bells, or other alerting noise that accompany these announcements.
If possible, the search should include recordings made for this purpose which are not actively used in SEPTA stations or on board SEPTA vehicles.
Recordings made for temporary use and intended for a limited time, for example announcements of temporary detours or schedule modifications, should be excluded from this search.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Sharp Hall
From: Sharp Hall
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to appeal a Right-to-Know request sent to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority that is “Deemed Denied.” On June 15th, 2023, I sent a request for “Any and all audio recordings made for automated public announcement in SEPTA stations and on board any SEPTA vehicle including subway cars, trains, busses, and trolleys. This should include, but should not be limited to, route welcome announcements ("Welcome to Route 34...", etc), announcements for stops on a route, public safety announcements, next-to-arrive announcements, and door closing announcements.” As of this date I have not received a response.
I assert that these are public records as they represent the activity of the agency. Notably, the PA Right-to-Know Law’s definition of “Record” includes sound recordings. These records are not exempt – the public already hears most of them on a daily basis.
The RTK request, submitted on June 15th, is attached alongside this appeal. The agency did not respond to my request, so it is “deemed denied” and I have no written denial to attach or respond to.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this appeal,
Sharp Hall
From: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Dear Parties,
Attached, find an appeal, that has been filed with the Office of Open Records. The above mentioned matter has been assigned to Appeals Officer Lyle Hartranft (refer to the attachment for contact information). Please forward all future correspondence directly to the Appeals Officer (cc'd on this email) and all other parties.
Sincerely,
[cid:image001.jpg@01D9B571.9565D0F0]
Michele K. Grant
Administrative Officer
Office of Open Records
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101-2234
(717) 346-9903<tel:%28717%29%20346-9903> | Fax (717) 425-5343
https://openrecords.pa.gov <https://openrecords.pa.gov/>
@OpenRecordsPA <https://twitter.com/OpenRecordsPA>
Open Records in Pennsylvania Blog <http://openrecordspennsylvania.com/>
-
image001
From:
Good afternoon Appeals Officer Hartranft,
Please see the attached correspondence related to the above referenced matter. The exhibit cited within the correspondence is also attached here.
Thank you,
Justine
[https://files.constantcontact.com/e9c12b2a001/b5b87f26-4898-4ad0-9f55-c31b62573580.png]
Justine
Baakman
Counsel
D
267.338.1311<tel:267.338.1311>
Justine.Baakman@offitkurman.com<mailto:Justine.Baakman@offitkurman.com>
[https://files.constantcontact.com/e9c12b2a001/ac463f62-f64b-4328-b99f-3d4ff90c7a09.png]<https://www.offitkurman.com/attorney/justine-baakman/>
Ten Penn Center 1801 Market Street
Suite 2300
Philadelphia
,
PA
19103
T
267.338.1300
F
From: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Dear Parties:
Attached, please find the final determination for the above-captioned matter.
Sincerely,
Lyle Hartranft, Esq.
Appeals Officer
Office of Open Records
333 Market Street, 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101-2234
lhartranft@pa.gov<mailto:lhartranft@pa.gov>
http://openrecords.pa.gov | @OpenRecordsPA
