SEPTA's largest union -- Transport Workers Union Local 234 -- walked off the job and hit the picket lines early Tuesday morning shutting down public transportation in the city.

NOT running:

• NO city buses
• NO city trolleys
• NO Broad Street Subway
• NO Market-Frankford EL
• NO Frontier Division bus routes

Regional rails and ParaTransit are running and you can get more details from the SEPTA Strike Guide.

Lines ran long and tensions high as commuters waited to board packed trains Tuesday. "I've been in line for about 25 minutes in the wrong line before somebody could tell me what line I should be in, " said frustrated rider Brian Brennan.

Negotiations broke down shortly after midnight over the basic issues -- salary and benefits, primarily pensions.

Governor Ed Rendell said it was irresponsible for the union to walk off the job in the wee hours of the morning, leaving commuters stranded in the morning.

TWA leader Willie Brown said Local 234 wasn't offered a fair deal and "fudged the numbers."

Rendell and Mayor Nutter said the union had a good package on the table, including an 11-percent wage increase over five years, and 11-percent increase in pension contributions and workers would not be required to pay any more for health coverage.

Brown said SEPTA management and negotiators were "fudging the numbers" on a four-year contract that included no raise for the first two years and a two-percent increase for the next two years. The union wants SEPTA to contribute more to workers' pensions and a four-percent wage increase each year.

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