How does the SEPTA Bus Revolution impact you?
Enter your address and we’ll talk you through the ways your commute might be different.
SEPTA is overhauling its bus network for the first time in six decades. The transit agency says the changes are needed to survive. In the six years before COVID-19, buses shed 20% of their riders; the pandemic only deepened the decline.
SEPTA buses now average 8 mph on crowded roadways. Obstacles such as delivery trucks and traffic accidents also mess with schedules. SEPTA’s aim was to shorten and simplify routes to provide more frequent and reliable service, including during off-peak times and on weekends.
On Sept. 1, planners unveiled the final draft of a new route system, their third version after more than two years of sometimes contentious give and take with the public in community meetings. More than 20,000 critiques and questions were sent to SEPTA.
Enter your address and see how SEPTA's Bus Revolution impacts you.
Loading…You currently have access to these , within a mile of your address. Route is considered a trackless trolley, meaning it is a bus that gets power from electric lines above. As a result, these lines will remain the same under the Bus Revolution. For now we consider route 15 a bus route until refurbished historic trolleys roll out in the fall.
Tap on a route below to view in detailHover over a route below to view in detailYou currently have a choice of .
SEPTA has been working on a new system with the hope of making it easier to use and run. Under the most recently proposed system, within the same radius as before, you would have and access to these
. Under the new system you will no longer have access to traditional bus routes.
Tap on a route below to view in detailHover over a route below to view in detailSEPTA’s new proposal will give you access to the on-demand zone. This is a new service, similar to Uber or Lyft, where you can request a ride anywhere else within the zone for regular fare.
The new plan would introduce a “MAX” system that tells the rider how long they should expect to wait. Buses are grouped by 10-minute, 15-minute, 30-minute, and 60-minute max wait times.
Here’s that same 10-, 15-, 30-, 60-minute color system applied to current routes with the addition of some routes with waits over 60 minutes. However, SEPTA says only one quarter of its bus routes achieved 80% on-time service in fall 2019.
And here’s where those routes travel.
Current
Proposed
Tap on a route below to view in detailHover over a route below to view in detail
Current
Proposed
Want to explore further?
SEPTA currently provides full system maps via a service called Remix. This allows readers to look closely at routes, stops, potential schedules, and more. Alternatively, you can jump back to the top and enter a different address here.
What’s next?
Formal hearings are underway through Sept. 27. Implementation is scheduled to begin in spring 2024.
Methodology
Max wait times for existing routes are calculated by the number of buses that visit a common stop between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. These times were chosen to match how SEPTA is calculating the max wait times for the proposed system. The only exception to this is route 78, which only operates outside of those hours. We used schedules from SEPTA’s website that were collected on April 14, 2023.
Route 91 was included in current system data provided by SEPTA. However, we’ve excluded it from the current map as the service has been suspended since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All routes are represented by geographic data provided by SEPTA. Some routes might vary slightly in real life compared to the map.
Current bus system routes have different patterns within them. This means that some routes might have slightly different stops and destinations. For brevity we’ve merged all patterns in a given route.
Editor’s Note
A previous version of this story handled routes with the same name by picking the longest of the two. This was chosen because the routes were almost identical. We’ve since merged those routes together into one route for brevity. The lower of the two max wait times was selected to be visualized on the map.
Staff Contributors
- Design, Development, Reporting, and Data: Sam Morris
- Reporting: Thomas Fitzgerald
- Editing: Erica Palan
- Digital Editing: Katie Krzaczek
- Copy Editing: Lidija Dorjkhand
- QA: Ksenia Belyaeva