30 SEPTA bus routes are changing in August. Here's what you need to know.

The first phase of SEPTA’s bus network overhaul begins Aug. 23, and Brandon Miller is mobilizing hundreds of employees for a final push to meet face-to-face with riders in the days leading up to the changes and during the first week after they take effect.

“It’s a blitz,” said Miller, senior operations planner for SEPTA, describing discussions at “pop-ups” as an effective way to help people navigate the new network.

“This is the evolution of the ‘Bus Revolution,’” Miller said.

Unlike some transit agencies, SEPTA has not done a comprehensive redesign of its bus network in its 58-year history. The agency has publicly pushed to do so since 2021, but change was delayed by opposition, political wrangling, and, later, a two-year fiscal crisis.

Originally the “Bus Revolution” was supposed to happen all at once, but SEPTA ultimately decided to phase in changes to routes.

The process has been quieter this time around.

Dan Nemiroff, SEPTA’s senior planner in charge of the transit agency’s redesign project, said people are more open to the need for changes, especially after SEPTA had to shut down bus routes last year because of a budget deficit. A court ordered those cuts reversed, and the agency later received an infusion of cash from PennDot.

“I think there’s more willingness to accept the fact that … we need to make the bus network a little bit more efficient,” Nemiroff said. “We need to make the system more attractive for people.”

In the first wave, 30 routes will be affected in some way.

Some routes with low ridership or that duplicate nearby service will be eliminated. Others will be extended or run more frequently, and two new routes will be added.

New and expanded routes: Route 72, a new crosstown bus running along Cheltenham Avenue, and the new Route 76 bus from Columbus Commons to Rising Sun and Olney. Route 45 will be extended to provide service to the Navy Yard, and Route 79 will be extended from South Philadelphia into University City.

Eliminated routes: 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, and 106.

There will be a Zoom session on Aug. 19 from 6 to 7 p.m. Participants can register here.

Miller said the talk is informally called “back-to-school,” with more discussion of the changes’ effects on students than in previous meetings.

SEPTA has a webpage dedicated to Phase One changes, as well as an overview of the New Bus Network.

Riders can call SEPTA customer service at 215-580-7800 or email specific questions to planning@septa.org.

Beginning Monday, street teams will conduct “pop-up” visits at key transit hubs at various times between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Next week, visits will include South Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, Cedarbrook Plaza, Hunting Park Station for changes to Route 53, Spring Garden Station, and Willow Grove Mall.

Staff are also attending community events.

The majority of changes will take effect Sunday, Aug. 23, followed by the Route 105 extension and elimination of Route 106 on Monday, Aug. 24.

SEPTA’s website provides alternative routes. Look up your route here.

Phase 2 changes are planned to begin in February.

Phase 3 changes are planned to begin in June 2027.

Phase 4 changes are planned to begin in Fall 2027. Many details are still being worked out.

SEPTA launched its bus redesign efforts in earnest after ridership declined 13% from 2013 to 2019, a drop attributed to slow speeds, reliability problems, and competition from ridesharing companies. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bus ridership rebounded faster than it did on other transit services, but SEPTA’s thinking is that simplifying the network will make it easier to use, with more frequent service on fewer or shorter routes.

Stops will disappear during the first phase on routes that are eliminated, but there will be no wholesale changes yet.

Philadelphia had the shortest median distance between bus stops of any large U.S. city as of 2021, at 564 feet. Pittsburgh’s median distance was 623 feet, while Chicago’s was 673 feet.

Having more stops per mile provides access to more people, but closely spaced stops can also slow buses and make them less reliable.

Early plans for Philadelphia’s bus network redesign aimed to “rebalance” stops by spacing them farther apart to improve speed. But the idea has been unpopular.

SEPTA may revisit the issue later.

Email transportation reporter Thomas Fitzgerald at tfitzgerald@inquirer.com.