Expect SEPTA bus and trolley delays as employee safety training begins

Starting Monday, some SEPTA bus and trolley riders may experience delays as the transit agency begins mandatory safety training for all employees. The training follows a spate of recent crashes, including one that resulted in the death of a passenger. There have been eight crashes involving SEPTA buses and trolleys since July 21.

SEPTA officials said in a news release that the training will emphasize “safety guidelines that are in place” and “the need to be vigilant about safety in all aspects of all jobs.” The transit agency will confer with its employees’ unions to develop the content of the training sessions.

Here’s what commuters need to know about potential SEPTA delays.

About 10% of SEPTA’s bus and trolley operators will be pulled from duty each day for the training sessions, officials said. “We expect the main service impacts to be within the first two to three weeks,” SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said, with delays easing as the training moves on to workers in the bus and trolley maintenance depots.

The transportation agency sends out more than 1,300 buses and trolleys each day, carrying more than 350,000 passengers.

» READ MORE: SEPTA says 5th crash in a week is ‘alarming and concerning,’ plans to investigate staffing issues

Training is expected to last eight weeks.

“We will start with our frontline employees and move through our entire workforce,” SEPTA general manager and CEO Leslie Richards said.

SEPTA urged customers to check the SEPTA website or app for service updates when planning travel or SEPTA’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter. Customer service representatives are available by phone at 215-580-7800. Riders can also dowload the SEPTA Transit Watch App to report unsafe conditions they see on the system.