So you’re new to SEPTA ... Here’s how Philly’s transit system can get you (almost) anywhere

Officials of the Philadelphia region’s public transportation authority wince when people mention its 1980′s era slogan, long retired but still alive, especially among sarcastic (or long-suffering) SEPTA users.

We’re getting there.

Talk about a low bar.

The slogan became a meme before the internet. It struck a chord with Philly’s inner Eeyore, speaking to a city overshadowed by New York and Washington. Plus people could make jokes.

For all the ridicule, SEPTA meant to send a positive message, playing off improvements in service reliability and stations at the time.

SEPTA, the nation’s sixth largest system, can get you almost anywhere you want to go in and around Philadelphia, by rail or bus. It also has problems, challenges and quirks. Its own culture.

We hope this guide helps you get better acquainted with it. Climb aboard.

One more thing: A longtime SEPTA rider, a native of Philly, offers this advice to newbies: “Develop the ability to maintain tranquillity in the face of frustration.”

Your transportation menu:

Regional Rail: For transportation between Center City and many destinations in the four suburban counties. Fares from $4.25 to $13.00.

Broad Street Line and Market Frankford Line: Two train lines traversing the city from north to south and east to west, respectively. $2 with Key Card, or $2.50 quick-trip pass.

Trolley: Eight lines from Center City to West Philadelphia and into Delaware County. $2 with a Key Card or $2.50 cash. Stops at stations on request.

Bus: 125 routes through every part of the city and the suburban counties. By far the most-used SEPTA service. $2 with a Key Card or $2.50 cash, exact change only.

Norristown High Speed Line: Travel between West Philadelphia, the Main Line and Norristown. $2 Key Card or $2.50 cash. exact change only.

SEPTA’s system map consumes a lot of real estate on station walls — even so, it’s crammed with so much detail it’s hard for the uninitiated passenger to get oriented. How does it all fit together?

Not everything is on the map. The trolley routes that fan out across West Philadelphia, for instance, just sort of disappear after 40th Street.

Directional signs and symbols are inconsistent and can be difficult to read on the run, partly a legacy of SEPTA’s history; it absorbed several separate private transit companies over the years.

The agency is working on a two-year project to streamline wayfinding iconography to make the system easier to use. Its first proposal: grouping rail transit — the subway-elevated lines, the trolleys and the light rail line between Upper Darby and Norristown — into a unified SEPTA Metro network.

An increasing number of Philadelphia employers offer free SEPTA all-access passes to their workers under the Key Advantage program, a perk for the employee and a means of helping the transit agency boost its pandemic-depleted ridership.

It began in spring 2022 for employees of Penn Medicine, Drexel University and Wawa, and has since spread to other institutions and companies. In August, Philadelphia city government began signing up employees for the free travel, and it has plans to roll it out to up to 25,000 residents living in poverty.

The program covers travel on buses, the Broad Street Line, Market Frankford El, trolleys, Norristown High Speed Line and the Regional Rail commuter railroad network — up to 240 trips a month. Employers who sign on are getting at least an 87% discount compared with the sticker price of $204 a month for an Anywhere TrailPass, which offers the same access to all modes of travel.

SEPTA’s expanded Key Advantage program is now available at area colleges and universities, with Swarthmore College the first to sign up. The agency says it is working with other schools to set up the free-pass program, called “UPass.”

There’s an odd trolley custom. Somebody yanks the cord and the trolley screeches to a stop at their corner in West Philly. They stand at the top of the rear-door stairs for a beat. Two beats. They look around. Nothing happens.

“Hey, back door.”

“STEP DOWN!” the operator yells.

If their exhaustion or blood-alcohol concentration is high enough, the riders may join in with a derisive chorus: “YO, STEP DOWN!” (This being Philly, it may be flavored with some salty language.)

Face flushed with shame, the disembarking passenger taps a foot on the step below. As if by magic, the doors open. Spoiler alert: There’s a pressure sensor on the step.

If this happens to you, don’t worry. Being humiliated on the trolley is kind of a municipal baptism, one of the rites that makes you a Philadelphian. And on a subsequent trip you get to join in by yelling “STEP DOWN!” at the next confused schlub.

“We have a habit of calling the same thing here by different names, which complicates it,” said Kurt Heinle, the transit system’s assistant general manager for customer service. “If you’re new to Philadelphia, it can be confusing,” he said. There is a “very complex mosaic of travel options.”

Here’s how to decode what different things are called:

The Market-Frankford Line, a “heavy rail” rapid transit train, runs 13.6 miles between the Frankford Transportation Center in the Northeast and the 69th Street Transit Center in Upper Darby. It’s also known as the Blue Line. But Most people call it the El, for elevated train, because it has tracks above the city’s streets for much of its route. But it’s also a subway, roaring underground between 2nd and 40th Streets before it emerges again with fantastic views of the Philadelphia skyline receding in the east. More great views from the El: Between 45th and 63rd Streets, you can see A Love Letter for You, a series of 50 rooftop murals by the artist Steve Powers. Chicago’s L (they dropped the “E”) also is a hybrid system, though trains clattering overhead is the iconic soundtrack in the downtown Loop. Note: Philly’s Frankford El has 28 stops, but, as Philly band The American Dream sang, it doesn’t go to heaven.

The Broad Street Line, a subway, runs beneath the city’s main north/south artery for 10 miles, from Fern Rock Transportation Center to the sports complex. It’s also “heavy rail.” Sometimes it’s called the Orange Line, for the color on the trains and station signs.

SEPTA has eight numbered trolley lines, primarily serving West Philly and the Delaware County suburbs. They’re also known as “light rail,” and sometimes surface-subway rail because they navigate under center city via tunnel. People also call them streetcars or, collectively, the Green Lines because that’s what color they are on system maps and signs.

Yep. U.S. legal tender is welcome on buses, trolleys, transit trains and the Norristown High Speed Line — but you need to have exact change. Fare is $2.50. That’s also the cost with a Quick Trip paper ticket, dispensed in stations.

If you pay with a SEPTA Key Card Travel Wallet, though, the fare is $2.

Key Card Travel Wallet customers now also get two free transfers when using the card. It costs $2.50 for each transfer when paying cash or using paper tickets.

Regional Rail conductors also accept cash on board, helpful when ticket offices or kiosks at outlying stations are closed or down. Those who buy on board, though, pay the highest rate, $10 one way. (Key Cards also work.)

People aged 65 or older ride free across the system. Children under 12 travel free with a fare-paying adult.

Recently SEPTA began accepting credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Just tap the card or pass your smartphone wallet app over the fare validator and go.

It’s an upgrade from the SEPTA Key Card that lets you pay your fare when you tap it at the turnstile or a reader aboard the bus, trolley or commuter train. The Key Card eliminated the need to rummage for exact change or a token.

Bus, subway and trolley trips are $2 with either the Key Card or the other contactless options, 50 cents off the regular fare. Key also confers discounts on Regional Rail, which vary. (Regional Rail does not yet accept payment by other cards or smartphone apps.)

New Key Cards cost $4.95, but that’s credited to your account if you register it on the card website. Doing so protects your balance if the card is lost or stolen.

To use, load the card with a credit or debit card. (Kiosks and ticket offices also accept cash.) The Travel Wallet option lets you ride on any travel mode, deducting the lowest available fare as you go. The cards can also be loaded with weekly and monthly transit passes and weekly and monthly Regional Rail passes.

Check your balance at fare kiosks in stations, on the on the Key Card website or SEPTA app.

To reload the card with fares, use the Key Card website, station fare kiosks, SEPTA sales offices, the SEPTA app or the Key Card call center at (855) 567-3782. Some local retailers also handle Key Cards. You can set up an automatic reload linked to a credit or debit card on the website or app.

Showing the card brings discounts at shops, entertainment venues, and cultural institutions. Among them: Dunkin’, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Disney on Ice and the Flyers. More here on the Perks page.

The first transfer is free, but only if you use a SEPTA Key Card. When transferring, you simply tap the card as you board your next ride. For cash customers each transfer costs $1.

All SEPTA buses are equipped with a wheelchair lift and seating. The “kneeling bus” floor can be lowered to make boarding from street level easier.

Just over half the stations on the Broad Street Line, the subway which dates to the late 1920s, are accessible to people with disabilities. Accessible stations: Fern Rock Transportation Center, Olney, Allegheny, North Philadelphia, Cecil B. Moore/Temple University, Girard, Race Vine/Convention Center, Walnut-Locust, Oregon and nrg.

On the Market Frankford Line, all but three stations — at Spring Garden, 11th and 34th Streets — are accessible. But take note: Elevators at the accessible stations sometimes break down or close for maintenance.

Few Norristown High Speed Line stations are accessible. The only ones: 69th Street Transportation Center, Wynnewood Road, Stadium (Villanova), Gulph Mills and the Norristown Transportation Center.

Trolley cars, which run in West Philadelphia and Delco suburbs, are not accessible. However, historic 1947 PCC trolleys do have wheelchair lifts, added during restoration. The cars are scheduled to return to service on Route 15 along Girard Avenue this fall.

SEPTA’s Customized Community Transportation, or CCT, provides door-to-door service to disabled people unable to take transit. Users must first register with the agency and reserve their ride one to three days in advance. Fare is $4. (215) 580-7145 for an application or customer service. TDD/TTY: (215) 580-7712.

There’s also a shared ride program for Philadelphians 65 or older, subsidized by the Pennsylvania Lottery. Seniors pay $4, and must register with SEPTA, providing proof of age. Reservations one to three days in advance. (215) 580-7132. TDD/TTY: (215) 580-7712.

Regional Rail 5:30 a.m. until about 1:30 a.m. for Jefferson and Suburban stations. Until 12:30 a.m. for 30th Street Station.

Trolley Routes 10, 13, 15 and 36 run 24 hours a day, every day. The others roll between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m., depending on the route.

The rapid transit subway and elevated train in Philly — the Broad Street Line and the Market-Frankford Line — are not 24/7, though they did operate 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays before the pandemic.

Now, these trains operate from 5 a.m. to about 1 a.m. SEPTA runs Night Owl bus service overnight along the lines. For the El, the overnight buses are labeled MFO. For the Broad Street Line subway, BSO.

Some bus routes run 24 hours. They are listed below. Hours for others vary. Check schedules.

Night Owl service is the best SEPTA option. In addition to the overnight buses, the following in-demand bus routes run 24 hours:

Routes 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 23, 33, 36, 42, 47, 52, 56, 60, 66, 73, 79, 108, 109, G and R.

Do you have a spreadsheet?

Kidding, kind of. But the fare regime does take some getting used to. The basic concept: Prices depend on the distance the Regional Rail station used is from Center City. The commuter network is divided into four fare zones. The information is also posted in stations.

If you want to get to New Jersey from Philly, you can get there using PATCO.

That’s the 14.2-mile rail line running 24/7 between Philadelphia and Lindenwold in Camden County, the most populous in South Jersey. The line will take you to Rutgers University’s campus in Camden as well as popular dining destinations Haddonfield and Collingswood.

There are PATCO stations at 8th and Market Streets and three locations along Locust Street: 9/10th Streets, 12/13th Streets and 15th/16th Streets.

If you get off at Broadway Station, you can access NJ Transit’s River Line, a light-rail system that travels 34 miles along the Delaware River between Camden and Trenton, with stops in 12 Burlington County towns. It operates from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., except on Saturdays — when the last trains leave at 11:59 p.m.

You can get to Atlantic City from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia via 10 daily NJ Transit trains. The fare is $10.75 one way, $4.90 one way for seniors and people with disabilities. Children 5 to 11 years old get a 50% discount. (Up to 3 children aged 4 and under travel free with a fare-paying adult.) The trip takes 90 minutes. You can also take NJ Transit’s 551 express bus between Market and 10th Streets and A.C., for a 90-minute ride at about $20 round trip.

You can get to New York by taking SEPTA’s Trenton Line Regional Rail train to NJ Transit’s Northeast Corridor hourly rail service at the Trenton Transit Center. The ride from Trenton to Manhattan’s Penn Station takes a little more than an hour, and tickets range from $12 to $18 one way. It’s cheaper than Amtrak.

To get to other South Jersey destinations, N.J. Transit also runs several local and express bus routes connecting Center City to many South Jersey towns and cities on weekdays. They pick up and drop off passengers on Market Street at 7th and 16th Streets, as well as JFK Boulevard and 30th Street.

Fares range from $3 to $1.40 one way, depending on how close the New Jersey PATCO station is to Philadelphia. Travel between two New Jersey stations is $1.60 one way. Travel between Center City PATCO stations is $1.40.

The railroad has the Freedom card, which stores value and deducts the proper fare. Get one for $5 at any PATCO ticket machine — and load the amount you want — with a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, debit card or cash.

A Freedom Share card also works on all SEPTA travel modes except Regional Rail, providing convenience for people who ride both systems often. It requires a computer-based account and can only be obtained in person at a Freedom Card Service Center, at Woodcrest and Broadway Stations.