Parents rejoice, SEPTA’s making it easier to bring a stroller on the bus
Bus routes 23, 25, 32, 49, 58, and 84 will have designated stroller spots.
Traveling with babies and toddlers can be rough on parents. SEPTA’s trying to make it a little easier.
The transit agency announced this week that 120 buses on six routes will soon have Stroller Spots, where parents can stash a stroller while they ride.
“We know that it can be difficult for customers with young children to find adequate space onboard buses, and it is a challenge for our dedicated operators to manage this while they are providing service,” Scott A. Sauer, SEPTA’s interim general manager, said in a news release on Wednesday.
Fae Ehsan, a member of urbanist advocacy group 5th Square’s steering committee and mother of 3-year-old Leila, was excited by the news.
“Navigating the urban environment as a parent … can be incredibly difficult,” she said. “As a mom with a young child, you have a stroller, and you may also have a big diaper bag. You take up a lot of space.”
Ehsan, who lives in West Philly and takes public transit with her daughter “at least a couple times a week,” recalls replacing her stroller specifically to accommodate one that would be easier to use on the bus.
“I got one that folds up in one movement like a suitcase so that it would be easier for us to ride the bus together,” she said.
Bus Routes 23, 25, 32, 49, 58, and 84 will have designated stroller areas. Those routes were chosen because they primarily operate in urban and suburban areas rather than on highways. Though many buses on the chosen routes have already been reconfigured to include stroller spots, all 120 buses will be outfitted by April.
SEPTA’s stroller spots can fit strollers that are 26 inches wide and 36 inches long. Children can remain in the stroller while it’s in the spot, and parents are advised to engage the brakes, hold the stroller in place, and keep the aisle clear. The transit agency also says that passengers can request the accessibility ramp be deployed when entering or exiting the bus. Kids younger than age 12 ride free on SEPTA when accompanied by a fare-paying adult.
The transit agency surveyed nearly 3,000 riders on the challenges of traveling on public transit with children and found that 60% of riders traveling with children identified the need for a designated stroller space onboard buses.
The cost of adding stroller spots was “minimal,” according to SEPTA officials. The interior signage was produced in-house and removing two seats to create the space incurred “no significant expense.” The most expensive part of the process: $1,500 for exterior decals.
SEPTA’s move follows a pilot program in New York City, which expanded in 2023 to add designated stroller areas to more than 1,000 buses.
Ehsan hopes this could be the start of other changes to help parents better navigate SEPTA.
She’d like to see more bus stop shelters and increased deterrence of antisocial behaviors, like smoking, on transit. She and her daughter both have asthma.
“It’s important to take steps to modernize our transit system,” Ehsan said. “So I am excited that they’ve realized that this is a fairly common thing in other major cities that we can also replicate.”