Calling SEPTA Sweethearts

Ever locked eyes with a stranger on your bus, and come to find it was love at first sight? Or maybe you reunited with a long-lost sweetheart on the Trolley? If you’ve got a “moving” love story, SEPTA wants to hear it.

Between now and February 6, submit your SEPTA love story to become one of this year’s SEPTA Sweethearts. The public will choose who wins prizes and a special trip on a Market-Frankford El “Love Train” to view the Steve Powers’ 50 Love Letter murals on Sunday, February 12.

Need help composing your love story? Here are last year’s winners.

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I didn’t meet my sweetheart commuting, but I do have a story about adoring a SEPTA bus driver:

After hunks of the old South Street Bridge dropped into the river and onto the expressway one morning, my Route 40 bus driver had to improvise a detour to avoid the closed bridge. At every stop, she announced that she was the only bus east of the Schuylkill, and that she was picking up anyone and everyone. So we all packed in like patient sardines, hoping to make it across the river. Passengers helped the intrepid driver navigate an unfamiliar detour, leaning out the doors to help her clear parked cars and tight turns. I remember us cheering and applauding her as we rolled west. It was pure bus love.