SEPTA board approves budget and bus route changes

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A long-planned redesign of SEPTA’s bus network won final approval Thursday, launching new routes and more frequent service throughout Philadelphia. The transit agency is planning a phased rollout.

General manager Scott Sauer said now that SEPTA’s board has approved the budget, the agency will implement the new bus schedule with modified routes throughout the city.

“With full implementation of the plan, the number of frequent routes, those routes that arrive 15 minutes or better, seven days a week, will increase by more than 300%, from eight routes currently to 29,” he explained after the vote.

The plan is being called the transit agency’s first ever “comprehensive bus redesign.” It will include the launch of two new bus routes: the Route 72 on Cheltenham Avenue connecting Frankford Transit Center and Cedar Brook Plaza, and the Route 76, which will provide new service options between North and South Philadelphia. There are also key extensions such as the Route 45 to Navy Yard and the Route 79 to University City.

The transit agency has been working on this plan for years, at first calling it the “Bus Revolution.” The plan has been criticized by members of City Council, citing concern over the discontinuation of some routes, but Sauer believes they have come up with a way to solicit feedback from riders across the city.

“What we learned from that is that being on the ground with the rider, talking to them face-to-face, trying to teach them what was going to happen was much more effective than traditional methods where we post a sign, we put something on the website, we utilize the media to help us get the message out,” he said.

Colin Foley, senior director of service planning, admitted the plan has not been popular, especially in some city neighborhoods.

“We have received questions about what’s happening from throughout the city, but a lot of the questions we’ve gotten are in areas where large changes are happening, like in West Philadelphia or up in North Philly near Crescent Hill or down in the Navy Yard,” he said.

To combat the worries, he said the transit agency will deploy a massive educational campaign.

“We’ll have staff out at 3,000 locations, standing at bus stops, handing out flyers and pamphlets. We want to make sure that everybody knows what’s happening when, and has the information available for them,” Foley said.

Sauer said more frequent service on fewer routes will require some sacrifice but will be better for travelers in the long run.

Phase 1 of the multi-phase implementation plan can be found on SEPTA’s website.