SEPTA

SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
Overview
Locale	Delaware Valley
Transit type	Commuter rail Interurban Rapid transit Trolley/Streetcar Transit bus Trolleybus
Number of lines	196
Number of stations	290
Annual ridership	320,984,300
Chief executive	Joseph M. Casey
Headquarters	1234 Market Street, Philadelphia
Website	SEPTA
Operation
Began operation	1965
Operator(s)	SEPTA (one route in Montgomery Co. contracted)
Reporting marks	SEPA SPAX
Number of vehicles	2,295
Technical
System length	450 mi (720 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,588 mm)
System map Geographically-accurate map of SEPTA and connecting rail transit services. Includes Regional Rail, rapid transit, and selected interurban and suburban trolley lines. Does not include SEPTA's subway-surface lines or Girard streetcar.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit — bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus — that serves 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. SEPTA also manages construction projects that repair, replace, and expand infrastructure and rolling stock.

SEPTA serves the combined city and county of Philadelphia, plus the suburban counties of Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester. SEPTA also serves New Castle County in the state of Delaware, and Mercer County in the state of New Jersey. Unlike U.S. transit agencies of its comparable size that are a state-run agency operated as a leg of its corresponding transportation department, SEPTA is not a state agency and is beholden primarily to the five local Pennsylvania-based counties which comprise it.

SEPTA has the 6th-largest U.S. rapid transit system by ridership, and the 5th largest overall transit system, with about 306.9 million annual unlinked trips. It controls 290 active stations, over 450 miles (720 km) of track, 2,295 revenue vehicles, and 196 routes. SEPTA also manages Shared-Ride services in Philadelphia and ADA services across the region. These services are operated by third-party contractors.

SEPTA is one of only two U.S. transit authorities that operates all of the five major types of transit vehicles: regional (commuter) rail trains, "heavy" rapid transit (subway/elevated) trains, light rail vehicles (trolleys), electric trolleybuses, and motor buses. The other is Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (which runs ferryboat service as well).

SEPTA's headquarters are located at 1234 Market Street in Center City, Philadelphia.

History

SEPTA logo from the 1970s

Formation

SEPTA was created by the Pennsylvania legislature on August 17, 1963, to coordinate government subsidies to various transit and railroad companies in southeastern Pennsylvania. It commenced on February 18, 1964.

On November 1, 1965, SEPTA absorbed two predecessor agencies:

• The Passenger Service Improvement Corporation (PSIC), which was created on January 20, 1960 to work with the Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad to improve commuter rail service and help the railroads maintain otherwise unprofitable passenger rail service.
• The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Compact (SEPACT), created on September 8, 1961, by the City of Philadelphia and the Counties of Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester to coordinate regional transport issues.

By 1966, the Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad commuter railroad lines were operated under contract to SEPTA. On February 1, 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with the New York Central railroad to become Penn Central, only to file for bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. Penn Central continued to operate in bankruptcy until 1976, when Conrail took over its assets along with those of several other bankrupt railroads, including the Reading Company. Conrail operated commuter services under contract to SEPTA until January 1, 1983, when SEPTA took over operations and acquired track, rolling stock, and other assets to form the Railroad Division.

Subsequent expansion

Philadelphia Transportation Company tokens (1940-68)

On September 30, 1968, SEPTA acquired the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), which operated a city-wide system of bus, trolley, and trackless trolley routes, the Market–Frankford Line (subway-elevated rail), the Broad Street Line (subway), and the Delaware River Bridge Line (subway-elevated rail to City Hall, Camden, NJ) which became SEPTA's City Transit Division. The PTC had been created in 1940 with the merger of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (formed in 1902) and a group of smaller, then independent transit companies operating within the city and its environs.

On January 30, 1970, SEPTA acquired the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, also known as the Red Arrow Lines, which included the Philadelphia and Western Railroad (P&W) route now called the Norristown High Speed Line, the Media and Sharon Hill Lines (Routes 101 and 102), and several suburban bus routes in Delaware County. Today, this is the Victory Division, though it is sometimes referred to as the Red Arrow Division.

On March 1, 1976, SEPTA acquired the transit operations of Schuylkill Valley Lines, which is today the Frontier Division.

Future expansion of SEPTA's commuter rail system has been an on-and-off topic for many years, with no considerations at present regarding restoration of passenger rail service between Philadelphia and Reading, Allentown, Bethlehem, and West Chester. Proposals have also been made for increased service on existing lines- including later evenings and Sundays to Wilmington and Newark in Delaware. Maryland's MARC commuter rail system is considering extending its service as far as Newark Rail Station, which would allow passengers to connect directly between SEPTA and MARC. As of 2014, an expansion of the Norristown High Speed Line is under consideration to extend service to the King of Prussia area.

Governance

SEPTA is governed by a 15-member board of directors:

• The City of Philadelphia appoints two members: one member is appointed by the Mayor, the other by the City Council President. These two board members can veto any item that is approved by the full SEPTA board because the city represents more than two-thirds of SEPTA's local subsidy, fare revenue, and ridership. However, the veto may be overridden with the vote of at least 75% of the full board within 30 days.
• Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, and Montgomery County appoint two members each. These members are appointed by the county commissioners in Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery County and by the county council in Delaware County.
• The majority and minority leaders of the two houses of the Pennsylvania State Legislature (the Senate and the House of Representatives) appoint one member each, for a total of four members.
• The governor appoints one member.

The members of the SEPTA Board as of May 2013 are:

• Chairman – Pasquale T. Deon, Sr.
• Vice Chairman – Thomas E. Babcock
• Bucks County – Pasquale T. Deon, Sr., Charles H. Martin
• Chester County – Kevin L. Johnson, P.E. & Cuyler H. Walker, Esq.
• Delaware County – Thomas E. Babcock, Daniel J. Kubik
• Montgomery County – Kenneth Lawrence, Jr. & Leslie S. Richards
• Philadelphia County – Beverly Coleman, Rina Cutler
• Governor Appointee – Thomas Jay Ellis, Esquire
• Senate Majority Leader Appointee – Stewart Greenleaf, Esq.
• Senate Minority Leader Appointee – James C. Schwartzman, Esq.
• House Majority Leader Appointee – Christopher H. Franklin
• House Minority Leader Appointee – John I. Kane

The day-to-day operations of SEPTA are handled by the general manager, who is appointed and hired by the board of directors. The general manager is assisted by nine department heads called assistant general managers.

The present general manager is Joseph M. Casey, who had served as the authority's chief financial officer/treasurer until his appointment as general manager in 2008. Past general managers include Faye L. M. Moore, Joseph T. Mack, John "Jack" Leary, Lou Gambaccini, and David L. Gunn. Past acting general managers include James Kilcur and Bill Stead.

Routes and ridership

Rapid Transit

• Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100 until 2009): formerly known as the Philadelphia & Western (P&W) Railroad, this purple color-coded former interurban heavy rail line is powered by third rail and has high level platforms. Daily ridership averaged 8,530 in 2010.

• Market–Frankford Line (Blue Line): subway and elevated line from the Frankford Transportation Center (rebuilt in 2003) in the Frankford section of Philadelphia to 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, via Center City Philadelphia. Weekday ridership averaged 180,100 in 2010.
• Broad Street Line and Broad–Ridge Spur (Orange Line): subway line along Broad Street in Philadelphia from Fern Rock Transportation Center to AT&T Station/Sports Complex (formerly Pattison Station), via Center City Philadelphia. Weekday ridership averaged 136,670 in 2010.

Trolley and Light Rail

SEPTA Route 11 subway–surface trolley

The former SEPTA Route 6 trolley during the early 1980s.

• Subway–Surface Trolley Lines (Green Line): Five Subway-Surface Trolley Routes—10, 11, 13, 34, and 36 run in a subway in Center City and fan out along on street-level as Surface Trolley Lines in West and Southwest Philadelphia. Daily ridership averaged 79,804 in 2010.
• Routes 101 and 102 (Suburban Trolley Lines): two trolley routes in Delaware County which run mostly on private rights-of-way but also have some street running. Daily ridership averaged 6,546 in 2010.
• Routes 15, 23, and 56: Three surface trolley routes that were suspended in 1992. Routes 23 and 56 are currently operated with buses. Trolley service on Route 15 (the Girard Avenue Line) resumed as of September 2005, operating as a heritage streetcar line. Route 23 has long been SEPTA's most heavily traveled surface route, with daily ridership averaging 21,500 in 2010.

Trackless trolley (trolleybus)

Main article: Trolleybuses in Philadelphia

Trackless trolleys (as they are called by SEPTA) operate on routes 59, 66, and 75. Service resumed in spring 2008 after a nearly five-year suspension. Until June 2002, five SEPTA routes were operated with trackless trolleys, using AM General vehicles built in 1978–79. Routes 29, 59, 66, 75, and 79 used trackless trolleys, but were converted to diesel buses for an indefinite period starting in 2002 (routes 59, 66, 75) and 2003 (routes 29, 79). The aging AM General trackless trolleys were never returned to service, but in February 2006 SEPTA placed an order for 38 new low-floor trackless trolleys from New Flyer Industries—enough for routes 59, 66, and 75 only—and the pilot trackless trolley arrived in June 2007, for testing. The production-series vehicles were delivered between February and August 2008. Trackless trolley service resumed on Routes 66 and 75 on April 14, 2008, and on Route 59 the following day, but was initially limited to just one or two vehicles on each route, as new trolley buses gradually replaced the motorbuses serving the routes over a period of several weeks. The SEPTA board voted in October 2006 not to order additional vehicles for Routes 29 and 79, and those routes permanently became non-electric.

Bus

SEPTA lists 121 bus routes, not including over 50 school trips, with most routes in the City of Philadelphia proper. SEPTA generally employs lettered, one and two-digit route numbering for its City Division routes, 90-series and 100-series routes for its Victory Division (Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties) and its Frontier Division (Montgomery and Bucks Counties), 200-series routes for its Regional Rail connector routes (Routes 201, 204, 205, and 206 in Montgomery & Chester Counties), 300-series routes for other specialized or third-party contract routes, and 400-series routes for limited service buses to schools within Philadelphia.

Commuter rail

See also: SEPTA Regional Rail and SEPTA diesel service

SEPTA began operating its commuter rail division (as SEPTA Regional Rail) on January 1, 1983. This division operates 13 lines serving more than 150 stations covering most of the five-county southeastern Pennsylvania region. It also runs trains to Wilmington and Newark, Delaware, Trenton, New Jersey, and West Trenton, New Jersey. Daily ridership averaged over 121,000 in 2010, with 29% of ridership on the Paoli/Thorndale and Lansdale/Doylestown lines.

Most of the cars used on the lines range in vintage from 1963 to 1976. After building delays, the first Silverliner V cars were introduced into service on October 29, 2010. These cars represent the first new electric multiple units purchased for the Regional Rail system since the completion of the Silverliner IV order in 1976, and the first such purchase to be made by SEPTA. As of March 19, 2013, all Silverliner V cars are in service, and make up almost two thirds of the current Regional Rail fleet.

Divisions

SEPTA has three major operating divisions: City Transit, Suburban, and Regional Rail. These divisions reflect the different transit and railroad operations that SEPTA has assumed.

City Transit Division

Main article: SEPTA City Transit Division surface routes

SEPTA's Route 34 trolley in the 4500 block of Baltimore Avenue

The City Transit Division operates routes mostly within the City of Philadelphia, including buses, subway–surface trolleys, surface Trolley Lines, the Market–Frankford Line, and the Broad Street Line. SEPTA City Transit Division surface routes include bus and trackless trolley lines. Some city division routes extend into Delaware, Montgomery, and Bucks counties. This division is the descendant of the Philadelphia Transportation Company. There are eight operating depots in this division: five of these depots only operate buses, one is a mixed bus/trackless trolley depot, one is a mixed bus/streetcar depot, and one is a streetcar-only facility.

Suburban Division

Victory District

The Victory District operates suburban bus and trolley (or light rail) routes that are based at 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby in Delaware County. Its light rail routes comprise the Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100) that runs from 69th Street Transportation Center to Norristown Transportation Center and the SEPTA Surface Media and Sharon Hill Trolley Lines (Routes 101 and 102). This district is the descendant of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, also known as the Red Arrow Lines. Some residents of the Victory District operating area still refer to this district as the "Red Arrow Division."

Frontier District

Main article: SEPTA Suburban Division bus routes

The Frontier District operates suburban bus routes that are based at the Norristown Transportation Center in Montgomery County and bus lines that serve eastern Bucks County. This district is the descendant of the Schuylkill Valley Lines in the Norristown area and the Trenton-Philadelphia Coach Lines in eastern Bucks County. SEPTA took over Schuylkill Valley Lines operations on March 1, 1976. SEPTA turned over the Bucks County routes (formerly Trenton-Philadelphia Coach Line Routes, a subsidiary of SEPTA) to Frontier Division in November 1983.

Suburban contract operations

Main article: SEPTA Suburban Division bus routes

Krapf's Coaches operate two bus lines under contract to SEPTA in Chester County. These routes are operated from Krapf's own garage, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Krapf's has operated three other bus routes for SEPTA in the past. Route 202 (West Chester to Wilmington), Route 207 (The Whiteland WHIRL), and Route 208 (Strafford Train Station to Chesterbrook) are no longer operating. SEPTA contracted bus operations before in Chester County. SEPTA and Reeder's Inc. joined forces in 1977 to operate three bus routes out of West Chester. These routes were the Route 120 (West Chester to Coatesville), Route 121 (West Chester to Paoli), and Route 122 (West Chester to Oxford). Bus service between West Chester and Coatesville was a replacement for the previous trolley service operated by West Chester Traction. SEPTA did replace two of the routes with their own bus service. Route 122 service was replaced by SEPTA's Route 91 on July 6, 1982 after only one year of service; Route 91 was eliminated due to lack of ridership. Route 121 was replaced by SEPTA's Route 92 on October 11, 1982; this service continues to operate today. Since ridership on the Route 120 was strong it continued to operate under the operations of Reeder's Inc. even after SEPTA pulled the funding source. Krapf's purchased the Reeder's operation in 1992 and designated the remaining (West Chester to Coatesville) bus route as Krapf's Transit "Route A".

Railroad Division

Main article: SEPTA Regional Rail

The Railroad Division operates 13 commuter railroad routes that begin in Central Philadelphia and radiate outwards, terminating in intra-city, suburban, and out-of-state locations.

This division is the descendant of the six electrified commuter lines of the Reading Company (RDG), the six electrified commuter lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR, later Penn Central: PC), and the new Airport line constructed by the City of Philadelphia between 1974 and 1984.

With the construction and opening of the Center City Commuter Connection Tunnel in 1984, lines were paired such that a former Pennsylvania Railroad line was coupled with a former Reading line. Seven such pairings were created and given route designations numbered R1 through R8 (with R4 not used). As a result, the routes were originally designed so that trains would proceed from one outlying terminal to Center City, stopping at 30th Street Station, Suburban Station, and Market East Station, then proceed out to the other outlying terminal assigned to the route. Since ridership patterns have changed since the implementation of this plan, SEPTA removed the R-numbers from the lines in July 2010, and instead refers to the lines by the names of their termini.

The out-of-state terminals offer connections with other transit agencies. The Trenton Line offers connections in Trenton, New Jersey to NJ Transit (NJT) or Amtrak for travel to New York City. Plans exist to restore NJT service to West Trenton, New Jersey, thus offering a future alternate to New York via the West Trenton Line and NJT. Another plan offers a connection for travel to Baltimore and Washington DC via MARC, involving extensions of the SEPTA Wilmington/Newark Line from Newark, Delaware, an extension of MARC's Penn service from Perryville, Maryland, or both. It has also been proposed for the line- which currently does not run late nights, nor on Sundays beyond Marcus Hook- to have additional runs at those times to Wilmington and Newark.

Transit police

SEPTA established the current Transit Police Department in 1981. It now has about 260 officers operating in seven patrol zones. It maintains a patrol, bicycle and police dog unit, as well as "Special Operations Response Team" trained to deal with hostage situations.

SEPTA equipment

Buses

See also: Trolleybuses in Philadelphia

SEPTA trackless trolley service between 1980 and 2003 was operated by AM General vehicles.

In 1982, SEPTA ordered buses from Neoplan USA, a purchase that was both the largest for Neoplan at the time and SEPTA's largest to date. These buses were used throughout the SEPTA service area. SEPTA changed its specifications on new bus orders each year. The Neoplan AK's (numbered 8285–8410), which was SEPTA's first Neoplan order, had longitudinal seating: all of the seats face towards the aisle. However, their suburban counterparts (8411–8434) had longitudinal seating only in the rear of the bus. The back door has a wheelchair ramp, which forced SEPTA officials to limit its use and specify wheelchair lifts in their next order. These buses had a nine-liter 6v92 engine and Allison HT-747 transmission.

In 1983, SEPTA, along with other transit operators in Pennsylvania, ordered 1,000 Neoplan buses of various lengths. SEPTA ultimately received 450 buses from this order: 425 were 40-foot (12 m) buses (BD 8435–8584 and CD 8601–8875), which came without wheelchair lifts, and 25 35-foot (11 m) buses (BP 1301–1325).

SEPTA bought more Neoplans on its own in 1986, and these began to arrive in early 1987. The first two groups (3000–3131 and 3132–3251) came without rear wheelchair lifts; the last two groups, one in late 1987 (3252–3371) and another in 1989 (3372–3491), included them. All Neoplans built between 1986 and 1989 were equipped with a ZF 4HP-590 transmission.

By the early 1990s, SEPTA had 1,092 Neoplan AN440 coaches in active service, making it the largest North American transportation authority with a fleet primarily manufactured by Neoplan USA. These buses dominated the streets of Philadelphia through late 1997, when the earlier fleet of AK and BD Neoplans (8285–8581) was replaced by 400 buses built by American Ikarus and – the same company after a 1996 reorganization – North American Bus Industries. The older GMC RTS 35- and 40-foot buses were also replaced in this order, with the sole remaining exception of No. 4462, a 35-foot coach. More replacements occurred when SEPTA received its low-floor fleet, and retired the last An440 buses on June 20, 2008. (The An440s have all been scrapped.)

The Neoplan model has not entirely vanished from Philadelphia's streets; in 1988, SEPTA ordered 155 articulated buses from the company, which delivered them between late 1999 and the summer of 2000. These buses replaced the 1984 Volvo 10BM 60-foot articulated buses.

The 1988 purchase also included 80 29-foot Transmark-29 buses from National-Eldorado (4501–4580), the first of which began to arrive in late 2000. Most of these buses are on suburban routes, but some are in the "LUCY" service in the University City section of West Philadelphia, in a special paint scheme, and others on lighter lines within Philadelphia. SEPTA had decided to buy from Metrotrans Legacy, SEPTA's first choice in small buses, but the company filed for bankruptcy in 1999.

Also, a group of buses called "cutaways" was purchased. These buses were built on Ford van chassis, with bodies similar to those seen on car rental shuttles at various airports. These buses were retired around 2003 and replaced with slightly larger cutaway buses on a Freightliner truck chassis.

The next bus type, which has steered SEPTA into a new era, was the low-floor bus. After evaluating sample buses from New Flyer and NovaBus in 1994–96, SEPTA ordered 100 low-floor buses (5401–5500) from New Flyer. A pilot bus arrived in January 2001, and production models followed in the autumn of 2001. More in 2002 (nos. 5501–5600), 2003 (nos. 5613–5830), 2004 (nos. 5851–5950), and 2005 (nos. 8000–8119, numbers presumably chosen so as not to run into the 6000s, which had been reserved for an order of commuter coaches from Motor Coach Industries that SEPTA did not pursue).

Trackless trolley (trolley bus) service was suspended in 2003, and the 110 AM General vehicles that had provided service on SEPTA's five trackless trolley routes never returned to service. However, in early 2006 SEPTA ordered 38 new low-floor trackless trolleys from New Flyer, which entered service in 2008, restoring trackless service on routes 59, 66, and 75. These buses replaced Septa Neoplan EZs, ending Neoplan's 26-year domination.

SEPTA placed an order with delivery starting in 2008 for 400 New Flyer hybrid buses—with options for up to 80 additional buses to replace the NABI Ikarus buses at the end of their 12-year life. These will not be the first hybrid buses, since SEPTA purchased two small groups of hybrids, 5601H–5612H, which arrived in 2003, and 5831H–5850H in 2004. Before the 2008 purchase, SEPTA borrowed an MTA New York City Transit Orion hybrid to evaluate it in service. While in use for SEPTA, the bus bore the number 3999; after evaluation, it resumed its New York identity. From the 2008 purchase, the first hybrids arrived in late 2008, and by early spring 2009, all were in service. SEPTA was the first to purchase New Flyer DE40LFs equipped with rooftop HVAC units. Recently it had been confirmed by different sources that the next batch of hybrids for SEPTA will be New Flyer DE40LFRs due to New Flyer discontinuing the LF series in 2009.

SEPTA's hefty revenue from advertisements on the backs of its buses leads the authority to order mainly buses equipped with a rooftop HVAC and with their rear route-number sign mounted close to the roof, especially on 2008–2009 New Flyer DE40LFs and future orders.

Vehicle types

• 
  Neoplan AN-460
• 
  New Flyer D40LF
• 
  New Flyer E40LFR

Current Bus Fleet Roster

Order Year	Manufacturer	Model	Powertrain (Engine/Transmission)	Propulsion	Fleet Series (Qty.)	Notes
1997	NABI	416.08TA	DDS 50 Allison WB-400R	Diesel	5301-5400 (99)
1998-99	Neoplan USA	AN460	DDS 50 Allison WB-500R	Diesel	7101, 7102-7108 (8)	#7101 was built in 1998
2000		AN460	DDS 50 Allison WB-500R	Diesel	7109-7255 (147)
2001	NFI	D40LF	DDS 50 Allison WB-400R	Diesel	5401-5500 (100)	#5401 ordered in 2000
	ElDorado National	Transmark RE 29'	Cummins ISB Allison WB-300R	Diesel	4501-4581 (81)	#4501 was prototype in 2000 Used on low-capacity routes Used on the LUCY Some are retired
2002	NFI	DE40LF	Cummins ISL GM-Allison E Drive	Hybrid	5601H-5612H (12)	SEPTA's first hybrid buses
		D40LF	DDS 50 Allison WB-400R	Diesel	5501-5600 (100)
2003		D40LF	Cummins ISL Allison WB-400R	Diesel	5613-5712 (90)	Originally had Detroit Diesel engine
2004		D40LF	DDS 50 ZF 6HP592	Diesel	5713-5830, 5851-5950 (118)	Currently being repowered with diesel series 50 engine
	Freightliner/Champion	FB65/Defender	Caterpillar C7 Allison 1000 PTS	Diesel	2070-2097 (28)
	NFI	DE40LF	Cummins ISL GM-Allison ep-40 HybriDrive	Hybrid	5831H-5850H (20)
2005		D40LF	Cummins ISL ZF 6HP592C	Diesel	8000-8119 (120)	#8000 was prototype #8046 was in fire incident and has since been retired
2007	Chevy/Champion	C4500/Challenger	GMC Duramax Diesel 6.6L Allison 1000 PTS	Diesel	2098-2099 (2)
2007-08	NFI	E40LFR	Škoda Electric a.s. 19 ML 3550 K/4 Cummins QSB 4.5L APU	Electric	800, 801-837 (38)
2008		DE40LF	Cummins ISL Allison ep-40 HybriDrive	Hybrid	8120-8219 (120)	HVAC unit mounted on roof Low-profile capsule
2009		DE40LF	Cummins ISL Allison EP-40 HybriDrive	Hybrid	8220-8339 (120)
2010		DE40LFR	Cummins ISL Allison ep-40 HybriDrive	Hybrid	8340-8459 (120)
2011		DE40LFR	Cummins ISL9 Allison ep-40 HybriDrive	Hybrid	8460-8559 (101)	First DE40LFRs to have streamline rooftop design
Future Bus Order
2013-2015	NovaBus	LFS-A and/or LFS-A HEV	Cummins ISL9 Allison H 50 EP	Diesel and/or Hybrid	7300-7454 (155)	To replace Neoplan AN-460 buses
		LFS and/or LFS HEV	Cummins ISL9 Allison H 40 EP	Diesel and/or Hybrid	TBA' (90)	To replace All 91 1997 NABI 416.08TA left in service

• Note: SEPTA will be ordering 245 buses overall from NovaBus. In a four-year contract placement; 160 hybrid buses over the first two-years of contract and additional federal money will purchase an optional 85 diesel buses over the last two-years of contract.

Subway

The Broad Street Line uses cars built by Kawasaki between 1981 and 1983. These cars, known as B-IV as they are the fourth generation used on the line, are stainless steel and include some cars with operating cabs at both ends, as well as some with only a single cab.

The Market-Frankford Line uses a class of car known as M-4, as they, like the Broad Street B-IV's, represent the line's fourth generation of cars, and were built from 1996 to 1999 by Adtranz. These cars are built to the unusual broad gauge of 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,588 mm), known as "Pennsylvania trolley gauge".

Trolley

Single-end Kawasaki trolleys waiting in the yard in 1993

The vehicles used on SEPTA's Subway-Surface trolleys were built by Kawasaki in 1981. Known as "K-cars", they use the Pennsylvania trolley gauge of 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,588 mm).

Uniquely, the Girard Street Line uses "PCC II" trolleys, originally built in 1947 by the St. Louis Car Company, which were rebuilt for the line's reopening in 2003 to include air conditioning. The line, like the Subway-Surface lines, is Pennsylvania trolley gauge.

The suburban trolley lines use Kawasaki-built vehicles similar to, but larger than, the Subway-Surface trolleys. They too are Pennsylvania trolley gauge. Notably, they are double ended, unlike the Subway-Surface trolleys, as the suburban lines lack any loops to turn the vehicles.

The Norristown High Speed Line uses a class of cars known as N-5s. They were delivered in 1993 by ABB after significant production delays. These cars are unique from the SEPTA trolleys in that they are powered by a third rail rather than overhead wires, and are standard gauge.

Regional Rail

Further information: SEPTA Regional Rail § Fleet

SEPTA uses a mixed fleet of Budd Company, General Electric, and St. Louis Car Company "Silverliner" electric multiple unit self-operated cars. SEPTA also uses push-pull equipment consisting of coaches built by Bombardier and hauled by AEM-7 or ALP-44 electric locomotives, identical to those used by Amtrak and NJT on its electrified rail services, for express and rush-hour service. SEPTA is currently undergoing the process of retiring the Budd and St. Louis Silverliner cars and replacing them with a model built by Hyundai Rotem.

Maintenance-of-way vehicles

• C-145 snow sweeper (1923)
• Harsco Track Technologies Corporation work car – overhead wire snow and ice removal
• PCC work car 2194 – trolley line
• PCC work car 2187 – trolley line (retired)
• SEPTA Railroad OPS-3161 crane railroad work car
• SEPTA Railroad OPS-6214 Fairmont rail grinder
• RRD 520 MOW Hi-Rail Truck
• R-2 (ex 1922 Brill) Market Street revenue car
• W-56 flat bed and crane work car
• W-61 flat bed work car
• 2 Market–Frankford Line M4 work cars
• D-39 tower car (retired 2003)

Maintenance facilities

Transit Divisions

• 69th Street Yard (City Transit Division / Market–Frankford Line, facility is actually located in Delaware County)
• Allegheny Depot (City Transit Division / articulated and standard size buses; formerly housed Nearside, double-ended, and PCC streetcars)
• Berridge Shops (formerly Wyoming Shops, bus maintenance and overhauls)
• Bridge Street Yard (City Transit Division / Market–Frankford Line)
• Callowhill Depot (City Transit Division / bus and streetcar; formerly housed Nearside, Peter Witt, double-ended, and PCC streetcars)
• Comly Depot (City Transit Division / articulated and standard size buses)
• Elmwood Depot (City Transit Division / streetcar, also used as a station. Replaced former Woodland Depot)
• Fern Rock Yard (City Transit Division / Broad Street Line)
• Frankford Depot (City Transit Division / bus and trackless trolley; formerly housed Nearside, double-ended, and PCC streetcars)
• Frontier Depot (Suburban Transit Division / bus)
• Germantown Brakes Maintenance Facility (Germantown Depot, City Transit Division / bus maintenance)
• Midvale Depot (City Transit Division / articulated, standard size, and 30-foot (9.1 m) buses)
• Southern Depot (City Transit Division / buses only: SEPTA board voted to not have trackless trolleys return to South Philly; formerly housed Nearside, double-ended, and Peter Witt streetcars)
• Victory Depot (69th Street, Suburban Transit Division / bus and light rail)
• Woodland Maintenance Facility (streetcar overhaul and repairs. Site of former Woodland Depot, whiche formerly housed Nearside, double-ended, and PCC streetcars)

Regional Rail

Main article: SEPTA Regional Rail § Yards and maintenance facilities

Connecting transit agencies in the Philadelphia region

Local services

SEPTA Market–Frankford Line at 52nd Street Station

The PATCO Speedline is a rapid transit line that runs from Center City Philadelphia to Camden, New Jersey and terminates in Lindenwold, New Jersey. At the 8th Street station, one can transfer to the Market–Frankford Line and Broad–Ridge Spur with an additional transfer fare. Paid transfers are also available at PATCO's 12th–13th Street station and 15th–16th Street station with SEPTA's Broad Street Line Walnut–Locust station. The PATCO Speedline crosses over the Delaware River via the Ben Franklin Bridge. It is owned by the Delaware River Port Authority.

In the western Philadelphia suburbs, Krapf's Transit runs regularly scheduled buses between Coatesville, Downingtown, Exton, and West Chester. SEPTA Routes 92 and 104 connect with this service in West Chester, and route 92 also connects with this service at the Exton Square Mall. Krapf's also provide contract services to SEPTA on two routes (204 and 205).

In King of Prussia, the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association runs a community shuttle, the Rambler, which connects with SEPTA at the King of Prussia Mall Transportation Center.

In the northwestern Philadelphia suburbs, Pottstown Area Rapid Transit (PART, formerly known as Pottstown Urban Transit) operates six daytime bus routes and three nighttime bus routes within Pottstown Borough and the neighboring townships of Limerick, Lower Pottsgrove, Upper Pottsgrove, and West Pottsgrove in Montgomery County and North Coventry Township in Chester County. PART and SEPTA have an agreement allowing transfers between PART service and SEPTA Route 93 buses in Pottstown.

Regional services

NJ Transit runs buses from Philadelphia to New Jersey points. Many NJT buses stop at the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal, which is immediately north of Market East Station, or at other locations in Center City Philadelphia. NJT also operates the River Line light rail line between Camden and Trenton, the Northeast Corridor Line between Trenton and New York, and the Atlantic City Line between 30th Street Station and Atlantic City. Both the Northeast Corridor Line and River Line connect with SEPTA's Regional Rail Trenton Line at the Trenton train station. Additionally, SEPTA Route 127 connects with NJT bus and rail services at Trenton.

DART First State provides bus service in Delaware. This service connects with SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line Regional Rail service in Wilmington and Newark. In 2007, SEPTA bus Route 306 began service, connecting the Great Valley Corporate Center and West Chester with the Brandywine Town Center; service between West Chester and Brandywine Town Center was discontinued in 2010 due to low ridership. In February 2009, SEPTA bus Route 113 commenced connecting bus service with DART at the Tri-State Mall, allowing service between Delaware County and the State of Delaware, and connecting with DART First State's #1 and #61 bus at the Tri-State Mall.

National and international services

Amtrak provides rail service between Philadelphia (at 30th Street Station) and points beyond SEPTA's range, including Lancaster, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Chicago to the west, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to the southwest, and New York, Boston, and Montreal to the northeast. Amtrak's service overlaps to some degree with the Wilmington/Newark Line, Paoli/Thorndale Line, and Trenton Line. In addition to 30th Street Station, shared Amtrak/SEPTA Regional Rail stations include Wilmington and Newark on the Wilmington/Newark Line, Ardmore, Paoli, Exton, and Downingtown on the Paoli/Thorndale Line, and North Philadelphia, Cornwells Heights, and Trenton on the Trenton Line. Amtrak is faster than SEPTA, but significantly more expensive, particularly for services along the Northeast Corridor.

Greyhound and a variety of interregional bus operators, most of which are part of the Trailways system, stop at the Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal. In addition to being adjacent to Market East Station, the terminal is one block from the Market–Frankford Line 11th Street station and various SEPTA bus routes. Major destinations served with one seat rides to/from the terminal include Allentown, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Harrisburg, Newark (New Jersey), New York, Pittsburgh, Reading, Scranton, Washington, and Wilmington. In addition, six NJT bus routes (313, 315, 316, 317, 318, and 551) originate and terminate from this terminal.

Philadelphia International Airport is served by many airlines with flights to various national and international points. SEPTA serves the airport with local bus service and with the Airport Line from Center City.

Criticism and recognition

SEPTA's 50-year history has often been a tumultuous one, a direct result of the agency being governed at the local county level rather than the state one. Railpace Newsmagazine contributor Gerry Williams observed that SEPTA regularly staggers from crisis to crisis, with little support coming from the state level in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Never progressive in management decisions and notoriously apathetic, SEPTA has historically been at odds with the riding public, and both local county and state officials. SEPTA has suffered more labor strikes than any other transit agency in the U.S., occuring in 1977, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1995, 1998, 2005 and 2009, with another looming in June 2014.

Williams commented that there is a notable lack of "any group... influential enough to bring shame on SEPTA.", adding that SEPTA's chronic ills "merely reflect the broader problems of local provincialism and petty political squabbles which are so rampant within the (Delaware Valley) region." The city (Philadelphia)/suburban (Bucks, Delaware, Chester, Montgomery) split has historically resulted in various hidden agendas working in the background, often at cross purposes with one another than as a unified region (city government is firmly Democratic, the four suburban counties equally solidly Republican). This factor is regularly influenced by the changing political winds at the state capital in Harrisburg.

SEPTA made strides in the 21st century that helped reverse the downward trend. $191 million of stimulus funds were utilized to make over 30 major improvements to the system, including renovations of the Spring Garden and Girard Avenue subway stations and built the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) station at Fox Chase terminal in 2010. SEPTA also inaugurated a consolidated, multi-modal control center that helps manage all aspects of the system.

SEPTA was voted the best large transit agency in North America by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) in July 2012. The award was criticized by Next City columnist Diana Lind, stating that despite some outward appearances of improvement, SEPTA still largely operates under a cloud of non-transparency. When asked to produce data pertaining to SEPTA's repeated attempts to consolidate bus stops, Lind observed "the report on the project barely elaborates on the information. SEPTA’s trials deserve public attention and input. The public deserves the data — show us the average times before and after the pilot. Give reader surveys. Tell us why you haven’t tried another pilot on another bus line."

See also

• Doe v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
• List of metro systems
• List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership
• Commuter rail in North America
• List of suburban and commuter rail systems
• List of United States commuter rail systems by ridership
• List of light rail transit systems
• List of United States light rail systems by ridership
• List of United States local bus agencies by ridership

Further reading

• Cheape, Charles W. (1980). Moving the masses: urban public transit in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, 1880–1912. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-58827-4.
• Pawson, John R. (1979). Delaware Valley Rails: The Railroads and Rail Transit Lines of the Philadelphia Area. John R. Pawson. ISBN 0-9602080-0-3.

External links

• Official website
• General fares
• John F. Tucker Transit History Collection (1895-2002) at Hagley Museum and Library. The collection consists of official documents produced or used by Mr. Tucker during his career as a public transit official, and records of the pre-SEPTA Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (1907-1939) and the Philadelphia Transportation Company (1940-1968) that he preserved from loss or destruction. The collection traces the evolution of the Philadelphia transit system, its extent, routes and services, and of North American rail rapid transit generally.