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It has been suggested that this article should be, split into articles titled SEPTA Suburban Transit Division and List of SEPTA bus routes. (discuss) (May 2024) |
Parent | SEPTA |
---|---|
Founded | 1968 |
Headquarters | 1234 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 |
Locale | Suburban Philadelphia |
Service area | Suburban Philadelphia |
Service type | Local bus service |
Routes | 48 |
Fleet | 250 |
Operator | See main article |
Chief executive | Leslie Richards (general manager) |
Website | septa.org |
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority operates/contracts operations of these routes serving points in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, with a few routes operating into the: city of Philadelphia. The Suburban Transit Division is: broken down into three districts: Victory (Formerly: Red Arrow Division), Frontier, "and Contract Operations."
Routes※
Victory District※
These routes are operated from the——Victory District, located at the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby Township, "Delaware County." This also includes Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100 before 2009), 101 Media, and 102 Sharon Hill rail operations. These routes were once operated by the "Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company," better known by its nickname "Red Arrow Lines". Routes in the Chester area of Delaware County as well as Chester Pike operations were once operated by Southern Penn Bus Lines, which the Red Arrow took control of on June 30, 1960. Today, Routes 114, 117, and 118 are leftovers of the old Southern Penn system. The Philadelphia Transportation Company's "PTC" Folsom Division bus routes (former Routes 71, 76, and 77 trolley lines as well as bus Route 82) were taken over by Red Arrow Lines on January 20, 1961. Since that time the Ex-PTC routes have been eliminated. Or consolidated into the current route system. SEPTA took over Red Arrow Lines on January 29, 1970. This was one of the last privately owned transit operations left in the United States. Even today some longtime residents, transit historians. And the local news media still refer to this operation as SEPTA's Red Arrow Division. In 2011 SEPTA renamed 69th Street Terminal the 69th Street Transportation Center.
Express service eliminated in 2022.
The first version of Route 112 ran from 69th Street Terminal to the Oakview section of Upper Darby. Formerly: Red Arrow's Route "F" redesignated Route 112 on June 16, 1975. Service eliminated November 28, 1983. Service between 69th Street Terminal and Lansdowne Ave. merged into Route 113. Oakview loop merged into Route 107.
Frontier District※
These routes are operated from the Frontier garage in Plymouth Township, Montgomery County. This district of SEPTA was created through a combination of former Schuylkill Valley Line services in the Norristown area and Trenton Philadelphia Coach Line services in the Lower Bucks County area. Routes 96 to 99 which helped form the original five SEPTA Frontier District Routes were once part of the old "Schuylkill Valley Lines" that SEPTA acquired on March 1, 1976. The old Schuylkill Valley Lines routes were then restructured into five routes on March 7, 1977 with Route 95 being new route. Routes 127 to 129 were once part of the old Trenton Philadelphia Coach Lines "TPC" which became a subsidiary of the Philadelphia Transportation Company "PTC" on January 24, 1963. When SEPTA took over PTC, Trenton Philadelphia Coach became a subsidiary of SEPTA. These routes were assigned Routes 150 to 153 in 1980. These routes continued to operate under SEPTA/TPC until November 14, 1983 when SEPTA Frontier District took over the operations of these routes and rebranded them Routes 127, 128, and 129. All other routes have been added onto the system since then. Trenton-Philadelphia Coach Lines was brought back to life by SEPTA as a contract operation for its Routes 310, 311 and LUCY (Route 316) operations. Trenton-Philadelphia Coach also operated the Cornwells Heights Parking Shuttle (Route 312)
Route | Terminals | Major streets | History | Notes | Daily Ridership (Fall 2023) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
90
|
Norristown Transportation Center | Plymouth Meeting Mall | Markley St, Swede St, Germantown Pike | Service started October 31, 2005; Split from Route 97; Service operates over a former Schuylkill Valley Lines bus route to Norristown State Hospital which was taken over by SEPTA in 1976. Service on this route has been operated by portions of Route 99 until October 11, 1982 and then Route 97 until October 31, 2005. The earlier Route 90 was in the SEPTA City Division. | No Sunday Service. | 287 |
91
|
Norristown Transportation Center | SCI Phoenix | Ridge Pike, Valley Forge Road, Skippack Pike | This is the second version of Route 91. The first Route 91 operated between West Chester and Oxford via Kennett Square and only lasted from July 6, 1982 to June 30, 1983. The current Route 91 service began May 3, 1986; Weekday service eliminated December 21, 1996 due to SEPTA money constraints. Service suspended since April 9, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Operates only on Saturdays. As of 2023, Route 91 is going to be discontinued with bus revolution happening. | |
92
|
West Chester Transportation Center | King of Prussia | Phoenixville Pike, King Road, Lancaster Avenue, Swedesford Road | Service began on October 11, 1982; New Route 133 split from Route 92 on November 20, 2000; Route 133 merged back into Route 92 on September 5, 2006. Route 314 was merged into the Route 92 on October 30, 2011 at the same time service was restructured to begin at Exton Square Mall then serve West Goshen Corporate Park and West Chester. After leaving West Chester the route continued via Malvern, Paoli to King of Prussia. On August 1, 2021, service cut back from Exton to West Chester Transportation Center concurrent with the introduction of Route 135. |
|
171 |
93
|
Norristown Transportation Center | Pottstown | Ridge Pike | Service began March 9, 1981 as a replacement bus route for SEPTA commuter rail service to Pottstown. Service to Collegeville was a former Schuylkill Valley Lines bus route. Service to Collegeville was operated under Route 97 until October 11, 1982. Service rerouted into Philadelphia Premium Outlets. | Additional midday service began October 30, 2011. | 943 |
94
|
Chestnut Hill | Montgomery Mall | Bethlehem Pike, Morris Road | Service began on May 17, 1982. Routing covers most of a former North Penn Bus Company bus route that replaced a branch of Lehigh Valley Transit's high speed line from Chestnut Hill to North Wales. Route 94 Express service was added April 2, 2000. Route 94 Express service was redesignated as new Route 134 on October 30, 2005. Route 134 discontinued on June 15, 2012. | 283 | |
95
|
Willow Grove Park Mall | Gulph Mills station | Fitzwatertown Road, Pennsylvania Avenue, Butler Pike | This route is one of SEPTA's original Frontier bus routes started on March 7, 1977. Service operated between King of Prussia and Plymouth Meeting malls. Service on this route has been restructured several times. Service to King of Prussia Mall complex was eliminated December 16, 1996. After this date a Route 95X was operated to King of Prussia Mall from Gulph Mills during the holiday shopping season until the creation of Route 123. Service extended to Willow Grove via the Route 98 routing beyond the Plymouth Meeting Mall on October 30, 2011. | No Sunday Service. | 322 |
96
|
Norristown Transportation Center | Lansdale station | DeKalb Pike | Formerly a North Penn Bus Company bus route that replaced Lehigh Valley Transit's "Liberty Bell Limited" service between Lansdale and Norristown. Service was taken over by Schuylkill Valley Lines. This was one of SEPTA's original Frontier bus routes started on March 7, 1977. Service only operated as far north as Penn Square originally. Saturday service was extended to Montgomery Mall on July 25, 1977 then to Lansdale on March 18, 1978. Weekday service to Lansdale and Telford started November 6, 1978. Service between Lansdale and Telford was transferred to new Route 132 on October 30, 2005. | 980 | |
97
|
Norristown Transportation Center | Chestnut Hill | Ridge Pike, Fayette Street, Hector Street | This route is one of SEPTA's five original Frontier bus routes started on March 7, 1977. Service operates over a former Schuylkill Valley Line service to Conshohocken and Spring Mill. The Route 97 was the last of the through routed bus services in Norristown when the western end of the service was broken off and became new Route 90 on October 31, 2005. The current form of Route 97 was extended to Barren Hill on October 31, 2005. Service was extended to Chestnut Hill Loop on February 13, 2011. | 541 | |
98
|
Norristown Transportation Center | Plymouth Meeting Mall or Blue Bell | New Hope Street, Germantown Pike, Township Line Road, Union Meeting Road | This is one of the five original SEPTA Frontier bus routes started March 7, 1977. Service operates over a former Schuylkill Valley Line bus route and also replaced former SEPTA Route L bus service to Norristown which replaced Auch Inter-Borough bus line service that went out of business on December 17, 1973. Service was extended to Willow Grove on April 11, 1988. Service was rerouted to service the Blue Bell Office Campus on April 7, 1996. Service on the western end of Route 98 from Norristown to Oaks was broken off and became new Route 131 on June 20, 1999. Service between Plymouth Meeting Mall and Willow Grove transferred to Route 95 on October 30, 2011. Route changed on February 21, 2016 to run from Blue Bell via Plymouth Meeting Mall instead of Plymouth Meeting Mall via Blue Bell. | Weekend service terminates at Plymouth Meeting Mall. | 553 |
99
|
Norristown Transportation Center | King of Prussia and Phoenixville | DeKalb Pike, Egypt Road, Schuylkill Road | This is one of the five original SEPTA Frontier bus routes started March 7, 1977. Service operates over a former Schuylkill Valley Line bus route to King of Prussia. Service was extended to Phoenixville on August 10, 1981 replacing former joint SEPTA/Werner Coach Line Route 130 as providing a replacement bus route for commuter rail service to Phoenixville. Service extended to Royersford June 7, 1982. Through route service to Norristown State Hospital replaced by rerouted Route 97 on October 11, 1982. Service extended to Pottstown on June 20, 1989. Service cut back to Royersford October 26, 1993. Service was rerouted from Valley Forge Road to Oaks and Egypt Road June 20, 1999. Service west of Phoenixville to Royersford transferred to new Route 139 on August 31, 2008. | Service as of June 15, 2014 trips now include the Oaks Shopping Center. | 960 |
124
|
Center City | King of Prussia or Chesterbrook | Schuylkill Expressway, Henderson Road, Swedesford Road | This route was created as a spur of Route 45 redesignated Route 125 on November 26, 1989. Service rerouted off of Chesterbrook Blvd. onto Swedesford Road on September 3, 2006. | 1,164 | |
127
|
Oxford Valley Mall | Trenton Transit Center | Lincoln Highway, Levittown Parkway, West Trenton Avenue | Service on this route started approximately 1930 by East Coast Coach Company reorganized under the name of Trenton Philadelphia Coach Company in August 1931. This was their main bus line from Trenton to Center City Philadelphia known as "Route 10". On July 1, 1977 this line was given the Route 150 designator under SEPTA/TPC operations with Oxford Valley Mall serving as the new southern terminal point for service. On November 14, 1983 service was redesignated Route 127. Service was cut back from Trenton on April 28, 1986. Service was restored to Trenton April 2, 1990. Service was rerouted via Levittown on November 20, 2000. Service was cut back from Neshaminy Mall to Oxford Valley Mall on October 30, 2011. |
|
208 |
128
|
Neshaminy Mall | Oxford Valley Mall | Street Road, Bristol Pike, State Road | This service started as Route 152. This route was a new route added to the SEPTA/Trenton Philadelphia Coach on July 1, 1977 as part of a reorganization of SEPTA/TPC lines. Service operated from Oxford Valley Mall and circulated throughout Bristol Township. Service was restructured and redesignated Route 128 on November 14, 1983. Service has been restructured several times over the past few years as this route struggles with ridership and cost recovery. | No Sunday Service. | 282 |
129
|
Morrell Park | Oxford Valley Mall | Knights Road, Bensalem Boulevard, Beaver Dam Road, Durham Road | This route started out in November 1952 as Trenton Philadelphia Coach Line's route from Levittown to Center City Philadelphia. On March 1, 1964 service to Philadelphia was cut back to Country Club Shopping Center (US 1 & PA 413). On July 1, 1977 service was given the Route 151 designator and Oxford Valley Mall became the terminal point. On November 14, 1983 service was restructured and combined with former "SEPTA/Colonial Coach Line" Route 153 into new Route 129 from Morrell Park to Oxford Valley Mall. Service has been restructured several times since then. | 629 | |
130
|
Morrell Park | Bucks County Community College | Street Road, Neshaminy Boulevard, Newtown-Langhorne Road | This service started out as the Route 14 Shuttle bus replacing what was through routed Route 14 bus service Frankford Terminal and Oxford Valley Mall via Neshaminy residential sections. Service was transferred to SEPTA Frontier District and redesignated Route 130 on September 12, 1988 as part of a reorganization of bus service in Northeast Philadelphia. This remained a short shuttle like service until November 19, 2000 when service was extended to Franklin Mills and Bucks County Community College in Newtown. This extension replaced the poorly patronized Route 301 shuttle (Formerly: Fox-Chase Newtown Shuttle Bus) that replaced rail service between Fox Chase and Newtown on January 15, 1983. Extended to Morrell Park on October 30, 2011. Weekday peak hour service cross routed with Routes 129 and 133 at Morrell Park. | Sunday service operates between Morrell Park and Neshaminy Mall only. | 409 |
131
|
Norristown Transportation Center | Audubon | Marshall St, Egypt Rd | This route follows an old Schuylkill Valley Line route to Oaks and Phoenixville. This service became the western side of Route 98 on March 7, 1977. Service was separated from Route 98 June 21, 1999 and designated Route 131. Sunday service added on August 26, 2018. | 576 | |
132
|
Montgomery Mall | Telford | Horsham Road, Welsh Road, Forty Foot Road, County Line Road | This new route replaced Route 96 service between Montgomery Mall and Telford October 31, 2005. New Sunday service was introduced to this area at the same time. | 294 | |
133
|
Morrell Park | Eddington Rail Station | State Road | Service started January 15, 2001 between Morrell Park and Bristol Regional Rail Station as Route 304, replacing a portion of Route 129. Off peak/Saturday service eliminated and route cut back at Eddington on October 30, 2011. Route 304 redesignated Route 133 on October 31, 2011. Service between Eddington and Bristol eliminated. Service cross routed with Routes 129 and 130 at Morrell Park. | Rush Hour Service Only. No Weekend Service | 46 |
135
|
Coatesville | West Chester Transportation Center | Lincoln Highway, Pottstown Pike | Service began August 1, 2021, replacing the Krapf "A" bus operated by Krapf Transit. Trolley service between Coatesville and West Chester was originally operated by West Chester Traction. Reeder's Inc. took over service after Short Line of Pennsylvania ended operations. In 1977, SEPTA and Reeder's began the Route 120 bus service between Coatesville and West Chester. Reeder's continued operating the route after SEPTA pulled funding. The Krapf "A" bus began service in 1992, replacing SEPTA Route 120. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a reduction in ridership, and SEPTA began providing more than $810,000 in subsidies to Krapf to continue operating the route. SEPTA took over the route to maintain service as Krapf was unable to show it could operate the route without subsidies. | 656 | |
139
|
King of Prussia | Limerick | Valley Forge Road, Schuylkill Road, Township Line Road | Service started August 31, 2008. This route restored bus service via Valley Forge National Historical Park and Valley Forge Road that the Route 99 once served. This new route also replaced Route 99 service between Phoenixville and Royersford. New service was also added to the Philadelphia Premium Outlet center in Limerick. Service between Royersford and Philadelphia Premium Outlets eliminated in October 2011 and redirected to Township Line Rd. & Ridge Pike. | No Sunday Service. | 303 |
150
|
Plymouth Meeting Mall | Parx Casino | Pennsylvania Turnpike | New SEPTA service started February 12, 2007. This service is made up of what would normally be out of service dead head trips from the Frontier Bus Garage in Plymouth Meeting and the Bucks County Routes. This is the first time any transit service was operated via the Pennsylvania Turnpike. | Limited Non-stop service is offered Monday through Saturday | 26 |
201
|
Fort Washington station | Fort Washington Office Center | Commerce Drive, Virginia Drive | Service began April 11, 1988; First bus route of SEPTA's new "200 Series Route Program" that connects SEPTA's Regional Rail Lines to commercial developments. | Service operates Monday thru Friday only. | 48 |
206
|
Paoli Railroad Station | Great Valley Corporate Center | Lancaster Avenue, Morehall Road | Service started May 7, 1984 known as Route 126; service redesignated as Route 206 April 11, 1988 to join the "200 Series Route Program". Service restructured September 3, 2019 to absorb a portion of the discontinued Route 205 between Paoli Hospital and Great Valley Corporate Center. | Service operates Monday thru Friday only. | 71 |
Krapf Transit※
Service on these lines are operated by Krapf Transit under contract to SEPTA. These routes are operated from Krapf's own garage, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Krapf has operated other bus routes for SEPTA in the past: Routes 202 (West Chester to Wilmington), Route 205 (Paoli Railroad Station to Chesterbrook), Route 207 (The West Whiteland WHIRL), Route 208 (Strafford Train Station to Chesterbrook), Route 306 (Great Valley to Brandywine Towne Center in Delaware) and Route 314 (West Chester to Goshen Corporate Park).
SEPTA has had contract 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). Reeder's also operated their own bus route from West Chester to Concord and Tri-State Malls via US 202 and Delaware Route 92. Transit operations in Chester County has been around for decades operating under different companies over those years. West Chester Transportation Company, People's Transportation Company, Chester Valley Lines and The Short Line of Pennsylvania have operated bus routes in Chester County.
Bus service between West Chester and Coatesville was a replacement for the previous trolley service operated by West Chester Traction. Reeder's got these routes when the Short Line of Pennsylvania ceased operations. To keep transit service operating in Chester County these routes were funded by SEPTA and operated by Reeder's Inc. beginning November 7, 1977. 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. Reeder's Inc bus service to Concord and Tri-State Malls was discontinued in the late 1970s. Krapf purchased the Reeder's operation in 1992 and designated the remaining (West Chester to Coatesville) bus route as Krapf's Transit "Route A". Krapf's owned the Route A. On August 1, 2021, the Route A was replaced by SEPTA Route 135. Krapf's also operates the Coatesville Link that serves the Coatesville area and the SCCOOT in Southern Chester County for the Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC).
The Route 205 service started March 12, 2007 between Paoli Train Station and Main Line Industrial Park, On September 7, 2010 service was extended to Phoenixville. Service to Main Line Industrial Park eliminated at the same time. Service was then rerouted to Chesterbrook after that. Service on the Route 205 was eliminated September 3, 2019. The Route 205 bus only operated on Weekdays.
Krapf's along with SEPTA and the Independence Visitor Center work together to operate the PHLASH bus service. The PHLASH bus service is geared toward tourists visiting the City of Philadelphia. But locals use it too since the one way fare is cheaper than SEPTA bus fare, The PHLASH operates April to May on Fridays and weekends then operates seven days a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day. After Labor Day service goes back to Friday and weekend until Thanksgiving then back to seven days a week until the end of the year. After that PHLASH service is suspended for the winter until April.
Route | Terminals | Major streets | History | Notes | Daily Ridership (FY 2019) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
204
|
Paoli Railroad Station | Lionville | Lincoln Highway Pottstown Pike Eagleview Boulevard |
Service began operation on June 21, 1999. Service is offered between Paoli and the Eagleview Office Campus Monday thru Friday. Saturday service operates between Paoli and the shopping centers in Lionville. On Sunday service only operates between Paoli and the Exton Square Mall. Small 30 foot buses are operated on this route. Connection can be made to SEPTA Route 135 at Exton. | 123 |
See also※
Notes※
- ^ "Fiscal Year 2021 Service Plan Update". SEPTA. June 2020. p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ Official website
- ^ "Attention Bus Route 111 and 114 Riders - New Service to Wawa Regional Rail Station Effective Monday, August 29, 2022" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ Murphy, Darryl C. (June 24, 2021). "SEPTA moves to take over Chester County bus route". Philadelphia, PA: WHYY. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "Friday marks last day of Route 134 service in NW Philly". Philadelphia, PA: WHYY. June 16, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
- ^ "FY 2017 Annual Service Plan" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved January 20, 2020.