PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After making more revisions, SEPTA has posted what it calls the final proposal of its bus route overhaul.
At the request of City Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson, SEPTA held nine additional public meetings in March and April on the long-planned changes to its bus routes after she said the transit agency hadn’t heard enough from the Black and brown communities that would be most affected.
The final version reduces the number of routes from 125 to 106, with more frequent service.
One big revision is the restoration of Route 32, says Dan Nemiroff, director of service planning. A previous version eliminated the route from Roxborough through Strawberry Mansion to South Broad Street.
“That was one I think people were really sensitive about,” he said. “And I think it helped us going and talking to people to really understand why it was important to keep it.”
After the latest public input, SEPTA also decided to scrap shortening Route 16 along North Broad Street.
The final version of the Bus Revolution redesign is expected to go before SEPTA board for approval in May. Nemiroff says the new bus routes would be phased in beginning summer 2025.