PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Big changes are coming for SEPTA’s bus routes, and riders got a chance to weigh in on the rollout during an open house held at SEPTA headquarters on Wednesday.
Riders perused easels outlining the phased-in changes to begin in late August, known as the New Bus Network. Transit advocate Douglas Diehl said there still were too many adjustments all at once.
"They're throwing the kitchen sink, the bedroom and the dining room together at everybody," he said.
Rider Jordan Alexander of Norristown asked why SEPTA couldn't just increase service instead of eliminating routes.
"What they can do is one: Buy more buses. Two, hire more people," he said.
SEPTA's bus route overhaul reduces the total number of bus routes from 124 to 106, to create more frequent and reliable service.
SEPTA Senior Director of Service Planning and Schedules Colin Foley said the new bus network also uses the existing bus fleet.
"It's essentially the same number of service hours that we provide today. But we're just deploying them where we see people are traveling," he said.
Foley also said that was why SEPTA held more than 200 public meetings and outreach sessions about the new bus network.
"The New Bus Network allows us to really allocate our existing service hours in places where people are traveling and where they're needed," he said.
Changes this fall eliminate seven routes, but include a new Route 72 along Cheltenham Avenue and a new Route 76 bus from Crescentville down Columbus Boulevard.
SEPTA’s New Bus Network phase-in starts in August.
SEPTA’s New Bus Network phase-in starts in August.
