PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Would you walk farther to your SEPTA bus stop if you knew it meant more frequent service?
That’s the question SEPTA is asking riders in a new online survey, as the transit agency redesigns its bus network.
The “Bus Revolution,” as it’s being called, is about “listening to members of our communities and designing a system that meets their needs,” SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards said in a statement. “Understanding how people feel about these transit tradeoffs will define how we create a new bus network at SEPTA.”
SEPTA has been talking about that tradeoff with riders at virtual sessions and pop-up events at stations for the last month.
“We’re gathering as much background as we can,” said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch. “Would they be willing to walk a little bit further to get more frequent service, to get more reliable service?”
Anne Smith wouldn’t.
“I have bad knees and back. I don’t like walking,” she said while waiting for a 43 bus on Spring Garden Street. “So the closer the bus is to me, the better off it is for me.”
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Amyni Bibbs of North Philadelphia, who was waiting for a Route 17 bus in Center City, said she didn’t believe that SEPTA would improve service. “Because even if you walk farther, you won’t know for sure if the bus is still going to be faster or not.”
Rider Albert Santos disagreed. He said he would walk farther if he knew the bus was going to be on time.
“As long as the bus is there,” he said at the Route 17 stop near City Hall. “That’s, like, the biggest thing. If I know that the bus is going to be there, I’ll go to that stop.”
SEPTA aims to identify possible changes to bus routes next year, Busch said, with implementation slated for 2023.
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“So far, the engagement that we’ve gotten with people indicates that they understand that there would be tradeoffs, and they’re willing to make them,” Busch added.
The survey runs until the end of October. SEPTA hopes to get at least 1,000 responses.
Take the SEPTA survey here.