PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Waiting for a SEPTA bus can create some anxiety.
“It can be really unnerving, especially if it’s dark outside or it’s inclement weather,” admitted rider Yejide Fagoroye. “It’s just kind of like, ‘When is the bus going to come?’”
Now at Broad Street and Oregon Avenue, there’s a way to find out. The first of 10 solar-powered real-time information screens is up and running at the South Philly bus stop.
SEPTA is piloting the e-paper screens at 10 bus and trolley stops in the city and suburbs. They look like Kindles and have text-to-speech buttons.
SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said the screens are designed to resist graffiti and vandalism.
“It is sturdy. But, of course, part of the pilot is to measure its durability,” he said.
The screens display real-time arrival, schedule and detour data — all information that more riders will likely need this fall, when SEPTA’s New Bus Network debuts.
The screens are being added to the following stops:
- Broad Street and Oregon Avenue (7, 63, 68)
- 40th Street Trolley Portal (T2, T3, T4, T5)
- Schuylkill Avenue and JFK Boulevard (9, 44, 62, 124, 125)
- Stadium Station (M1)
- Girard Avenue and Broad Street (G1)
- Girard Avenue and Front Street (5, G1)
- City Avenue and Presidential Boulevard (1, 44, 65)
- Drexel Hill Junction Station (D1, D2)
- 52nd Street and Market Street (52)
- Allegheny Avenue and Kensington Avenue (60)
The screens are being added to 10 select bus and trolley stops as part of a pilot program
The screens are being added to 10 select bus and trolley stops as part of a pilot program
