PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After a series of revisions following public feedback over the last two years, SEPTA planners have released the fourth and final version of a top-to-bottom redesign of its bus routes.
The proposed new network reduces the number of bus routes from 125 to 106.
The goal is to make service faster and more reliable with the same number of buses.
Dan Nemiroff, SEPTA’s manager of planning programs, says the final revision keeps the proposed elimination of Route 32 that runs from Roxborough through Strawberry Mansion to Center City.
“While people do like that route for a reason here or there, the reality is that almost all of the trips can be made just using one other route,” he said.
Nemiroff said 99% of people who live within a quarter-mile of a SEPTA bus service will still be within a quarter-mile of a route in the final plan.
“Obviously, there’s routes that are changing — routes that we are proposing discontinuing — but, overall, I think we’re doing a good job preserving access,” Nemiroff added.
If the plan gets the green light from the SEPTA board on Dec. 21, Nemiroff says bus routes will begin changing next summer.
“Our goal is to get as much as we can in by the fall of next year,” he said, “but we anticipate having some pieces of it linger into 2025.”
SEPTA plans to launch a public information campaign to inform riders of the impending bus route changes.
“We’re going to need to pivot to more tactile approaches where we’re putting material in people’s hands a little bit more,” Nemiroff said. “I think it’s going to be pretty granular. Like, if you are using this bus now, on this date, you will be using this bus and you will be doing this.”
Nemiroff says the hope is that more reliable bus services will help to attract new riders.