PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA has come to an agreement with Philadelphia officials to restore some of its service for school transportation.
The transit agency will restore priority routes that were eliminated or reduced, giving kids more options to get to school.
Service will be restored on multiple bus routes on Sept. 2, including the 84, 88, 452, 461, 462, 476, 478 and 484. Partial service will be restored on the 31 from Overbrook Park to 63rd and Market streets.
The following lines will also be augmented on routes that serve a significant number of students to reduce crowding and pass-ups: 14, 20, 23, 26, 47, 63, 67, 70, 82, T2, and T5. Those updates will take effect in mid-September. SEPTA said it needs about 10 business days to make the changes.
SEPTA will use a portion of the funds from the $135 million transit subsidy from next year's city budget to pay for the restoration of services.
In a statement, Philadelphia School District Superintendent Tony Watlington said he was grateful to Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration for getting SEPTA to use a portion of the subsidy to restore service.
“We looked at attendance figures for the first three days of school compared to last year and found that 63% of District schools showed an increase in late arrivals and 54% reported an increase in student absences," he said. "We’re optimistic that the restoration of priority routes will enable more students to attend school and accelerate academic achievement."