Author: van2025ko

Launch of Phase 1 of the New Bus Network: SEPTA officially rolled out Phase 1 of its first-ever comprehensive bus network redesign on August 23, 2026. Formerly known as “Bus Revolution,” the redesign introduced brand-new routes, increased frequencies on some key lines, and trimmed underperforming or duplicative branches in an effort to create a simpler, more reliable bus network.

Among the most notable additions are Route 72, a new cross-town route along Cheltenham Avenue, and Route 76, which connects Crescentville with Center City and South Philadelphia.

Other Route Changes

• Route 45 was extended to the Navy Yard.
• Route 60 was extended to serve Wissahickon Transit Center.
• Route 61 was extended to Summit Loop in Roxborough.
• Route 79 was extended to 40th and Market.
• Route 105 was extended back to Paoli.

Service Reductions and Other Changes

• Route 4: Service was reduced on the route, which operates along Broad Street. Articulated buses were redeployed to operate on the route all day, every day.
• Route 105: The route no longer serves the 63rd and Malvern Loop. Commuters now have to either take Route 65 to connect with Route 105, make a lengthy walk to City Avenue, or use the infrequent Route 63 to connect with Route 105.
• Gladwyne: For the first time since 1963, Gladwyne is without bus service. Routes 52 and 44 have been revised and no longer serve the area. Routes 35, 62, 80, 89, and 106 were also eliminated.

Virtual Transit Center has published a comprehensive history of bus service in the Gladwyne area.

What’s Next?

The next phase of the redesign is expected during the winter. One of the key changes planned for the next phase is an extension of the DIRECT bus from Frankford to Wissahickon Transit Center.

More information is available from SEPTA.

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EXO Cars Are Coming to SEPTA

SEPTA has recently been posting photos on social media regarding its purchase of 24 passenger cars from Canada’s EXO transit agency. Photos of the cars were posted in August on social media.

Once transferred to SEPTA, the cars will undergo an overhaul and retrofit at SEPTA’s Frazer Shops in Chester County. The work is expected to include the installation of Positive Train Control (PTC), traps, and other equipment.

Once they enter service, the cars are expected to help relieve SEPTA’s aging Silverliner IV fleet.

On September 21, 2026, the EXO cars arrived at Woodbourne Yard in Bucks County. The cars are currently awaiting handoff from CSX to SEPTA.

In an unexpected move, starting on June 14th which is the next schedule change, the route 52 will be extended via City Avenue to terminate at Wissahickon Transportation Center. These changes are not apart of the upcoming new bus network.

After over 25 years in limbo, the northbound end of the route 52 has finally found a new home. Over the years, residents along the Overbrook and Wynnefield communities has been complaining about the routing of the bus. The complaints ranged from increase noise and traffic levels to buses allegedly causing water main breaks.

The reaction on social media has been generally positive with some concerns regarding delays along City Avenue and where also where is is SEPTA robbing service from.

For now, the route 52 will continue to serve Gladwyne on limited trips until later on in the year when the first phase of the new bus network goes into effect. Again amidst confusion this is a separate change from the better bus network.

Tomorrow, SEPTA is kicking off a series of public hearings to discuss updates to its Annual Service Plan and the implementation of the “New Bus Network” (part of the Bus Revolution initiative) across Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties for Fiscal Year 2027.

The hearings are set to occur at 12PM and 6PM at 1234 Market Street.

Proposed Bus Network Changes (Phased Implementation)The changes will be rolled out in three phases during Fiscal Year 2027

Fall 2026: Introduction of new routes (72 and 76), frequency and routing alignments on various lines, reduced service on five routes, and the elimination of routes 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, and 106.

Spring 2027: Launch of new “SEPTA Go” service in Chester County, a new Route 142, various routing changes, and the elimination of routes 1, 30, 92, 150, 201, 204, and 206.

Summer 2027: Launch of new “SEPTA Go” service in Montgomery County, routing and frequency adjustments, and the elimination of routes 90 and 139.

It has been mentioned that these are the first series of changes. More changes are proposed for FY 2028 (July 2027- June 2028). Implementation proposals of these changes hasn’t been released just yet.

https://wwww.septa.org/wp-content/uploads/page/communication/SEPTA-FY27_ASPBook-1.pdf

Friday marked the start of SEPTA using the leased MARC sets in service! These are to be used on the West Trenton and Trenton line.

There are quite a few changes to list to the assignments:

Per logs this is what tracked today thus far.
The Push Pull Assignments page will be updated shortly.

Loco	Cab Car / Loco	Turns
911	2402	1705 → 9708 → 9723 → 9724 → 9739 → 9740 → 9757 → 9754 → 9775 → 772
905	2407	9707 → 9712 → 9727 → 9728 → 9743 → 9744 → 9763 → 9758
904	2404	9590 → 9719 → 6338 → 3593
915	2408	9213 → 9204 → 9241 → 9250
913	2403	9710 → 9753 (MARC set – SEPTA CAB)
906	2401	9368 → 9591
910	2406	9592 → 9345
909	2405	6505 → 6590
903	2409	9510 → 9595
902	2410	9349
901	907	6307 → 6334 (MARC Set)

Finally after two months, SEPTA trolleys has resumed operations in the tunnel. Upon their return, SEPTA maintenance crews has been stationed at 63rd and Malvern Loop and 40th street portal to inspect the trolley sliders.

Today, the Wissahickon transportation Center has finally been open to the public. The exact opening date was not known until late last night, when SEPTA published on X around 8PM that it is finally happening.

Right now, the Wissahickon Transit Center is slightly under-utilized with only two buses generally terminating there (38 and 82). However during the upcoming Better Bus Network, more routes will be terminating this location. The new infrastructure was explicitly designed to support an increased volume of services.

Construction begun in May 2023 and it was projected to cost around $50 million altogether.

Map of the new facility

Tomorrow, SEPTA is expected to receive ten leased rail coach cars from Maryland Area Regional Commuter Rail (MARC)

As a result of the ongoing Silverliner IV fiasco, SEPTA signed the one-year agreement with MARC. The cost is $26 million (2.6 million per car). The cars would need to first be inspected and test and it is expected to be about two-three weeks before these are placed into revenue service.

This will be the third time when SEPTA has leased cars from MARC. The First time was in 2016 during the Silverliner V crasis, where the Vs were sidelined from service due to fatigue cracks in the trucks in the trunks. The second time was in 2019, when SEPTA leased a set to be used on the Trenton line to help relived the overcrowding given to the construction on I-95.

The lease was funded as part of the nearly $220 million in additional capital dollars allocated by Gov. Josh Shapiro last month.

I have created a third-party tracker to track SEPTA push pulls here:

https://trackyourtransit.com/Railview/SEPTA-RR.html

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced a significant investment in public transportation, awarding $2 billion in grants to 165 transit projects across 45 states and Washington, D.C. Among these awards, SEPTA received a $43 million Low- and No-Emission Grant to modernize its bus fleet.

The grant will enable SEPTA to replace its existing fleet of 2016 New Flyer Midi Buses (fleet numbers 4600-4634) – which are currently the only straight diesel transit buses in their lineup. The new hybrid buses will be slightly larger, measuring 32 feet in length compared to the current 30-foot models. SEPTA is scheduled to integrate these more environmentally friendly vehicles by 2028,

Currently the Midis operate on routes 312 (Cornwells Heights Shuttle), 316 (LUCY) and the 310.