SEPTA – Public Transportation in Philadelphia

by Sr. Editor on August 19, 2008

Getting around Philadelphia isn’t as easy as many newcomers would like to think. Between the size of this metro area and the high price of fuel, a simple trip across town can prove to be a nightmare in the making. If you’re looking for a better way, you’ve got it! The city of Philadelphia offers a rather extensive public transportation system. If your Philadelphia apartment is strategically located, you might not even need to ever fire up a car.

a picture of the septa rail line in philadelphia pennsylvania
Photo by: jpmueller99

About the SEPTA System

So, what makes public transportation in Philadelphia so special? It all comes down to the diversity. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA for short, happens to run a pretty tight ship. SEPTA provides Philadelphia residents with a number of different options for getting around. The authority, in fact, serves 2,200 square miles, which means if you have to get anywhere in the Philly area, chances are SEPTA can get you there.

The public transportation system as a whole, services some 301 million riders on an annual basis, taking more than 83,000 trips. The system also offers limited services to Delaware and New Jersey for those who need to leave the Philadelphia area from time to time.

Transportation Options

The entire SEPTA system includes:

Bus transit – Bus service in the Philadelphia area is a very big deal. SEPTA operates nearly 80 routes within the city of Philadelphia and more than 40 in the suburbs. It also promotes bike and ride programs to help people get from their homes to regular stops on the line.

Light rail – The city is served by a light rail system that includes nearly 10 different routes. Getting there faster than a bus can travel is no problem at all in Philadelphia.

Subway – An elevated subway system is also included in the overall public transportation design. Two routes are designed to augment the system.

Regional rail – Thirteen different routes combine to get passengers where they need to go in Philadelphia and beyond. The regional rail system is considered a life (and money) saver by those who need to travel distances in a hurry.

The SEPTA system helps ensure that anyone living in Philadelphia apartments has an alternative to private transit. Thanks to its comprehensive approach to transit, getting almost anywhere is no problem at all. This multifaceted system gets the job done by combining buses, subway cars, trolleys and even trains to move the masses efficiently and cost effectively.

{ 0 comments… add one now }

Leave a Comment

You can use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>