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City Hall Holiday Tree Lighting Bus Detours & Road Closures, December 5

Published and updated Category: Bulletins

The annual Philly Holiday Tree Lighting at City Hall takes place on Thursday, December 5 from 6 pm to 8 pm. The 50-foot-tall tree will be lit with dazzling lights that families can enjoy alongside a festive celebration, musical performances and much more.

Getting to City Hall

If you’re going to the Philly Holiday Tree Lighting at City Hall, SEPTA is a great way to ensure you arrive on time. Nearby stations include 13th Street and 15th Street, both located on the Market-Frankford Line [L]. There is a free transfer to the Market-Frankford Line [L] from the Broad-Street Line [B] and Trolley routes at 15th Street/City Hall – and it is a short walk from Regional Rail stations in Center City. 

Riders can utilize plan.septa.org for real-time planning to and from the Philly Holiday Tree Lighting at City Hall.

Road Closures

To facilitate the event, JFK Boulevard from Juniper Street to 15th Street will be blocked off to traffic, which will impact SEPTA’s bus service until 11 pm. More information on the road closures can be found on the City of Philadelphia’s website. The full list of affected routes is below; for specific details on the detours, please visit SEPTA’s Alerts and Detours page.

Bus Route Detours

2 pm to 11 pm

  • 4
  • 16
  • 17
  • 27
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 38
  • 44
  • 62
  • 124
  • 125

Convenient Ways to Pay

If using a SEPTA Key card, riders are encouraged to load funds on it before the event. For more information about SEPTA Key, visit www.septa.org.

SEPTA’s multi-rider feature allows up to five riders on one SEPTA Key card. Taps can be on a single bus/trolley validator or a combination of taps on different turnstiles at a station. Multi-rider is available on all modes including bus, trolley, Broad Street Line [B], Market-Frankford Line [L], Norristown High Speed Line [M] and Regional Rail. Learn how to activate and fare information.

Credit/debit cards, in physical form or through apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, are accepted on buses, trolleys, Market-Frankford Line [L], Broad Street Line [B] and the Norristown High Speed Line [M], at any turnstile or farebox with a simple tap on the validator. 

  • Express Mode: With Express Mode enabled for debit or credit cards, riders don’t need to wake or unlock their iPhone or Apple Watch or even open any apps to pay and ride on SEPTA Bus or Metro.  
  • Once a user has chosen which debit or credit card they’d like to use with Express Mode, they can simply tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to an enabled reader to ride.

SEPTA accepts cash for travel on bus, Metro and Regional Rail; exact fare is required for bus and Metro.

Customers at Metro stations may purchase a Quick Trip ticket from Fare Kiosks, for a single one-way ride on the Broad Street Line [B], Market-Frankford Line [L], Norristown High Speed Line [M] and select Trolley lines. Transit Quick Trips are not valid for bus rides. SEPTA recommends that customers simply use a contactless bankcard to travel, eliminating the need for a Quick Trip ticket and adding additional travel privileges. 

Quick Trips are available from station Fare Kiosks and are valid on the day purchased until 2 am the following day. Customers attending events in the Sports Complex area are encouraged to purchase a Quick Trip for their return trip prior to the event. Free transfers are not available with Quick Trip.

SEPTA Key Tix provides an easy payment solution for occasional riders to enjoy the same benefits as cardholders, including one free transfer. Allows people traveling together the ability to “scan once” by activating up to five one-way tickets using a single barcode. Riders can use SEPTA Key Tix on buses and Metro only. 

PATCO riders traveling to Philadelphia from New Jersey can use their PATCO Freedom Share card for travel on SEPTA Metro and buses for $2.50 per trip. Card must be purchased from PATCO and preloaded with funds in advance.  

To get the latest service news, call Customer Service at 215-580-7800 or follow SEPTA @SEPTA. Customer Service is open Monday – Friday, 7 am – 7 pm and Saturday – Sunday, 8 am – 5 pm.