PHILADELPHIA (March 11, 2026) – SEPTA plans to begin implementation of its much-anticipated New Bus Network initiative in August under the Fiscal Year 2027 Annual Service Plan released today.
Formerly known as Bus Revolution, the initiative represents the first-ever comprehensive redesign of SEPTA’s bus network in its 63-year history.
This new network was approved by the SEPTA Board in May 2024, following the largest community engagement effort in the Authority’s history. Over three years, SEPTA conducted 150 in-person events, 40 virtual meetings and 10 public hearings, which helped generate feedback from more than 20,000 residents. The plan will now be implemented as part of SEPTA’s Annual Service Plan process, which will include additional hearings on April 15 before a Board vote in May.
“New Bus Network is a key piece of SEPTA’s commitment to make the transit system more reliable for our existing customers, and more useful to more people so we can attract new customers,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer. “We are committed to conducting an extensive education campaign with our customers and employees in the coming months to ensure these improvements are implemented seamlessly.”
SEPTA has made some adjustments to the plan over the last two years, however, the goal remains the same: Make the bus network easier to use, more efficient with reduced wait times for customers, and provide overall better reliability.
When fully implemented the number of routes offering frequent service – defined as a trip every 15 minutes or better seven days a week – would increase from eight currently to 29. Additional mid-day, late night and weekend service will be added to ten routes in Phase 1 as a foundation to this ambitious plan.
To achieve these improvements, some bus routes that are redundant with existing services and have low usage would be eliminated. There would also be two new routes added: the Route 72, which would operate as an East-West Cross-town on Cheltenham Avenue, connecting Frankford Transit Center to Cedarbrook Plaza; and the 76, which would provide north-south service from Crescentville down through Fishtown and into Center City via Columbus Boulevard. These new connections are designed to meet increased demand in these areas.
Phased-in Approach
Phase 1 would launch in August 2026, covering South Philadelphia, Kensington/Juniata,
the Cheltenham and Lancaster Avenue corridors, and Roxborough. Phase 2 is set to follow in February 2027 and Phase 3 in June 2027. Additional implementation is scheduled as part of the FY2028 Annual Service plan beginning in August 2027.
The following are highlights for each phase:
Phase 1 – August 2026
- New Routes 72 and 76, and extensions of Routes 45, 53, 60, 61, 79, 105
- Frequency improvements on Routes 6, 46, 47, 49, 57, and 64
- Improved Alignments for Routes 25, 57, 49, 64, 105
- Reduced service on Routes 4, 32, 39, 54, and 73
- Eliminated low-ridership and inefficient patterns on Routes 17, 44, 52
- Eliminated low ridership/duplicative service in Routes 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, 106
Phase 2 – February 2027
- Extension of limited stop Direct Bus service between Frankford Transit Center and Wissahickon
- Transit Center and Route 43 to 69th Street Transit Center
- Implementation of two SEPTA Go service in Chester County
- Implementation of new Route 142 in Chester County
- Alignment changes to improve Routes 3, 5, 22, 33, 51, 94
- Elimination of low-ridership/duplicative Routes 1, 30, 92, 150, 201, 204, and 206
Phase 3 – June 2027
- Implementation of new SEPTA Go service in Montgomery County
- Alignment changes to improve Route 95, 97, 98, 99, 131
- Pattern reduction on Route 93
- Elimination of low-ridership/duplicative Routes 90, 139
For frequent updates, maps, and details on upcoming engagement events including SEPTA’s Annual Service Plan open house and hearing visit septa.org/bus.
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