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St. Patrick’s Day Parade Bus Detours & Road Closures, March 16

Published and updated Category: Bulletins

The 255th St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held on Sunday, March 16. The parade starts at 11 am at 16th & JFK and ends in front of the Art Museum at Eakins Oval. This event is a great opportunity to celebrate Irish culture with music performances and more for family and friends to enjoy.

Getting to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

If you’re headed to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, SEPTA is a great way to ensure you arrive on time. Nearby stations include 15th Street and 13th Street 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.  

If you’re taking PATCO into Philadelphia from New Jersey, riders can take the Market-Frankford Line [L] to travel to the parade. Exit PATCO at 8th/Market Street Station. Take the escalator or stairs to concourse level and exit PATCO’s fare gates. Follow the blue signs approximately one block through the concourse to the Market-Frankford Line [L]. 

Road Closures

To facilitate the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, JFK Blvd from Broad Street, 16th Street to 20th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 16th Street to the Art Museum will be blocked off to traffic, which will impact SEPTA’s bus service until 5 pm. The full list of affected routes is below; for specific details on the detours, please visit SEPTA’s Alerts and Detours page. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade website also provides a map of the parade route. 

SEPTA Bus Route Detours

5 am – 5 pm

  • 2
  • 7
  • 17
  • 27
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 38
  • 44
  • 48
  • 49
  • 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.  

The SEPTA app allows you to think ahead with an integrated trip planner, view nearby stations and routes, save your favorite routes and much more; available to download in the App Store or Google Play Store.

View alerts, advisories and detours across the system. To get the latest service news, call Customer Service at 215-580-7800 or follow SEPTA @SEPTA.