Philadelphia, PA – SEPTA GO branded Ford E450 cutaway buses were spotted at the Germantown Bus Depot today.
SEPTA micro-transit service was announced during the Bus Revolution (now called the “Better Bus Initiative”) unveiling. SEPTA GO, when it comes, will take over service in underserved areas like Bristol, Lansdale, and Paoli.
These Ford buses are the first “cutaway” style bus to operate in SEPTA’s regular fleet operations since 2016, When the last of the Freightliner/Champion Defenders were retired. This exact combination (Ford E450/Coach and Equipment Phoenix) was conveniently enough SEPTA’s first transit model of cutaway bus, with the first ones arriving in 1997.
SEPTA’s use of Ford Econoline/Coach and Equipment cutaway buses also carries over to the SEPTA Access fleet, which has been exclusively this model since 2008.
These buses mark the beginning of SEPTA’s massive system overhaul which was originally supposed to start taking place in November 2024 but was delayed to Summer ’25, but again delayed shortly after.
No word on where these buses will be assigned, the mere appearance of these vehicles was much of a surprise!
