Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA for short, operates bus, trolley, trackless trolley, subway/rapid transit, and commuter rail service in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania. With service to Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Delaware County, and Chester County in PA, as well as Delaware and New Jersey, SEPTA is the largest transportation agency in Pennsylvania and the 6th largest in the United States overall.
Headquarters Location
SEPTA Headquarters is located at 1234 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107
Routes and Service
Between the city of Philadelphia, and it’s surrounding counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties), SEPTA operates over a hundred bus routes, thirteen commuter rail lines under the SEPTA Regional Rail branding, and eight trolley/street car lines, five subway/elevated lines, and an interurban line under the SEPTA Metro branding. Of all the operations, SEPTA’s bus operation is the largest, with the regional rail being the second largest.
Bus Operations
City Transit Division routes are routes that operate within the city of Philadelphia. Most bus and trolley routes, as well as all three subway/rapid transit lines, operate within this division. All three trackless trolley lines also operate within this division. Route numbers for bus and trolley routes in this division typically lie within numbers 1-89. Exceptions to this include routes G, H, J, K, L, R, XH, and Boulevard Direct.
All of the routes designated with a single letter or a double letter (XH) are simply carryovers from the old Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC) designator system where letters represented bus routes and numbers represented trolleys.
Obviously, that system has since become obsolete as the only trolley routes in the city transit division today are routes 10, 11, 13, 15, 34, and 36.
The Boulevard Direct is a new bus route meant to operate as a rapid transit line hence being named as such. More on the City Transit Division can be found on Wikipedia.
Suburban Transit Division routes are routes that operate in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. Routes 90-99, 124-125, and 131 operate in Montgomery County. Routes 101-123, 126, and Norristown High-Speed Line operate in Delaware County, and Routes 127-130 and 133 operate in Bucks County. There are a few routes that cross counties such as route 92 which operates in Chester and Montgomery County, route 106 which serves Delaware and Chester County, and so on. For more details on the suburban transit division, it’s best if you look at the Wikipedia article on that topic
SEPTA Bus Fleet Roster
SEPTA’s Bus Fleet consists of mostly New Flyer Buses, with less than a quarter of the fleet being NovaBus Built, and a small fleet of buses built by Proterra. The best way to learn details and specifics on SEPTA’s fleet such as depot assignments, and exact delivery dates, as well as use an active bus tracking system, it’s best to go on Philadelphia Transit Vehicles.
| Year | Make/Model | Image | Engine/Transmission | Fleet Numbers | Notes |
| 2007- 2008 | New Flyer E40LFR |  | Cummins QSB | 800-837 | • Electric Trolley Bus |
| 2008- 2009 | New Flyer DE40LF |  | Cummins ISL Allison Ep40 | 8120-8339 | • currently retiring • being replaced by 2022 order of XDE40s |
| 2010- 2011 | New Flyer DE40LFR |  | Cummins ISL9 Allison H-40 EP | 8340-8559 | • currently retiring • 8345 retired |
| 2014- 2015 | NovaBus LFS 40102 |   | Cummins ISL9 Allison H-40 EP | 8600-8689 | • 8676, 8678, 8682, 8684-8689 Wrapped in Boulevard Direct Livery |
| 2014- 2016 | NovaBus LFS Artic 62102 |  | Cummins ISL9 Allison H-50 EP | 7300-7484 | • Currently being overhauled and refitted with the new Clever Devices system for onboard announcements and displays |
| 2016 | New Flyer MD30 “MiDi” |   | Cummins ISB Allison B300R6 | 4600-4634 | • 4601-4617, and 4633 in LUCY Livery |
| 2016- 2021 | New Flyer XDE40 “Xcelsior” |  | Cummins L9 Allison H-40 EP | 3000-3524 | • First buses to be delivered with Clever Devices |
| 2017- 2019 | Proterra Catalyst BE40 |  | Electric Bus | 900-924 | • First self-propelled battery-electric Buses in service • Currently Sidelined due to issues |
| 2022-2025 | New Flyer XDE40 “Xcelsior” |  | Cummins B6.7 BAE Systems HybriDrive ER | 3525-3864 | • on order • 120 option order confirmed, bringing the total new units to 340 |
| 2024 | New Flyer XHE40 “Xcelsior” |  | 700-709 | on order |
SEPTA Regional Rail
SEPTA also operates commuter rail services known as SEPTA Regional Rail. With Regional Rail, operations are more straightforward. With the exception of the Airport Line, ALL regional rail routes operate from the City of Philadelphia to one of the many suburbs. There are 13 regional rail lines in total, and all of them serve 30th Street Station, and Suburban Station in Center City, Philadelphia.
SEPTA Regional Rail Passenger Fleet Roster
Similar car types are often mixed between married pairs and single cars for EMUs. All Push-Pull trains operate with one locomotive, one cab car, and a mix of trailer cars. For more information is needed on these consists, use Philadelphia Transit Vehicles.
SEPTA Metro |
SEPTA operates many subway, elevated, trolley, and light rail lines. Currently, each line is named and labeled based on where they operate. Subway and Elevated lines are named based on the terminus or main streets of the line. Trolley lines are numbered with their original streetcar numbers.
SEPTA Metro is the branding used for all rail-bound rapid transit lines, including trolley/streetcar, light rail, subway, elevated, and interurban services. Each letter/color represents where the trunk lines operate. The lines are as follows:
lines are subway lines that operate via Broad Street in Philadelphia (Currently Broad Street Line and Broad-Ridge Spur)
lines are trolley lines that operate exclusively in Delaware County (Currently Trolley routes 101 and 102)
lines are trolley lines that operate on Girard Avenue in Philadelphia (Currently route 15)
lines are elevated lines that operate along what is currently known as the Market-Frankford Line
lines are interurban transit lines that operate into Montgomery County (Currently Norristown High-Speed Line)
are trolley lines that operate into a tunnel through Center City Philadelphia (Current routes 10, 11, 13, 34, and 36)
Each of the trunk lines have individual lines, represented by numbers, which each operate their own levels of service (e.g. 
). The following sections below focus on the individual operations of SEPTA Metro, organized by operations type.
SEPTA Trolley Operations
SEPTA currently operates the largest streetcar system in the United States, with 8 routes spread out over 68 miles of trackage. The routes are 10, 11, 13, 15, 34, 36, 101, and 102, using their original streetcar/trolley line numbers. Under the New SEPTA Metro re-branding, these routes will be rebranded as follows.
Delaware County Trolleys | D Lines operate to 69th Street Transit Center, and share a trunk line that parallels Garret Road between 69th Street Transit Center, and Drexel Hill Junction Station Route 101 which operates to Orange Street/Media, via Springfield Route 102 which operates to Sharon Hill via Clifton/Aldan |
Girard Avenue Trolleys | G Lines operate via Girard Avenue Route 15, which operates between Richmond-Westmoreland Loop and 63rd-Girard. This line has trips that operate via Frankford Avenue to Delaware Avenue. |
Tunnel Trolleys | T Lines operate via the subway surface tunnel through Center City and University City between 40th Street and 13th Street. with the exception of (Route 10) which operates the same tunnel but only between 13th Street and 36th Street in the tunnel. Route 10 which operates via Lancaster Avenue to 63rd and Malvern Route 11 which operates via Woodland Avenue to Darby Transportation Center Route 13 which operates via Chester Avenue to Yeadon or Darby Transportation Center Route 34 which operates via Baltimore Avenue to 61st Street Route 36 which operates via Elmwood Avenue to 73rd Street or 80th-Eastwick |
SEPTA Metro Trolley Roster
On these lines, SEPTA operates a diverse fleet of trolley cars being either built from Kawasaki or rebuilt PCC cars.
| Years | Make/Model | Image | Fleet Numbers | Used on Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947- 1948 | St. Louis Car Co/ Brookville PCC-II |  | 2320-2337* | 15 | Currently not in service |
| 1980- 1981 | Kawasaki Double Ended LRV |  | 101-128 | 101, 102 | |
| 1980- 1981 | Kawasaki Single-Ended LRV |   | 9000-9111 | 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 | • 9013 long term out of service • 9000 wears original 1980s livery |
Notes:
Following Rebuilds between 2002 and 2004 by Brookville, these cars were renumbered into the 23xx series and designated as “PCC-IIs”
Subway, Elevated, and Inter-Urban Rail Operations
SEPTA also operates five subway, elevated, and interurban transit lines under the “SEPTA Metro” branding. Four of these lines operate within the city of Philadelphia, two operate into Delaware County, and one operates to Montgomery County. The lines that operate within the city of Philadelphia, are named after their primary streets of operation, but the line that operates to Montgomery County is named after the terminus. Under the SEPTA Metro rebranding, these lines will be renamed as follows.
Broad Street | B Lines operate via Broad Street in the Broad Street Subway. All Lines Start at Fern Rock Transit Center, with the exception of most trips on the Broad-Ridge Spur  which start at Olney Transit Center. Broad Street Line Local making all stops between Fern Rock Transit Center and NRG Station at Pattison Avenue Broad Street Line Express operating to Walnut-Locust Station in Center City, with limited special service to NRG Station at Pattison Avenue Broad-Ridge Spur which operates to 8th-Market via Ridge Avenue and 8th Street. |
Market-Frankford | L Lines on the current Market-Frankford Line in Philadelphia, operating between Frankford Transit Center and 69th Street Transit Center via Frankford Avenue, Kensington Avenue, Front Street, and Market Street. The last two, western-most stations on The Lines (Millbourne, and 69th Street Transit Center) are in Delaware County. Market-Frankford Line making all stops |
Montgomery County | M Lines operate on a “high-speed” interurban rail line, which runs between 69th Street Transit Center and Norristown Transportation Center via Ardmore, Villanova, and Radnor, and Bryn Mawr. All Stations between Norristown Transit Center and County Line Road Station are in Montgomery County (Hence the name), the rest are in Delaware County Norristown High Speed Line Local makes all stops. |
SEPTA Metro Subway, Elevated, and Interurban Rail Roster
For the most part, rail cars on used on interurban, elevated, and subway lines are built as either single cars or married pairs. Trains that operate on the Broad Street Lines are often mixed, as these are the only two lines that share tracks in the entire system.
Sources:
Philadelphia Transit Vehicles