Introduction
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 5th largest in the United States overall.
Headquarters Location
SEPTA Headquarters is located at 1234 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19107
Routes and Service.
SEPTA Operates over a hundred bus routes, thirteen commuter rail routes (under SEPTA Regional Rail), eight trolley/light rail routes, three trackless trolley routes, three subway/rapid transit routes, and one interurban route. The route rundown can be identified easily.
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
With Regional Rail, it’s 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.
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 |
| 2005- 2006 | New Flyer D40LF |  | Cummins ISL ZF Ecomat 592-6HP | 8000-8119 | • currently retiring • being replaced by 2022 order of XDE40s |
| 2007- 2008 | New Flyer E40LFR |  | Cummins QSB | 800-837 | • Electric Trolley Bus • 823 used for parts |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
Trolley and Light Rail Roster
SEPTA operates a diverse fleet of trolley cars being either built from Kawasaki or rebuilt PCC cars. These cars operate on routes 10, 11, 13, 15, 34, 36, 101, and 102.
| 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 “Series 100” |  | 101-128 | 101, 102 | |
| 1980- 1981 | Kawasaki Single-Ended LRV “Series 9000” |  | 9000-9111 | 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 | • 9013 long term out of service |
Notes:
Following Rebuilds between 2002 and 2004 by Brookville, these cars were renumbered into the 23xx series and designated as “PCC-IIs”
Subway/Elevated Rapid Transit and Inter-Urban Rail Roster
SEPTA also operates subway and rapid transit lines within Philadelphia. For the most part, these cars always operate in trains consisting of either single cars or married pairs. Trains that operate on the Broad Street Line and Broad-Ridge Spur are often mixed, as these are the only two lines that share tracks in the entire system.
Regional Rail Roster
Similar to the rapid transit side, commuter trains with SEPTA, also known as SEPTA Regional rail trains, often are mixed together in operation. Due to there being such a diverse array of rail vehicles, some different cars do not mix. However, all 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.
Sources:
Philadelphia Transit Vehicles