Introduction

SEPTA Bus Route 27 operates from Plymouth Meeting Mall, Barren Hill, and Andorra to Center City via Ridge Pike, Henry Avenue, I-76 and Broad Street. Service on route 27 is provided by Allegheny Depot (District 5).

SEPTA 7164 on Route 27 by Basview
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Table Of Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. SEPTA Route 27 Routing
  3. Key Transfer Points on Route 27
  4. Route 27 Barren Hill to Center City 1984-Present
  5. Other Routes using the same numbers
  6. New Bus Network Changes
  7. Timetables
  8. Audio Announcements

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SEPTA Route 27 Routing

SEPTA Route 27, August 2026
SEPTA Route 27, August 2026

SEPTA route 27 operates between Plymouth Meeting Mall or Barren Hill and Broad-Carpenter operating local via Germantown Pike, Ridge Pike, Henry Avenue through Upper Roxborough, Manayunk Avenue through Manayunk, express via I-76/676, and then local again on Broad Street.

Key Transfer Points on Route 27

SEPTA Route 27 has many transfer points, including…

  • Plymouth Meeting Mall
    • SEPTA Bus Routes 51, 90, 95, 98, 150
  • Ridge Avenue and Cathedral Road
    • SEPTA bus route 9
  • Ridge Avenue and Lyceum Avenue
    • SEPTA bus route 32
  • Wissahickon Transit Center
    • SEPTA bus routes 1, 9, 38, 52, 60, 61, 65, 82, 124, 125
  • Philadelphia City Hall
    • SEPTA Metro B1, B2, L1, T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 lines at 15th St/City Hall Station
    • SEPTA Bus routes 4, 16, 17, 31, 32, 33, 44, 48, 124, and 125
    • NJ Transit bus service
    • All SEPTA Regional Rail lines at Suburban Station
  • Broad Street and Walnut Street
    • SEPTA Metro B1 and B2, lines at Walnut-Locust Station
    • SEPTA bus routes 4, 9, 12, 21, 32, 42
  • Broad Street and Washington Avenue
    • SEPTA Metro B1 line at Ellsworth-Federal Station
    • SEPTA bus routes 4, 32, and 64

Route 27 Barren Hill to Center City 1984-Present

Route 27 was created on February 5th 1984 as re-label of route A semi-express service between 15th-Spruce and Barren Hill. This version of route 27 would operate from Barren Hill local via Ridge Avenue, Henry Avenue, Manayunk Avenue, then express from Wissahickon Transfer Center (now Wissahickon Transit Center) to Broad Street and Vine Street via I-76 and I-676. Local Service would resume from here to South Street, operating southbound via Broad Street to City Hall, and then 15th Street, and northbound via Broad Street to City Hall, and then 16th Street. Some peak hour trips would only operate as far south as Spruce Street, as that was the original terminus of route A service.

On September 10, 1989, route 27 was extended north to Plymouth Meeting Mall via Ridge Pike, Butler Pike, and Germantown Pike. Service beyond Barren Hill to Plymouth Meeting Mall would operate hourly except during peak hours, where most trips would operate to Plymouth Meeting Mall.

A southbound extension of route 27 would come in January 1997, as route 27 would then be extended from South Street to Carpenter Street, terminating at Broad and Carpenter Streets.

On September 3rd, 2000, a set of two re-routes would come to route 27, on one the northern end, and one on the southern end. On the Northern end, route 27 would be re-routed from operating on Butler Pike to instead serving Chemical Road, and serving the then-new Metroplex Center, the second would extend it south to Washington Avenue, just one block south of Carpenter Street.

The final actual re-route of route 27 would come on September 1st 2002. This would re-align route 27 so that it operates via Broad Street in both directions south of City Hall. Trips that terminated at 15th-Spruce would still operate via 15th Street, but those trips would be far limited.

Although the core of route 27 would remain the same, frequencies and service levels on route 27 would change between 2006 and 2008.

Service otherwise would remain the same.

Other Routes using the same numbers

Route 27 was originally the number assigned to trolley service between Frankford-Lehigh and 12th-Filbert, operating between October 27th 1912 and November 4th 1922. This service was ultimately discontinued, as the Frankford Elevated would provide a more direct connection between these two points.

New Bus Network Changes

With the New Bus Network, route 27 is to be simplified to alternate between terminating at Ridge-Cathedral (Andorra) and Plymouth Meeting Mall. This means bus service that previously cut-back at Barren Hill would instead cut back at Ridge-Cathedral. No official date for this change has been given as of yet.

Timetables

SEPTA Route 27 is active, and you should check SEPTA’s official page for up to date schedules and information. Below are some historic timetables for SEPTA’s bus route 27. These are older (out of date) timetable scans with their effective dates listed. These are posted for archival and historical purposes only, and should not be used for actual trip planning.

Audio Announcements

Here are the exterior/door audio announcements for SEPTA Route 27.