Introduction
SEPTA Bus Route 53 operates crosstown service from Carpenter Lane Regional Rail Station to Richmond-Westmoreland Loop via Wayne and East Hunting Park Avenues. Operations of route 53 is provided by Midvale (District 3) Depot.
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SEPTA Route 53 Routing
Route 53 starts at Emlen and Carpenter Lane, operating up to Lincoln Drive, then taking Lincoln Drive to Wayne Avenue. From here it follows the original trolley routing via Wayne Avenue to Clarissa Street, to 18th, then taking Pulaski Avenue to 17th Street (or staying Pulaski westbound) to Erie Avenue. From here, it serves Erie Station on the B Lines, then goes up 10th Street to Lycoming Street. From this point onwards, the route 53 is now new original routing, as it takes Lycoming to 9th Street, then to Hunting Park Avenue. From 9th and Hunting Park, route 53 operates via East Hunting Park Avenue to Kensington Avenue, diverting over to Erie-Torresdale Station on the L Lines, then operating via Castor Avenue to Glenwood Avenue, then Butler Street, and finally Arimingo Avenue to Ontario St, terminating at the Richmond-Westmoreland Loop.
Route 53 History, 1913-Present
Route 53’s history goes back to November 10th 1894, with the Philadelphia Traction Company (later Union Traction Company, then Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, and then Philadelphia Transportation Company) Wayne Avenue Trolley Line, which started off operating from Wayne Avenue and Washington Lane to 13th and Locust Streets. With many extensions and, the Wayne Avenue Line was finally extended to Wayne-Carpenter on April 13th 1904. The number 53 would be assigned to the Wayne Avenue Line on July 27th 1913, and on the same date, the route would be extended further into South Philadelphia, terminating at 12th-Porter via 12th and 13th Streets.
On June 16th 1929, the north-south service on route 53 would be taken away, and shifted over to original route 20 (now part of route 23), and service would operate between Wayne-Carpenter and 11th-Erie. A year later on Septemer 9th 1930, service on route 53 would be extended to Luzurne Depot at 10th-Luzurne. This essentially would be the route long into when it operated as bus.
Route 53 gets the distinction of being the first trolley line in Philadelphia served by PCC trolley cars, with them entering service on the line on August 14th 1938.
Between September 11th 1938, and April 11th 1948, trolley service on route 53 would operate via 10th, 5th, Wyoming Avenue, Castor, and Margaret/Orthodox Streets to Richmond-Orthodox on Sundays. This service was discontinued when route 75 was converted to trackless trolley operations.
Trolley service was temporarily discontinued in summer of 1981 but was made perminant on May 16, 1985 because of misaligned rails and SEPTA at the time not enough money to correct it. From this point onwards, route 53 would operate as a bus.
Between 1997 and 2026, route 53 would get slight extensions in both directions every few years.
With the June 8th 1997 schedule change, with the Luzurne depot closing up just two months earlier (being replaced with Midvale), route 53 would be made to terminate on the street at 10th-Luzurne, instead of laying over in the closed depot.
With the February 22, 2004 schedule change, route 53 service would be extended via Old York Road to Broad-Hunting Park, providing a second connection to the SEPTA Metro B Line at Hunting Park Station.
On February 21st 2016, a branch of route 53 was created from 10th-Lycoming, operating via East Hunting Park Avenue to G Street. Trips would alternate between terminating at G-Hunting Park and Broad-Hunting Park, but all trips would still start at Wayne-Carpenter loop.
Ten years later on August 23rd 2026, as part of SEPTA’s New Bus Network Phase one the East Hunting Park branch of route 53 would be come the only branch of route, and that service would also be extended east to Richmond-Westmoreland Loop via Erie-Torresdale L1 station and Arimingo Avenue, replacing portions of former bus route 89 which was discontinued on the same date.
Other Routes using the same numbers.
Route 53 has always been route 53, and no other route has used this number.
New Bus Network Changes
Route 53 was extended in both directions to connect to Carpenter Ln Regional Rail Station and Richmond-Wesmoreland Loop on August 23rd 2026. The East Hunting Park branch of route 53 would be come the only branch of route, and that service would also be extended east to Richmond-Westmoreland Loop via Erie-Torresdale L1 station and Arimingo Avenue, replacing portions of former bus route 89.
Timetables
Route 53 is currently active. Check out SEPTA’s official website for current timetables for route 53. Below are scans of historic timetables for route 53. These are meant for historical/archival purposes only, and are not meant for actual trip planning.
- 1986
- 1993
- 1996
- 1998
- 2002
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010
- 2011
- 2020
- 2026
- August 23rd 2026 (Route 53 extended in both directions to connect to Carpenter Ln Regional Rail Station and Richmond-Wesmoreland Loop. Buses No longer serve Hunting Park Station)
Announcements
These are the exterior door announcements for route 53 used on buses delivered betwen 1996 and 2016.