SEPTA Bus Route 72

Introduction

SEPTA Bus Route 72 operates crosstown service from Cedarbrook Plaza to Frankford Transit Center via West Cheltenham Avenue. Operations of route 72 is provided by Frankford (District 2) Depot.

SEPTA 3520 on Route 72 by DashTransit
Back to SEPTA City Transit Division
Official SEPTA Page
Table Of Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. SEPTA Route 72 Routing
  3. Key Transfer Points on Route 72
  4. Route 72 History
  5. Other Routes using the same numbers
  6. New Bus Network Changes
  7. Timetables

Please Donate!
If everyone reading this could donate just one dollar today, we could afford to have Virtual Transit Center on the web for up to 6 years without interruption. For those who enjoy Virtual Transit Center and the services we provide, please consider donating.

Paypal Donate

SEPTA Route 72 Routing

SEPTA Route 72 primarily operates on West Cheltenham Avenue between Cedarbrook Plaza and Crescentville Road, then diverting over to Adams Avenue to terminate at the Frankford Transit Center. It connects with SEPTA Metro L1 service at Frankford Transit Center

Key Transfer Points on Route 72

Major Transfer Points along route 72 include…

  • Cedarbrook Plaza for routes 18, 22, 71, and 77
  • Ogontz-Cheltenham Loop for routes 6, 16, 22, 71, 81
  • Tabor Road and Adams Avenue for routes K, 26, and 76
  • Frankford Transit Center for routes 3, 5, 8, 14, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 50, 58, 66, 67, 73, 82, 84, 88, Boulevard Direct, and L1

Route 72 History

Current SEPTA Route 72 Started August 23rd 2026 as part of SEPTA’s New Bus Network. However the history of this route goes back a little further. SEPTA route 72 was originally proposed as far back as 2010, and was meant to operate between Cedarbrook Plaza and Rising Sun-Olney Loop.

This route would go on to be proposed every so often with slight improvements here and there, but the core of it operating via Cheltenham Avenue from Cedarbrook to Crescentville Road would be consistent. The route was eventually put into the Bus Revolution plans, which were approved in 2024. The line finally started service on August 23rd 2026.

Other Routes using the same numbers

There was previously two routes that wore the number 72.

  • Route 72 Cheltenham to Elkins Park
  • Route 72 Delmar Village to Darby
    • Created by PTC, but inherited by Red Arrow Lines in 1938
    • Acquired by SEPTA in 1970
    • Merged with a route 83 that operated from Darby to Brookline to create route 115 on June 30th 1986.

New Bus Network Changes

SEPTA Route 72 was created as part of the SEPTA New Bus Network on August 23rd 2026.

Timetables

Route 72 is currently active. Check out SEPTA’s official website for current timetables for route 72. Below are scans of historic timetables for route 72. These are meant for historical/archival purposes only, and are not meant for actual trip planning