Introduction

SEPTA Bus Route 81 operates from Broad-Erie to Cheltenham-Ogontz Loop via Washington Lane. Service on route 81 is provided by Midvale (District 3) Depot.

Alternate service on Greene Street is provided by the SEPTA Bus Route 71.

SEPTA XHE40 703 on Route 81 by DashTransit
SEPTA XHE40 703 on Route 81 by DashTransit
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Official SEPTA Page
Table Of Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. Major Transfer Points on route 81
  3. Route 81 Origins
  4. Other routes with the same numbers
  5. New Bus Network Changes
  6. Timetables

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Major Transfer Points on route 81

Route 81 shares many station stops with route 71 between Greene Street & Walnut Lane and Broad Street & Erie Avenue. Transfers to other routes are available at…

  • Erie Avenue and Broad Street
    • SEPTA Metro B1, B2, and B3 lines at Erie Station
    • SEPTA bus routes 16, 23, 53, 56, 71
  • Greene Street and Chelten Avenue
    • SEPTA bus routes 26, 41, 65, 71, K
  • Washington Lane and Chew Avenue
    • SEPTA bus route 18
  • Cheltenham-Ogontz Loop
    • SEPTA bus routes 6, 16, 22, 71, 72

Route 81 Origins

SEPTA Route 81‘s history can actually be traced back to two lines

  • Route H-1 operating from Germantown-Chelten to Cheltenham Penrose via Walnut and Washington Lanes
  • Route XH operating from Broad-Erie to Cheltenham-Ogontz via Greene Street and Washington Lane.

Route H-1 History, 1942-1963

Route H-1 was created as an off-shoot of route H (now route 71) on April 19th 1942, operating from Germantown-Chelten to Cheltenham-Penrose via Walnut Lane west of Chew Avenue, and Washington Lane east of Chew Avenue. Limited service to Elkins Park via Spring Avenue north of Penrose was added alongside the creation of bus route XA on April 1st 1949.

Route H-1 would be extneded to Cheltenham Avenue & Georgian Road on June 18th 1961. On the same date, all the Elkins Park service would be elimiated. This would be the final extension of route H-1 as on November 30th 1963 route H-1 would be consolidated into route XH.

Route XH, 1951-2025

Route XH was created on June 24th 1951, providing service between Broad St & Erie Avenue and Sprague & Mt. Pleasant via Erie Avenue, Wissahickon Avenue, Manheim Street, Greene Street, and Washington Lane to Chew Avenue.

SEPTA Neoplan 3473 on Route XH by Basview
SEPTA Neoplan 3473 on Route XH by Basview

On November 30th 1963, route H-1 would be discontinued, and route XH would be re-routed to operate via Walnut/Washington Lane to , “Cheltenham Square Mall” now “Greenleaf at Cheltenham”. Service along Chew Avenue would already be provided by route S (now route 18).

On June 21st 1981 route XH would be re-routed to stay on Cheltenham Avenue (instead of going to Cheltenham Square Mall) and teminating at the Cheltenham-Ogontz Loop. Two years later on September 4th 1983, route XH would be inter-lined with route H (now route 71), and timetables printed between then and 2012 would feature both routes. At the end of the line on both ends, route XH could turn into route H (and vice versa).

When the Cheltenham-Ogontz Loop was re-built (opened on July 10th 2011), route XH trips would only turn into route H (and vice versa) at the southern terminus of Broad-Erie, as the Cheltenham-Ogontz loop was constructed in a manner where buses cannot leave and enter in the same direction from one route to the other route.

The final change to route XH would come in 2025, as on February 23rd 2025, route XH would be re-labeled as route 81.

Other routes with the same numbers

There were previously two lines numbered 81 within the SEPTA Network.

  • Route 81 From 31st St & Passyunk Ave to Delaware Ave & Swanson St via Passyunk and Snyder Avenues.
    • Service started June 9th 1890
    • Number assigned November 1st 1913
    • Discontinued September 8th 1957
    • Consolidated into route 37
  • Route 81 from Decker Square to Springfield Mall
    • Re-designated from Red Arrow Route S to route 141, and then again from SEPTA Route 141
    • Discontinued in 1990, with no replacement.

New Bus Network Changes

Route XH was re-designated as route 81 on February 23rd 2025 as part of the New Bus Network.

Timetables

Route 81 is currently active. Check out SEPTA’s official website for current timetables for route 81. Below are historic timetables for SEPTA Route 81 and XH. These are older, out of date timetables for archival educational purposes only. These are not meant to be used for actual trip planning.