SEPTA Trolley Tunnel, which connects West Philadelphia with Center City, will be closed for the annual maintenance from July 7 through July 24 for the annual “Trolley Tunnel Blitz.”

The tunnel closure will impact trolley routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36, all of which will temporarily divert to 40th and Market, where riders can transfer to/from the Market-Frankford Line to continue their travel.

A temporary shelter will be set up for riders switching to/from the Market-Frankford Line. The trolley diversion map is available here.

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SEPTA is pushing back the revamping of its bus routes and schedules – a project dubbed “Bus Revolution” – until Fall 2024 after riders criticized the plan in a public meeting earlier this week.

SEPTA officials have said that the changes would streamline the system by prioritizing busy routes. But riders and public officials complained in a City Council hearing on Monday that the elimination of some stops and routes would be disruptive to many passengers, including students and seniors. The current plan reduces the number of routes from 125 to 99 but would increase the frequency of buses on high frequency routes like the 52 along 52nd Street.

SEPTA officials said they would revise the project and have an update in early spring and begin a new round of community hearings in the spring and summer.

This would be the first major overhaul of the bus system in 60 years.

The City Council will hold a public hearing Monday on SEPTA’s Bus Revolution project, the plan to overhaul its bus network, which has drawn criticism from residents and elected officials.

The council’s Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities will hold a virtual public hearing beginning at 10 a.m. “to examine the approach and expected impacts of SEPTA’s Bus Revolution service reconfiguration.”

SEPTA’s plan cuts several routes and prioritizes high-use routes – like the 52 through West Philly – with promises of shorter wait times and more direct routes. But riders have complained that the changes will leave some residents, including some in Southwest Philly, with diminished service. Continue Reading

Check out information on holiday hours and closings at some popular local stores and supermarkets + SEPTA’s holiday service schedule.

SEPTA’s Holiday Service Schedule

Saturday, Dec. 24: Bus routes will operate on a Saturday schedule.

Sunday, Dec. 25: Bus routes will operate on a Sunday/Holiday schedule. Bus Routes 204, 310, 311 and LUCY will not operate.

Dec. 26–30: Bus routes will operate on a weekday alternate schedule.

Saturday, Dec. 31: Bus routes will operate on a Saturday schedule.

Mummers’ Parade, Sunday, Jan. 1: Special holiday service on the Market-Frankford and Broadstreet Lines with Bus Owl service beginning at 12:00 a.m.. Surface Transportation will operate on a Sunday schedule. Bus Routes 204, 310, 311 and LUCY will not operate. Continue Reading

If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving in the city and need to do last-minute shopping for your dinner, check out information below on holiday hours and closings at some local grocery stores and supermarkets. We also included information on SEPTA holiday service.

ACME Markets (40th and Walnut): 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Aldi (46th and Market): Closed

Mariposa Food Co-op (49th and Baltimore): 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Shoprite of Parkside (1575 N. 52nd St.): 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Supreme “Shop-n-Bag” (43rd and Walnut): 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Fresh Grocer (56th and Chestnut): 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Fine Wine & Good Spirits: All West Philadelphia stores are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Continue Reading

Complaining about SEPTA has been a Philly pastime for generations (they may never live down “We’re Getting There“). Buses that never show; ones that blow by you at a stop because they’re full; that long wait on a cold winter morning only for three buses to show up at once. Most of us have been there.

Well, transit planners at last night’s public unveiling of a proposed overhaul of SEPTA’s bus system say they are making changes – from shorter wait times to more consistent schedules and “straighter” routes.

“If we were building it from scratch, what would it look like?” SEPTA transit planner Dan Nemiroff asked during the online meeting to release the proposed route changes as part of SEPTA’s Bus Revolution project. Continue Reading