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The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority ('''SEPTA''') is a regional Quasi-public State Agency that serves 3.8 million people in five counties in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania region. It operates and maintains Bus , Subway and Elevated rail, Commuter Rail , trolley ( Streetcar ), and Trackless Trolley service (temporarily suspended as of 2006 ), and manages construction projects that repair, replace, and expand the existing system. The five , Delaware County , Montgomery County , Bucks County , and Chester County . SEPTA has the fifth largest transit system in the US, with 280 active stations, over 450 miles of track, 2,295 revenue vehicles, 196 routes, and about 306.9 million annual unlinked trips. Average weekday ridership across the system is about 1,000,000 passengers. SEPTA also operates Shared-Ride services in Philadelphia and ADA services across the region. SEPTA has a workforce of over 9,000. SEPTA's headquarters is at 1234 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. ROUTES Subway and elevated
Trolley and light rail
Bus There are numerous bus routes in the five-county SEPTA region, with most routes in the City of Philadelphia. Currently, SEPTA generally employs lettered and two-digit route numbering for its City Division routes (except for Route #15, which is now a trolley route again), 100-series routes for its Victory ("Red Arrow") Division in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties, 200-series routes for its Suburban Division (Montgomery & Bucks Counties), and 300-series routes for special buses. Commuter Rail Called Regional Rail, this is run by the SEPTA Regional Rail division. SEPTA DIVISIONS SEPTA has four major operating divisions: City Transit, Victory, Frontier, and Regional Rail. These divisions reflect the different transit and railroad operations that SEPTA has assumed. City Transit Division The City Transit Division operates routes mostly within the City of Philadelphia, including buses, subway-surface trolleys, the Market-Frankford Line , and the Broad Street Line . Some of its routes extend into Montgomery and Bucks counties. This division is the descendant of the Philadelphia Transit Company (PTC). There are six depots in this division.
Victory Division The Victory Division operates suburban bus and trolley (or light rail) routes that are based at 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby in Delaware County. Its routes include the Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100) light rail line that runs from 69th Street Terminal to Norristown and the SEPTA Surface Media And Sharon Hill Trolley Lines (Routes 101 and 102). This division is the descendant of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company , also known as the Red Arrow Lines. Most residents of the Victory Division operating area still refers this division as the "Red Arrow Division." Frontier Division The Frontier Division operates suburban bus routes that are based at the Norristown Transportation Center in Montgomery County. This division is the descendant of the Schuylkill Valley Lines. In addition, the 204 route emanating from the Paoli station is contracted to Krapf's Coaches. Regional Rail Division See Also: SEPTA Regional Rail The Regional Rail Division (RRD) operates commuter railroad routes that all go through the Center City Commuter Tunnel, with stops at 30th Street Station, Suburban Station, and Market East Station. There are 13 branches that extend as far as Newark, Delaware and Trenton, New Jersey , where one can take NJ Transit or Amtrak to New York City . This division is the descendant of the 6 commuter lines of the Reading Company (RDG) and the 7 commuter lines of Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR, later Penn Central : PC) railroads. SEPTA's railroad Reporting Mark SPAX can be see on non-revenue work equipment including boxcars, diesel locomotives, and other rolling stock. HISTORY SEPTA was formed on August 17 , 1963 by Pennsylvania state charter and on November 1 , 1965 absorbed the SEPACT and PSIC organizations, which helped the railroads and transit companies continue to operate unprofitable passenger services. PSIC (Passenger Service Improvement Corporation) was created on January 20 , 1960 to work with the Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad to improve commuter rail service. SEPACT (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Compact) was created on September 8 , 1961 by the city of Philadelphia and Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester counties to coordinate regional transport issues. SEPTA was chartered to coordinate government subsidies to various transit and railroad companies in southeastern Pennsylvania. This included the Reading Company and Pennsylvania Railroad commuter railroad lines, and by 1966 , all of these commuter railroad lines were operated under contract to SEPTA. On February 1 , 1968 , the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with the New York Central railroad to become Penn Central, only to file for bankruptcy on June 21 , 1970 . Penn Central continued to operate in bankruptcy until 1976 when Conrail took over its assets along with several other bankrupt railroads, including the Reading Company. Conrail continued to operate commuter services under contract to SEPTA until January 1 , 1983 , when SEPTA officially took over operations and acquired track, rolling stock, and other assets to form the Railroad Division . SEPTA acquired the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) on September 30 , 1968 , which included bus, trolley, and trackless trolley routes, and the Market-Frankford Line and the Broad Street Line . This became the City Transit Division. On January 30 , 1970 , SEPTA acquired the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, also known as the Red Arrow Lines, which included the Philadelphia And Western Railroad (P&W) route now called the Norristown High Speed Line (Route 100), the Media And Sharon Hill Lines (Routes 101 and 102), and several suburban bus routes in Delaware County. Today, this is the Victory Division, though some people may still refer to it as the Red Arrow Division. In 1976 , SEPTA acquired the Schuylkill Valley Lines, which is today the Frontier Division. 2005 STRIKE SEPTA's contracts with its transit operators expired in April and May, 2005 . In October 2005 , the Transport Workers Union Local 234 and the United Transportation Union Local 1594 set a strike deadline effective Halloween morning, October 31st , 2005 at 12:01 am. The reason the strike occurred was due to disagreement between SEPTA management and union leadership regarding employees' contributions to healthcare. Before the strike, SEPTA tried to negotiate with the union, offering them a new deal whereby SEPTA union employees would pay 5 percent of their salary towards healthcare costs. The SEPTA union refused the offer, arguing that when cost of living increases and inflation are factored in, its members would actually make less money than before. Negotiators walked out of contract negotiations minutes before that deadline when they failed to come to a conclusion. All operators, conductors, and engineers on the City, Victory, and Frontier Divisions walked off the job. SEPTA services on the regional rail division continued according to contingency plans, and all bus, trolley, and subway lines were suspended. This work stoppage stranded approximately 400,000 riders daily, impacting around 1,000,000 rides daily, forcing commuters to car-pool, walk, or arrange other alternative methods of transportation. In addition, over 27,000 public school students who receive free or subsidized transit tokens were forced to miss school completely or have their days cut short due to transportation issues. In the early morning of November 7 , 2005 , a preliminary agreement had been reached between SEPTA management and union leadership. Service on all affected transit lines was fully restored by the late afternoon. This agreement was due in large part to the intervention by former Philadelphia mayor, and current Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell . FLEET Buses All buses currently in service are wheelchair accessible.
Subway Cars
Light Rail Vehicles
Streetcars .]]
Regional rail trains
, in 1993 .]]
Maintenance of way vehicles
MAINTENANCE FACILITIES
GOVERNANCE SEPTA is governed by a board of directors with 15 members. The five counties (Philadelphia, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Bucks County, and Chester County) appoints two members each, the Pennsylvania State Legislature appoints four members, and the Governor appoints one. OTHER AGENCIES IN THE PHILADELPHIA REGION
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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