SEPTA

For other uses, see Septa.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
Angled white "S" with the word SEPTA in blue underneath. The background to the left of the "S" is blue and red on the right.
Overview
Area servedPhiladelphia and the surrounding Delaware Valley, including New Castle County, Delaware, and South Jersey
LocaleDelaware Valley
Transit type
Number of lines196
Number of stations290
Daily ridership701,900 (weekdays, Q2 2024)[1]
Annual ridership223.5 million (2020)[2]
Chief executiveLeslie Richards (General Manager)
Headquarters1234 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Websitesepta.org
Operation
Began operationNovember 1, 1965 (1965-11-01)
Number of vehicles2,897 (2018)[4]
SEPTA system map

Rail lines converge to Center City Philadelphia in a hub-and-spoke model Geographically-accurate map of SEPTA and connecting rail transit services as of 2005. Includes Regional Rail, rapid transit, and selected interurban and suburban trolley lines. Does not include SEPTA's subway-surface lines or Girard streetcar.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority[5] that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people throughout five counties in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It also manages projects that maintain, replace, and expand its infrastructure, facilities, and vehicles.

SEPTA is the major transit provider for the city of Philadelphia and four surrounding counties within the Philadelphia metropolitan area: Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester. It is a state-created authority, with the majority of its board appointed by the five counties it serves.[6] While several SEPTA commuter rail lines terminate in the nearby states of Delaware and New Jersey, additional service to Philadelphia from those states is provided by other agencies: the PATCO Speedline from Camden County, New Jersey is run by the Delaware River Port Authority, a bi-state agency; NJ Transit operates many bus lines and a commuter rail line to Philadelphia's Center City; and DART First State runs feeder bus lines to SEPTA stations in the state of Delaware.

SEPTA has the seventh-largest U.S. rapid transit system by ridership, and the fifth-largest overall transit system in the U.S. with about 302 million annual unlinked trips as of fiscal year 2018.[7] It controls 290 active stations, over 450 miles (720 km) of track, 2,350 revenue vehicles, and 196 routes.[8] It also oversees shared-ride services in Philadelphia and ADA services across the region, which are operated by third-party contractors, Amtrak, and NJ Transit.

SEPTA is the only U.S. transit authority that operates all five major types of terrestrial transit vehicles: regional commuter rail trains, rapid transit subway and elevated trains, light rail trolleys, trolleybuses, and motorbuses. This title was shared with Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which also ran ferryboat service, until trolleybuses in Greater Boston were officially discontinued in 2023.[9]

  1. ^ "Transit Ridership Report Second Quarter 2024" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fiscal Year 2021 Operating Budget was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "SEPTA | Board Members". www.septa.org. June 16, 2023.
  4. ^ "Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority 2018 Agency Profile" (PDF). FTA National Transit Database (NTD). December 13, 2019. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  5. ^ "SEPTA Enabling Legislation (74PaCS§ 1711)". Pennsylvania Legis website.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference crisis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "SEPTA Operating Facts Fiscal Year 2018" (PDF). SEPTA. 2019.
  8. ^ https://docs.house.gov/meetings/HM/HM07/20171128/106650/HHRG-115-HM07-Wstate-NestelT-20171128.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  9. ^ "SEPTA Facts". SEPTA. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008.