While Ridership Plummets, Transit Fixes Are Slow to Materialize in Philadelphia

The list of challenges facing transit agencies like the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is long. The list of feasible projects that can deliver solutions is much shorter.

1 minute read

March 29, 2019, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


SEPTA Bus Transit

Tupungato / Shutterstock

"Bus riders continued bailing on SEPTA in 2018, bringing it to its worst ridership numbers in nearly 20 years," reports Jason Laughlin.

This is the fourth consecutive year that SEPTA has lost riders, according to data from the Federal Transit Administration. "The transit agency lost 14 million bus trips from 2017 to 2018, the data showed, an 8 percent decline," writes Laughlin.

Transit ridership is declining comes even as the population of the city is increasing.

The other angle of the story worth noting is the palpable pessimism about the prospects that the trends will change anytime soon, or that the system will be able to deliver improvements designed to win back riders..

"SEPTA has promised a bus network redesign to provide faster and more reliable service, but it will be years before it happens," reports Laughlin. SEPTA has also "been advised to eliminate transfer fees to boost ridership, but it will be another year before SEPTA decides its transfer fee policy," for another example.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 in philly.com

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 25, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19, 2025 - Outdoor Life

Person wearing mask walking through temporary outdoor dining setup lined with bistro lights at dusk in New York City.

Restaurant Patios Were a Pandemic Win — Why Were They so Hard to Keep?

Social distancing requirements and changes in travel patterns prompted cities to pilot new uses for street and sidewalk space. Then it got complicated.

June 19, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up of full beer glass with purple train-themed design sitting on bar between two frosty tall cans.

Platform Pilsner: Vancouver Transit Agency Releases... a Beer?

TransLink will receive a portion of every sale of the four-pack.

June 30 - Cities Today

Vintage red Toronto streetcar passing in front of Rogers Arena in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto Weighs Cheaper Transit, Parking Hikes for Major Events

Special event rates would take effect during large festivals, sports games and concerts to ‘discourage driving, manage congestion and free up space for transit.”

June 30 - blogTO

Map of Berlin with ring roads in green and red.

Berlin to Consider Car-Free Zone Larger Than Manhattan

The area bound by the 22-mile Ringbahn would still allow 12 uses of a private automobile per year per person, and several other exemptions.

June 30 - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.