Philadelphia Plans for a Transit Revolution

Three coordinated, ambitious, simultaneous planning initiatives are underway at SEPTA, the regional transportation authority for Greater Philadelphia.

1 minute read

September 1, 2022, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Philadelphia SEPTA Station

Tupungato / Shutterstock

As reported in an article for TransitCenter, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is underway with a number of large-scale transit planning projects with the potential to reinvent transit in and around the city.

Three planning initiatives are pushing forward the vision put forth in the SEPTA Forward strategic plan—Reimagining Regional Rail, the Bus Revolution, and the Trolley Modernization project.

According to Ryan Judge, director of strategic planning at SEPTA, the three plans are designed to work in concert. “SEPTA’s COVID-19 recovery planning process, undertaken in the summer of 2020, produced the conclusion that the agency would need to continue to provide transit service as the core of the region’s mobility systems, and ensure that the various transit modes in the system functioned as a cohesive, integrated system,” according to the article.

As detailed in the article, Reimagining Regional Rail has the potential to transform the region’s commuter rail system with frequencies and fares more commonly found on subway systems. Bus Revolution will enact SEPTA’s first-ever systemwide bus network redesign, focusing service into a much more scrutable high frequency grid, similar to work done in recent years in Houston and Miami.

Wednesday, August 31, 2022 in TransitCenter

Young Professional

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 and Environmental 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 and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.