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SEPTA Bus 49 Defies Post-Pandemic Trends – The Conversation

  • GVF TMA
  • Jun 17
  • 1 min read

When the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority launched the 49 bus route in Philadelphia in early 2019, those who most benefited were older adults and people who already ride the bus – and not commuters who were persuaded to ditch their cars for public transportation, according to our new research.


Some of the largest benefits of Route 49 came in saved time and fewer transfers for existing users of other transit routes.


We are a professor of city planning and a professor of statistics and data science who recently published a study on Route 49, SEPTA’s newest local bus service, in the peer-reviewed journal Transportation Research Record.


Route 49 launched in early 2019 and was the first local bus service that SEPTA added to its system in nearly a decade. It connects two residential Philadelphia neighborhoods – Strawberry Mansion in North Philadelphia and Grays Ferry in South Philadelphia – with the job-rich University City area in West Philadelphia.


Public transit agencies often try to court “choice” riders – people who have a reasonable chance of choosing to either drive or use public transportation for a given trip, and who tend to be higher income.


 
 
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