A new city, a whole new transit system! From my home base at the University of Pennsylvania, I’ll be reviewing every bus route and train station on the sprawling SEPTA.
*Full Disclosure: I volunteer on the SEPTA Youth Advisory Council, but all opinions on this blog are my own.
Recent Posts from Miles on SEPTA
150 (Parx Casino to Plymouth Meeting Mall)
Welcome to SEPTA's least-used route. The 150 looks absolutely bizarre at first glance: it's a nonstop suburban crosstown express from Parx Casino (in the northeast) to Plymouth Meeting Mall (in the northwest). I was all set to write this thing off as a 1/10 that makes...
VIDEO: What’s the Cheapest Way to Long Island?
Answer: local buses. Lots of them. You can also see the video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKQmp0spxhs
1 (Parx Casino to 54th-City)
It's always interesting to see what transit agencies choose for their route 1. The MBTA's 1, for example, is one of the busiest bus routes on the system, running frequently down a major urban corridor. What does SEPTA's 1 do? It runs hourly service, six days a week,...
Levittown
SEPTA! Stop opening up new Regional Rail platforms! Let me get through my backlog without having to schlep up to random stations every couple of days! And you picked a real good place for me this time: Levittown. One of the first master-planned suburbs, and one with a...
Paoli
Yes, I know I'm late here - Paoli's new platform opened over a week ago, and this one is a much bigger deal than Secane. I go through these phases where I'm really busy and don't have time to write, so...well, anyway: Paoli! Being SEPTA's 11th-busiest Regional Rail...
Service Change: Scotland, Part 2 – To the Isle of Skye
After our adventures in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the urban part of my family's Scotland trip was essentially over. It was time to take a train way up into the Scottish Highlands, and on the eponymous (West) Highland Line, no less - widely considered to be one of the...
Wynnefield Avenue
You know, I wasn't gonna do this, but I had already reviewed the other two Cynwyd Line stations...figured I might as well hop the one midday train once more to complete the trifecta with Wynnefield Ave. Plus, this'll mean I'll have done every station on the Cynwyd...
Bala
Now why would Bala, with just ten inbound trains per day, have fully high-level platforms when so many other SEPTA stations are inaccessible? I wonder if someone powerful lives up here... Well, here we are. That high-level platform is mostly unsheltered, playing host...
Cynwyd
I was touring Temple University in 2016, and the guide was telling us about transportation access. "Every Regional Rail line stops at Temple, so it's really convenient," he said. And I didn't know much about SEPTA then, but I did know one thing: not the Cynwyd Line!...
124/125 (Chesterbrook/Valley Forge and King of Prussia to 13-Market)
Alright, let me just check my watch here. Oh look, it's masochism time! We're going to get a two-for-one deal of Schuylkill Expressway-related pain! What fun! Brace yourself for a double-dose of traffic purgatory on the 124 and 125. Oh good, I have no idea which bus...
Secane
I noticed that Secane had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of its overhaul, but for some reason it didn't click with me that I should probably go and check out the new station. An anonymous person in the comments suggested I check it out: "Ahem…Newly...
99 (Phoenixville to Norristown Transportation Center)
Ah...back in the world of SEPTA suburban routes. I don't think the 99 is bucking any trends as far as insanity goes. Wow, I love that giant text on the destination sign! Well, I must tell you, the first two minutes of the 99 are certified deviation-free! We left the...
Doylestown
Alright, Doylestown, you're gonna have to come through for me here. Your town is so quaint and pretty, so I need this station to live up to that standard. Do you think you can do that for me? Okay, decent start. The entrance to Doylestown from South Clinton Street (or...
55 (Willow Grove and Doylestown to Olney Transportation Center)
I don't know what the weirdest thing about the 55 is. Is it that there's a one-seat bus ride between Olney and Doylestown, a distance of about 20 miles? Is it that this bus, which goes way out into the hinterlands, is a City Transit route? Is it that it uses 60-foot...
Thorndale
Oh come on, SEPTA, stop teasing us! "201 S. Bailey Road, Coatesville, PA, 19320"? There's a lot of ambiguity about which borough or township or whatever Thorndale Station is in, but it sure as heck isn't Coatesville...even though the Paoli/Thorndale Line should...