SEPTA ran a pilot version of the microtransit system in lower Bucks County - an overnight service called the Owl Link meant to serve workers with late shifts. A rider can request a pick-up ahead of time or the same day, it picks them up at their door, and drops them off at their desired location. SEPTA is still fleshing out the details, but the concept is similar to rideshare services like Uber or Lyft. Harley Cooper, a senior operations planner with SEPTA’s fixed routes department, summarized the changes “We’re keeping the strongest, the highest ridership portion of that route, and we’re concentrating frequency on the portion of the route where people are riding.” “So much of a focus on making this community accessible has to do with what able-bodied people can use.
Tannia Schrieber, 49, lives in Penn Wynne and sees the overhaul as a potential hurdle for people with disabilities, older adults, and workers traveling to people’s homes. Gordan described the 44 bus, which makes three small circles along its winding route, as “extremely confusing.” It serves as an example of why SEPTA believes the “revolution” is necessary - routes that are long and “inefficient,” according to SEPTA, with low ridership, are using up resources that could be spent on improving the places with more riders.īut others in Lower Merion are upset over losing local routes. She said she wouldn’t mind walking or a transfer if that means less wait time. “I’d be planning to go to the city, to do something… And I thought I had the timing down. “Sometimes it literally just didn’t show up,” Gordan said. Lonna Gordan, 36, lives in Bala Cynwyd and sees the bright side of losing line 44. Nemiroff said there is minuscule ridership in Narberth and Gladwyne (Route 44 touches both), but far more in Ardmore, hence the streamlined Route 555. The Lower Merion area would lose other smaller lines like Route 52 in Gladwyne. SEPTA is proposing the line just start in Ardmore and run through West Philadelphia into Center City instead, bypassing Bala Cynwyd. Route 44 currently runs from Ardmore, along City Avenue to Bala Cynwyd, and down Interstate 76 into Center City. SEPTA wants to streamline Route 44 into a new Route 555. In places like Lower Merion, riding may require a transfer or a farther walk to a more frequent line. The plan has received pushback in places that are losing some local routes, like Philadelphia’s Manayunk area, and in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County. Pushback against SEPTA’s bus plans in Lower Merion On SEPTA’s transit app, riders can see what their new routes may look like. Nemiroff said the plan is about serving more people using the same resources.Ĭommunity members still have time to share input on the draft, with a few more “open houses” and community conversations (though these are mostly in Philadelphia) and an online survey. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor
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