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J A R R E T T W A L K E R + A S S O C I A T E S SEPTAPhiladelphia Bus Network Choices Report | 7
Executive Summary
J A R R E T T W A L K E R + A S S O C I A T E S SEPTAPhiladelphia Bus Network Choices Report
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If you use public transit, or want to, then this map shows you the wall around your life. If you cannot go places, you cannot do things. Beyond the ends of these blobs are jobs you cannot hold, schools you cannot go to, clubs or houses of worship you cannot belong to, and people you cannot meet in person.
If we expand where you can get to on transit, we make it useful to more people, and that is the surest way to get more people to use it. Expanding where you can get to also means you are more free, because you have more options to choose from: more jobs, more schools, more shopping options, and so on. More options and more freedom is a good thing in itself.
It is possible to expand the wall around most Philadelphians’ lives, so that they can go more places and do more things, without expanding SEPTA’s operating budget. This report explains how.
What is this report?The bus network in Philadelphia has been adjusted in small ways over time but has never been rethought in its entirety. It may be based too much on history and not enough on the needs and values of Philadelphia today. Recent declines in ridership in the context of a growing and densifying city strongly suggest that the network is not meeting the needs of today’s city. That is why SEPTA is doing this study now.
This study is about the bus network in the City of Philadelphia, but suburban areas have a stake in it as well. Improved transit in Philadelphia means easier access to more of the city from suburban areas, and easier access to suburban jobs for Philadelphians. Similar studies should also be done
What if transit gave us more freedom?What if public transit were more useful in Philadelphia? What if people could get to more places, sooner, than they can now?
For example, suppose you lived at 4th & Oregon. This map (Figure 1) shows you where you could be, using transit and walking, in a fixed amount of time. The darkest area shows where you could be in 15 minutes. The faintest blue is where you could get to in an hour.
From 4th St and Oregon Ave,where could I travel to on weekdays at 12 pm?
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Areas that can be accessed within:
Data source: SEPTA GTFS Spring 20170 1 2 3 4 miles
Figure 1: Isochrone map of access by walking and transit from 4th Street and Oregon Avenue.
From 4th St and Oregon Ave,where could I travel to on weekdays at 12 pm?
ch ristopherco
lumbus
pennsylvania
germantown
hunt
ingd
on
gree
nwood
washi
ngton
bethlehem
springfield
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awmont
pape
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kelly
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baltimore
aramingo
bust
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ing sun
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evel
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spring garden
township line
montgomery
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hunting park
cheltenham
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woodland
haldeman
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ngto
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lombard
belmont
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old
york
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sedgley
godfrey
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byberry
stenton
oregon
knig
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east
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tacony
whitby
wayne
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Areas that can be accessed within:
Data source: SEPTA GTFS Spring 20170 1 2 3 4 miles
for the other counties in the SEPTA area.
This report talks about speed, reliability, civic infrastruc-ture and information. But the main focus of this study is the pattern of routes and schedules, and the way this pattern creates opportunities for citizens. This topic is called network design.
To write this report, we spent six months studying every bus route in detail. We asked:
• How many riders are using this route, and how does this compare to what the route costs to operate?
• How frequently do buses come on this route, and is that enough?
• How early or late do buses run, and is that enough?
• How reliable is the route? Do people often have to wait longer than the schedule says?
• Is this route duplicating other routes? In other words, is this route doing something that other routes do as well?
We did not just study each route, though. We also studied how they all fit together into a network. So we asked:
• How easy is it to transfer from one route to another?
• How well do the bus routes connect to rail, including both the rapid transit lines and the regional rail lines?
• Are there different ways to lay out the network that would produce more freedom and opportunity?
• What other barriers is transit facing in Philadelphia, and what are the next steps to remove those barriers?
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the main conclusionsThe most important conclusions of this study are:
• The network could be redesigned so that more people could get to more places, sooner.
• A majority of the service would probably be largely unchanged by any network design, because it already follows logical patterns. Thus many routes would likely follow mostly the same streets they do today, though the spacing of bus stops and the exact pattern of service would likely change.
• Changing the network means changing things that some people are used to. As a result, network redesigns always generate some opposition. For that reason, it requires a clear explanation of the benefits, and an open conversation with the public.
• Beyond network design, several other things can be done to improve the transit system, such as trying all door boarding, getting rid of the fare penalty for trans-fers, and improving how the network is communicated to the public.
• SEPTA does not fully control quality of transit in the city. The City of Philadelphia government has at least as much power over the success of transit. For example, the city controls the layout of streets, which determines how fast and reliably transit can operate, and it controls the planning of development, which determines where transit demand will be. As a result, the City needs to form its own transit policies and priorities, to ensure that all of its actions are consistent with its own intentions for transit in the city.
What is happening to ridership?Philadelphia is growing, and most of this growth has been in the core of the city where transit access and usefulness is greatest. So transit use should be growing too. Instead, ridership has been falling since 2013 (see Figure 2).
Many things affect ridership. The causes of the latest decline are difficult to sort out, but they probably include lower gas prices, which make driving easier, and competition from Uber and Lyft, whose low fares are partly subsidized by private investors. Neither low gas prices nor subsidized taxi fares are likely to be permanent.
It is tempting to say that if people are using transit less, we need less transit, but Figure 3 shows why that is not true. If people drive more, or use Uber and Lyft more, they are taking more space in the city than people who use transit or ride bicycles. Even autonomous cars will not change this basic geometric challenge, as they take up almost the same amount of space as today’s cars and even carrying three to four persons per car, they cannot be anywhere near as space efficient as buses or bicycles.
Transit’s ability to use space efficiently will continue to be the argument for why it must exist, and why it must be allowed to succeed. That is a purely geometric fact, so it will not change even as ridership goes up and down, as it always does.
While ridership declines should not be considered a crisis, they do provide a good opportunity to question how bus networks are designed, and how they are operated, mar-keted, and accommodated within civic infrastructure.
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Figure 2: Productivity graph indicates a ridership loss for SEPTA and most peers starting in 2013.
Figure 3: Public transit, bicycles, and cars use progressively more road space to move the same number of people.Photo copyright We Ride Australia
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What are other cities doing?Many American city bus systems stayed the same for decades even as cities has grown and changed around them. For that reason, many transit agencies are now doing bus network redesigns. Houston launched a completely new bus network in 2015, followed by Baltimore in 2017. As of May 2018, almost all of the nation’s largest transit agen-cies—including those in New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Boston—have either launched network rede-sign studies or announced the intention to do so.
The key to freedom: frequency and connectionsLook again at the isochrone map in Figure 1 on page 8 . A high ridership network will expand where people can get to in a given amount of time. How does it do this?
As we explain in Chapter 3 on page 31, the answer is simple: frequent service, making easy connections. Frequency not only means less waiting. It also means that it is easy to connect between lines, and that means that where routes intersect it is easy to change from one line to another. These fast connections are what makes it possible to get to so many more places, sooner.
In Philadelphia, this would probably mean:
• Improving the frequent grid. Most of the city is covered by a grid pattern of lines. Increasing all of these lines to run more frequently all day would make it easy to go from anywhere to anywhere in this area with a simple L-shaped trip (see Figure 4).
• Concentrate more services at transportation centers, including 69th Street, Wissahickon, Olney, Fern Rock, and Frankford, and also to other key stations on the rail network. These transportation centers are also key opportunities to improve access between Philadelphia and its suburbs. By connecting many Philadelphia lines to many suburban lines, a network redesign could dra-matically expand the number of places that are easily connected by transit.
About 10% of service is duplicativeA network redesign would look for service that is not very useful, and rearrange it to make it more useful. Here is an example.
When bus routes run for long distances on the same streets as other bus routes or rail lines, without combining for better service than individual routes, we call this duplication.
Look at the abstract network in Figure 5 below. Route C, which comes every 60 minutes, runs on the same streets as Routes A and B, which come every 10 minutes. Route C could be useful to go from certain points on Route A to certain points on Route B. But because you have to wait so long for Route C, it is usually faster to just take Route A and transfer to Route B. That makes it hard to justify keeping Route C.
Partial duplication also happens when two parallel routes are so close together that they are serving the same places. Moving these routes further apart, so that they overlap less, can make the system more useful, especially if it means SEPTA can afford to run the buses more often.
About 10% of the Philadelphia’s bus service is duplica-tive by these standards. This 10% of the operating budget could be used differently to create more useful service.
TRANSFER
Figure 4: A high-frequency grid provides convenient one-transfer connections between any two points.
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Figure 5: A one-seat ride on a low-frequency route is usually slower than a high-frequency connection.
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Some routes have too much peak-hour serviceMost bus routes have more service during the peak commute period (or “rush hour”) than they have during the rest of the day, because more people want to ride during the peaks. But this “peak-only” service is also more expensive than all-day service for SEPTA to run. Drivers have to be paid more to work very short shifts, for example, and SEPTA has to own and maintain buses that it does not use very much. So those added buses need to be well used in order to justify themselves.
But several SEPTA bus routes are less crowded during the peak commute hours than they are the rest of the day. That is a problem. During the peak, there should be enough buses so that everybody can ride, but the buses should be more crowded than they are in the midday. If not, the expensive buses that are added for the peak are not being put to good use and could be more productively used elsewhere, such as providing more frequency in midday or in the evening.
Our estimate is that about 5% of resources are being spent on excess peak service. A network redesign would look closely at that excess peak service and possibly shift it to all-day patterns, which would create more useful service.
Speed needs improvementSEPTA is gradually slowing down. Travel speeds (including all delays) have slowed down by 0.2 mph just in the last three years. This may look small but it adds up. There are elements of the speed problem that SEPTA can work on, notably in operating and boarding procedures. For example,
some agencies are now allowing passengers to board at all doors, which speeds up boarding but requires on-board fare inspection. The biggest challenges affecting speed, though, require cooperation with the City of Philadelphia, as we discuss further below.
Reliability needs improvement, but is better than it soundsSEPTA defines a bus as being on-time if it is between 0 and 5 minutes late. This is a tough standard. Many random events can delay a bus by 5 minutes.
By this standard, SEPTA’s on-time performance in Philadelphia is around 75%, which sounds terrible. However, on high-frequency routes the customer experience is better than this number makes it sound.
For example, if your bus is scheduled to come every 10 minutes, your chance of waiting no more than 15 minutes is over 90% at all times of day, and over 95% midday. This is a better description of the customer experience, and points to the fact that on high frequency routes, keeping the buses evenly spaced is more important than following a schedule.
SEPTA should consider changing the measures of reliability on frequent routes to better align with the customer experi-ence of reliability. Changing standards will require changes in management techniques and changes in data manage-ment and reporting. But the outcome would be clearer communication about reliability and more useful service through better management of headway reliability.
Bus stops are too close togetherPhiladelphia bus routes typically have stops roughly every 500 feet, or ten stops per mile. For example, a typical east–west route will stop at 16th, 17th, 18th, and so on. This is a significant part of why bus operations are so slow.
For high frequency routes, which will stop at most stops due to high demand, the North American best practice is in the range of 1000-1500 feet, or two to three typical Philadelphia blocks. Many transit agencies are studying stop spacing and coming up with consistent citywide policies, usually in that range.
A 1000 foot or two block spacing would mean that:
• Buses run noticeably faster, because customers gather at fewer stops where they can board more quickly. We estimate a 2% speed increase on segments without stop signs. This is a conservative estimate compared to recent experience with the Route 47 stop consolidation pilot.
• Everyone is still within a short walk of one bus stop, but not necessarily two consecutive stops. Of course, riders only need to reach one stop, not two.
• Fewer parking spaces are removed to accommodate bus stops, although those that remain will need stronger enforcement.
Stronger enforcement of parking restrictions at bus stops is a key part of the partnership between the City and SEPTA. It would lead to fewer disruptions and delays, increasing the speed of service.
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Transit has competing goals: How will they be balanced?The Philadelphia bus network is designed on a mixture of two competing goals. Chapter 4 explains why the geomet-ric facts about transit lead to this conflict between goals.
A Ridership Goal1 seeks maximum ridership for a given amount of service. Ridership means that more people benefit from the service directly.
This goal is achieved by running frequent service in areas where the conditions are favorable: places that are dense and walkable, and where straight, logical paths for transit are available. Most urban landscapes laid out before 1945, including most of Philadelphia, are well served under a Ridership Goal.
The Ridership Goal supports goals such as urban redevel-opment, financial return, and environmental and congestion benefits resulting from less car use.
A Coverage Goal seeks to provide service to all parts of the city regardless of whether ridership is a realistic expec-tation. This goal ensures that there is service into places where the conditions are not favorable for ridership, includ-ing areas that are low-density, or not walkable, or where the street networks make it hard to draw logical routes.
The Coverage Goal corresponds to goals such as lifeline access for people no matter where they are, equity across council districts or other political units, and access to jobs in landscapes that are not conducive to high-ridership transit, such as most industrial areas and suburban-style business parks.
1 These terms are capitalized in this report when referring to the exact meaning laid out here. Figure 6: Ridership and coverage goals produce very different networks.
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Here, service goes everywhere but the bus does not come very often. Very few people find them useful. Everyone has access to minimal service, but total ridership is low.
Maximum ridership Maximum coverage
In this imaginary town, you have 18 buses to run transit routes. How will you distribute your service?
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We would like to recommend this for Philadelphia, but without new resources it would require cutting the weekday network too deeply. Additional weekend service should be a top priority for any new resources.
The existing balance of goalsIn the current Philadelphia bus network, about 70% of the service runs in patterns that serve a Ridership Goal. About 15% are in patterns that effectively serve a Coverage Goal. About 10% is duplication and the remaining 5% is excess peak service. These numbers, and how we got to them, are explained in the Appendix on page 97.
There is no objectively correct answer to the question of how much to pursue a Ridership Goal as opposed a Coverage Goal. Both goals are an important part of why people value
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Figure 8: An example of the possible decision space of concepts for transit in Philadelphia
transit, but they do lead to different kinds of investment. So the ridership-coverage trade-off is about choosing between things that you like, just as you do in any kind of budget. This decision should arise from a public conversation.
To help people see this choice and talk about it clearly, a network redesign study would create two alternatives for the network, one with a greater focus on the Ridership Goal, the other with greater focus on the Coverage Goal. Both would remove the duplicative service, but they might differ on whether those resources are spent to improve rid-ership or improve coverage. Then, the community could think about where it wants to be in the triangle of Figure 8. This triangle shows the two questions that people would need to think about:
1. How much should the system change?
2. What should be the balance between Ridership and Coverage Goals?
Evening and weekend serviceEvening and weekend service is relatively inexpensive to operate, and it is also crucial to a large segment of transit riders. People who work in most retail and entertainment sectors have to work on weekends and often late into the evening. Having some transit then is important to making it possible for them to rely on transit at all.
Houston recently had great success with a network redesign that extended evening service and expanded Saturday and Sunday service to be the same level as weekday service, but without the peak period. Figure 7: About 70% of the current network is focused on a ridership
goal. A network redesign study would consider a different balance in how resources are split.
Ridership70%
Coverage15%
Duplication10%
Excess Peak Service5%
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Eliminate the Fare Penalty for Changing BusesSEPTA currently charges passengers more if their trip requires two buses (or trains) than if it requires one.
Changing buses and trains must be encouraged. Most of the area that a person can reach in an hour is reachable via a transfer. A network designed with simple and easy connec-tions is a more efficient network to operate, which means it is a network that lets SEPTA provide more liberty for the same cost. And it is a network that carries higher ridership.
It makes no sense to charge people more for behavior that is so beneficial for both SEPTA and the customer. The fare for a trip should be the same regardless of the number of buses and trains required. To charge extra for transfers is to discourage exactly the behavior that SEPTA most needs to encourage. For details see page 74 for the effects of the fare penalty on network design and page 58 and page 70 for the high rate of transfers.
City leadership is criticalThis report focuses on network design, which is largely under SEPTA’s control. However, the City of Philadelphia controls the success of the transit system as much as SEPTA does, because it has two enormous powers:
• As a land use authority, the city decides whether more people and jobs will locate in places where it is easy for transit to serve them, or in more remote places where access will depend more on cars.
• The City controls most of the streets on which buses
operate. Most speed and reliability problems are related to delays caused by traffic. Many cities are addressing this problem through various kinds of transit priority, including signalization improvements and bus lanes.
An unusual feature of Philadelphia is that long stretches of major bus lines encounter stop signs at every block. In many cases these were once signalized, but were changed to stop signs as travel volumes dropped due to the depopulation
of some parts of the city. This is also an important issue for city leadership.
More broadly, the City needs its own transit policies and planning capabilities. We recommend studying the City of Seattle as the current best practice on how a city gov-ernment takes a leadership position on transit, effectively guiding all city departments on an issue of urgency, even though it does not directly control transit operations.
One key best practice is for the City to develop its own Philadelphia Transit Plan, which would guide the city’s actions in planning and expediting transit. This plan would be integrated with both land use and transportation plan-ning at the city, and could be relevant to other city functions such as decisions about the locations of services, and even law enforcement priorities.
Chapter 3 explores these issues in more detail.
Try All-Door BoardingTo save time, some bus systems allow passengers to board at any door. This is already common on rail services, but San Francisco allows it on all buses citywide, and several other cities do it on the busiest lines. SEPTA should continue to explore this option, which we discuss at the end of Chapter 2 on page 42.
Figure 9: The City of Seattle Transit Master Plan took vague transit goals and turned them into specific actions and guidance for all departments. It also told a compelling story that motivated voter support for increased transit funding.
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The network can be more legibleA network redesign would probably make the network simpler, which makes it easier to understand and remember. However, regardless of the network change, several things can be done, even today, to make the network clearer:
• Identify frequent service (every 15 minutes or better all day) as a distinct service type, highlighted throughout the information system. This helps everyone see the places where the next bus is always coming soon.
• Develop an attractive network map, showing all services. Currently, SEPTA has a prominent rail diagram but is not showing the bus network clearly. Even with app-based navigation many people value clear maps that show the network structure.
Use the electric signs on buses to describe the route more completely, usually by stating the main street used and then the destination. (“SPRUCE to 69th Street”) This style pro-vides a useful description of what the bus does, which helps everyone who sees the bus learn about the network.
Girard trolley is a barrier to travelMany people love the trolleys in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, they also have two disadvantages:
• In mixed traffic, they get stuck more easily than buses do. Incidents that happen in their lane shut down the trolley service, where a bus could easily go around them.
• Where the rails end, everyone has to get off. This is not always the most logical location for passenger trips.
The trolleys that run into the Market Street Subway provide an important express service into the Center City that uses their capacity. There is no question that these benefits out-weigh those disadvantages.
The Girard trolley (#15) has the disadvantages without the advantages. In particular, the west end at 63rd Street nar-rowly misses serving the 69th Street Transportation Center, and thus cuts off Girard passengers from a huge range of possible suburban connections.
This problem could be fixed either by extending the Girard trolley to 69th Street Transportation Center or, far less expensively, by converting the trolley into a high-frequency bus line.
In addition to the ability to run a more logical route, buses also have the advantage that they can go around obstacles that arise in their lane, and even make detours if needed, while trolleys are stuck until the obstruction is cleared.
Figure 10: A San Francisco bus headsign explains where the route goes: along Geary Blvd to end at the VA Hospital. In gridded cities like Philadelphia many routes can be described this simply.
Figure 11: Good network maps highlight frequent routes and show how all services fit together. This example from Washington DC’s WMATA shows subway in black, frequent buses in red, and less-frequent buses in blue.
CentralWashington, DCThis map shows routes thattravel through CentralWashington, DC.
For routes that start/endin Central Washington, DC,please see the inset below.
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W ST
Ainger PlBru
ce P
l
Lang
ston
Pl
SOUTHDAKOTA AVE
BunkerHill Rd
Randolp
h St
Bladen
sburg
Rd
22
nd
St
Eastern Ave
MALCOLM X AVE
Irving St
25
th S
t
22
nd
St
Sta
nto
n R
d
SO
UTH
CA
PITO
L ST
Denver
St
ALABAMA AVE
ALABAMA AVE
Naylor R
d30th S
t
19th St
Savannah St
23rd
St
25th
St
22nd
St
Jasper Pl
Trenton Pl
Mississippi Ave
Mississippi Ave
Valley
Ave
13th St
NAY
LOR
RD
Texa
s A
ve
Min
neso
ta A
ve
Massachusetts Ave
MASSACHUSETTS AVE
Marlboro Pike
Cap
itol H
eigh
ts B
lvd
Larc
hmon
t A
ve
Loui
sian
a A
ve
Min
neso
ta A
ve
Ken
ilwor
th A
ve
Ken
ilwor
th A
ve
Mon
tello
Ave
Roc
k C
reek
Chu
rch
Rd
ParkRd
Porter St
Woodley Rd
Idah
o A
ve
Ariz
ona
Ave
San
gam
ore
Rd
Wes
tbar
d A
ve
Massachusetts Ave
MASSACHUSETTS AVE
New
Ham
pshi
re A
ve
RH
OD
E IS
LAN
D A
VE
RIG
GS
RD
Kan
sas
Ave
Kan
sas
Ave
Pin
eyB
ranc
h R
d
Col
orad
o
Ave
NE
W H
AM
PS
HIR
E A
VE
Trin
idad
Ave
Mt Olivet Rd
Ken
ilwor
thTe
rr
May
fair
Terr
Bar
nes
St
Jay StFooteSt
Hayes StBENNING RD
Souther
n Ave
Souther
n Ave
Owens Rd
SOUTHVIEW DR
FOREST HILLS
15thSt
Congress St
11th
Pl
13
thS
t
Wheeler Rd
FIRTH STERLING AVE
SumnerRd
ML K
ING
JR A
VE
ML K
ING J
R AVE
Bruce
Pl12th
Pl
MellonSt
4thS
t
Newcomb St
2n
d S
t Oakwood
StOrangeSt
SOUTH CAPIT
OL ST
ALABAMA AVE
Sh
erid
an R
d
Pomeroy Rd
Elvans Rd
Suitland Pkwy
Robinson Pl
MLK A
VE
4th
St
4th
St
6th
St
Savannah St
Miss
issip
pi Ave
Atlantic StCondon Te
rr
Barnab
y St
8th
St
CHESAPEAKEST
6TH
ST
LIV
ING
ST
ON
RD
/T
ER
RIn
dia
n H
ead
Hw
y
ML K
ing J
r Ave
SO
UT
H C
AP
ITO
L S
T
ML
Kin
g J
r A
ve
Ove
rlo
ok
Ave
Sh
eph
erd
Pkw
yLaboratory Rd
Chesapeake St
Joliet St
11T
H S
T
M ST 23R
D/2
5TH
ST
Bra
nch
Ave
BR
AN
CH
AV
E
CamdenSt
Erie St 33
rd S
t
Potom
ac A
ve
Alabam
a Ave
SOUTHERN AVE
Suitland Rd
38
th S
t
East Capitol StEast Capitol StEast Capitol St
1ST
ST
Fitch Pl
50
th S
t
51
st S
t5
1st
St
Ridge Rd
Ely Pl
37
th S
t
Sheriff Rd
Clay St
34
th S
t
33
rd St
Ames St
AnacostiaAve
EASTERN AVE
Addison Rd
EASTERN AVE
63R
D S
T
SOUTHERN AVEDIX ST
58T
H S
TNANNIE HELEN BURROUGHS AVE
BENNING RD
BE
NN
ING
RD
E ST
AL
AB
AM
A A
VE
H ST
Wes
t Virg
inia
Ave
South D
akota Ave
Fort Lincoln Dr
31st Pl
33rd Pl
Comm
odore
Joshua Barney Dr
Eastern Ave
14
th S
t
12TH
ST
12
th S
t
10
th S
t
18
th S
t
Quincy StQuincy St
Upshur St
Monroe St
7th
St
4th
St
Edgewood S
t
Rhode
Island Ave
GE
OR
GIA
AVE
MT P
LEA
SA
NT S
T
WIS
CO
NS
IN AVE
Adam
s Mill R
d
Lamont
St
COLUMBIA RD
Connecticut A
ve
CO
NN
EC
TICU
T AVE
Theodore
Roosevelt
Bridge
ARLINGTON BLVD
Calvert
St
Connecticut A
ve
Foxhall Rd
Loughboro Rd
New
Mexico
Ave
New York Ave
Maryland Ave
Maryland Ave
New
Jersey
Ave
RHODE ISLAND A
VE
38TH ST 41st Ave
K StK St
4th/
6th
St
H STH ST
8TH
ST
14T
H S
T
15T
H S
T18
TH
ST
/19
TH
ST
8TH
ST
9th
St
Saratoga
Ave
Brentw
ood Rd
Franklin St
NO
RT
H C
AP
ITO
L S
T
Fenwick St
Montana
Ave
South Dakota Ave
Sarg
ent R
d
Sargen
t
Rd
Gallatin St
Galloway St
MISSOURI AVE
Chillum Rd
KENNEDY ST
Gallatin St
MILITARY RD
30TH P
L
Broad B
ranch
Rd
Utah A
ve
MCKINLEY ST
WESTERN A
VE
Wes
tern
Ave
Taylor St2n
d S
t
HawaiiAve
New
Hampsh
ire
Ave
5th
St
5th
St
Butternut St
No
rth
Cap
ito
l St
Blair Rd
EasternAve
IRVING ST/COLUMBIA RD
Irving St/Harvard St
Park Rd
Klingle RdPORTER ST
Van Ness St
Nebra
ska
Ave
Nebra
ska
Ave
Nebra
ska
Ave
Massachusetts Ave
CALVERT ST
U ST
Q St
P St
O St
ProspectSt
P St
P St
4th
St
4th
St
3rd
St
6th
St
P St
O St
Hal
f S
t
M ST
MAINE AVE
7TH S
T I St
M ST
I ST / H ST
15T
H S
T
Del
awar
e A
ve
H St
E St
Benton St
Reservoir Rd
CalvertSt
Edmunds St
WhitehavenPkwy
T St
35
th S
t3
7th
St
37
th S
t
41
st S
t
40
th S
t
39
th S
t
MacArthur Blvd
MacArthur Blvd
Wes
tern
Ave
Ore
go
n A
ve
Lindse
y Dr
Chestnut St
Military Rd
EASTERN AVE1
4th
St
GE
OR
GIA
AV
E
Aspen St
Cathedral Ave
3rd
St4
th S
t
5th
St
4th
St
2n
d S
t/3
rd S
t
Elm St
T St
R St
20th
St/
21st
St
K ST
C St
D St
19
th S
tMichigan
Ave
CONSTITUTION AVE
INDEPENDENCE AVE
29
th S
t
Cathedral Ave MICHIGAN AVE
Fran
cis Sco
ttK
ey Brid
ge
Lee Hwy
WILSON BLVD/CLARENDON BLVD
Souther
n Ave
Central Ave
Lasalle R
d Queens
Chapel
Rd
Broad St/Ridge Dr
66
Jeff Davis Hwy
Geo
rge
Was
hin
gto
nP
kwy
395
Hay
es S
t
Cry
stal
Dr
Bel
l St
Army Navy Dr
15th St
Ead
s S
t
New YorkAve
Constitution Ave
295
295
EASTERN
AVE
FrederickDouglasBridge
Arlingto
n
Mem
orial
Bridge
John PhilipSousa Bridge
DukeEllingtonBridge
Whitney Young Memorial Bridge
ADAMSMORGAN
IVYCITY
ECKINGTON
BRIGHTWOOD
LINCOLNHEIGHTS
DEANWOOD
BENNINGHEIGHTS
FAIRFAXVILLAGE
GARFIELD
GLOVERPARK
WOODLEYPARK
PALISADES
MT PLEASANT
BARNABYWOODS
MCLEANGARDENS
GEORGETOWN
FORTDRUM
ARLINGTON
ALEXANDRIA
CAPITOLHEIGHTS
DISTRICTHEIGHTS
OXON HILL
MOUNTRAINIER
COLMARMANOR
FT LINCOLN
COLUMBIAPARK
WESTHYATTSVILLE
TAKOMAPARKCHEVY CHASE
BETHESDA
SOMERSET
DOWNTOWN
LINCOLNPARK
M A R Y L A N D
D C
V I R G I N I A
GeorgetownLaw
Howard Law
SibleyHospital
USCapitol
VerizonCenter
SupremeCourt
Library ofCongress
EasternMarket
NationalsPark
Arena Stage
EmbassyRow
NationalCathedral
NavalObservatory
Carter BarronAmpitheatre
Knollwood
DC GeneralHealthCampus
RFK Stadium
UnitedMedicalCenter
St ElizabethsHospital
THEARC
Blue PlainsWater Treatment
Plant
DC Village
AnacostiaMuseum
DouglassHouse
Coast GuardHQ
TheodoreRoosevelt
Island
LincolnMemorial
MLKMemorial
FDRMemorial
JeffersonMemorial
WashingtonMonument
The WhiteHouseKennedy Center
ProvidenceHospital
AmericanUniversity Law
RonaldReaganWashingtonNationalAirport
JointBaseAnacostiaBolling
CapitolSouth
EasternMarket
PotomacAve
Stadium-Armory
MinnesotaAve
Deanwood
BenningRd
Capitol Heights
Anacostia
CongressHeights
SouthernAve
NaylorRd
FederalCenter SW
ColumbiaHeights
U St
Dupont Circle
FarragutNorth
McPhersonSq
FarragutWestFoggy Bottom-
GWU
WoodleyPark
Cleveland Park
Van Ness-UDCTenleytown-AU
Friendship Heights
Shaw-Howard U
Mt Vernon Sq
Georgia Ave-Petworth
FortTotten
Takoma
Silver Spring
UnionStation
Rhode Island Ave
NoMa-Gallaudet U
JudiciarySq
Archives
MetroCenter
L’EnfantPlaza
Waterfront
Rosslyn
Arlington Cemetery
Brookland-CUA
GalleryPlace
Navy Yard-Ballpark
Pentagon
Pentagon City
Crystal City
Ronald ReaganWashington National Airport
Federal Triangle
Smithsonian
Yellow Line to/fromGreenbelt duringpeak hours
rush
W4
W4
W4
W4
3234
34
34
92W4
9232
W4
W4
A2
W4
A2
B2
B2
9092
3236
9092
90
B2
V2V4
B2
X2
X280X2
U8
U8
B2
B2
B2
80
K6
E4
8070
80
8386
8386
T18
T18
A6A8
80H2H4
5253
70
7079
79
79
79
S2S4
S2S4
42
90
9290
S2S4
54
525354
H2 H4H2H4
96
N2
M4
M4
M4D6
M4
M4 E6
E6
L8
E6
N2
N2 N6
N4N6
N3
N4N6
N3
L2L1
37
37
37
X3
96
70
S9
S9
K9
S9
S9
96
L2
96 L2
G2
G2 G2
96
96
64
64
60
60
L1
H8
G8
G8
H6
G8
R4
H8
H8
H8
H864
H6
E2
E2
E2F6
F6
82
8182
E4
54
S4 S2
5352
E4
D8
D8
D8
D8
D4
D4
D8
D8
D4P6
P6
P6
P6
P6
P6
G8
G2
X3
D5
D5
D5
D5
3Y
3Y
X3
D2
G2
D6D1
D2
D6
D6
5A
5A
D1
X3
D3
D3
D3
X1
X3
K2
S1
S1
S1
K2
H3
H3
H3H3
H3
H2
H2
H4 H3
43
4243
42 43
H4
H1
H1
H1
H1
A2A8 W1
W1W1
W1
W1
W1W1
W1
W1
A7A6
A7
A7A6
A8
A8
A6
A2A2
36
V2
V292
32
A7
7Y
7Y
W2W3
W2W3
V4
74
P6
M6
M6
M6
U5 U6
U6 U5
96 9796 97
V1
V1
V1
P6
V1
N2N4
N3N6
U7
U4
U4
96
97
74
96
D6
X8
D6X8
D6
D6
U4
X8
97
A4A4
A4
A4
A4
A4W5
W5
W5
W5
W5
W5
W6 94
94
94
W8
W2 W3
W2W3
W6 W8
W6 W8
W2W3
W2W3
W3
W2
D12 D13
13Y
13Y
13Y5A
7Y
D14
F14
F14
R12
V15V14
W3
W6 W8
U5U6
U5U6
U5U6
W6W8
W6W8
W2W3
W2W3
H2 H4
H2 H4
90 9092
33
33
31
32
36
P1711Y
11Y
16Y
16Y
16X
16X
P19W13
P17 P18 P19W1335
37
33
25
25
W14
P18W14
W19
W13P17P19
X9
X9
39
39
39
39
V2 V4X9
V5
V5
V5
V5
V5A9W9
W9
W9
W9
A9
A9
A9
W9A9
A9
H6
B8B9
H6
B8B9
R2R1
H6B8 B9
L2L1
L2L1
H6
B8B9
B8B9
B9
B9
D8T14
T14
T14
B8B9
63
6263
F1F2
F1F2
6263
P12
P12
P12
111
29
29
2323
23
23
X1X3
38B
38B
38B30S
30S
30S
30S
30S
30N
30N
30N
32
3633
30S30N
333130S30N
333130S30N
38B
36
3430N
3630N
30S
30N
V1
V1
V2V4
DC
MO
PGVA
WASHINGTON,DCMetrobusSystem Map Aug 2015
wmata.com 202.637.7000
This map provides an overview of bus and railservices. For detailed information on each route,please refer to individual schedules.
Consult other Metrobus System Maps for servicein Virginia, Prince George’s County, MD, andMontgomery County, MD.
schematic mapnot to scale
NW NE
SESWUS Capitol
East Capitol StThe Mall
Nor
th C
apito
l St
Sou
th C
apito
l St
Know YourQuadrants!
Washington is divided intofour quadrants. Many streetnames and intersections existin more than one quadrant.Check the full address of yourdestination to be sure that youare off to the right quadrant!
Rail Lines
MAP LEGENDMetrobus Routes
Metrobus Commuter RouteWeekday peak-hour service linking residentialareas to Metrorail stations and employment centers.
X3
Metrobus Local RouteLess frequent service, with some evening andweekend service available.
A4
MetroExtra RouteLimited stops for a faster ride. Days, times andservice levels vary by route.
S9
5A
Metrobus Major RouteFrequent, seven-day service on the core route. On branches, service levels vary.
A2
Bus Routes Operated by City/County SystemsBus Routes
Major RouteFor all service providers, frequent, seven-day service on the core route isdenoted by a thick line. On branches, service levels vary.
B2core route branch
On all route types, a lowlighted badgeindicates a route segment with limitedor peak-only service hours.
all-day service limited service
Map Symbols
Hospital
College/University
Other Point of Interest
AirportMetrorailStation and Line
A4
Ride On - Montgomery County
The Bus - Prince George’s County25
1
DC Circulator
23A711
Designed by CHK America
Commuter RailroadTransfer Points
Additional ServicesThese Metrobus routes operate at irregular times. For clarity, they are not shown on the map.
Please refer to individual schedules for specific times and more information.
Outside of Metrorail Service Hours
Follows Route 90-92 and travels toCongress Heights via Stanton Rd SE.
93
Follows Route J12 in Prince George’s Countythen operates to Potomac Ave.
J13
Follows Route A2 in Anacostia and thenoperates to/from Archives via M St SE/SW.
A42
Follows Route A6 in Anacostia and thenoperates to/from Archives via M St SE/SW.
A46
Follows Route A8 in Anacostia and thenoperates to/from Archives via M St SE/SW.
A48
Follows Route K12 in Prince George’s Countythen operates to/from Potomac Ave.
K11
School Routes
All school routes are open to the general public;service is available when school is in session. Routes,times and days of operation are subject to changewithout notice.
Brookland Education CampusB51
Capitol Hill ClusterC40
Duke Ellington School of the ArtsD51
Eastern High SchoolE32
Archbishop Carroll High SchoolH9
McKinley High SchoolM31
Sousa Middle SchoolS35
Phelps High SchoolS41
Anacostia High SchoolA31A33
A32
Deal Middle SchoolD31D33
D32D34
Wilson High SchoolW45 W47
Metrobus Airport Express RouteLimited stop service to Dulles International Airport.
130522ngx
Mt VernonSquare
LafayetteSquare
FranklinSquare
Rock Creek &Potomac Parkway
National Mall
The Ellipse
Potomac Park
T I D A L B A S I N
PO
TOM
AC
RIVER
14
TH
ST
14
TH
ST
14
TH
ST
15
TH
ST
16
TH
ST
17
TH
ST
15
TH
ST
14
TH
ST
15
TH
ST
16
TH
ST
18
TH
ST
17
TH
ST
18
TH
ST
19
TH
ST
19
TH
ST
20
TH
ST
17
TH
ST
21
ST
ST
20
TH
ST
20
TH
ST
19
TH
ST
13
TH
ST
11
TH
ST
10
TH
ST
9T
H S
T
8T
H S
T
6T
H S
T
5T
H S
T
4T
H S
T4
TH
ST
3R
D S
T
1S
T S
T
1S
T S
T
3R
D S
T
1S
T S
T
NO
RT
H C
AP
ITO
L S
T
5T
H S
T
6T
H S
T
7T
H S
T7
TH
ST
4T
H S
T
3R
D S
T
2N
D S
T
1S
T S
T
1S
T S
T
DE
LAW
AR
E A
VE
1S
T S
T
2N
D S
T
D ST
INDIANA AVE
D ST
E ST
C STC ST
E ST
F ST
G ST
H STH STH ST
K ST
I ST
K ST
I ST
H STH ST
F ST F ST
CONSTITUTION AVECONSTITUTION AVE
EAST CAPITOL ST
INDEPENDENCE AVE
JEFFERSON DR
C ST
D ST
C STC ST
D ST
E ST
3R
D S
T
2N
D S
T
SO
UT
H C
AP
ITO
L S
T
INDEPENDENCE AVE
JEFFERSON DR
D ST
E ST
6T
H S
T
VIRGINIA AVE
12
TH
ST
MARYLAND AVE
L’EN
FAN
TP
LA
ZA
9T
H S
T9
TH
ST
7T
H S
T
G ST
10
TH
ST
10
TH
ST
E ST
PENNSYLVANIA AVE
I STI STI ST
K STK ST
K ST
21
ST
ST
NEW H
AMPSHIR
E
AVE
CO
NN
ECTIC
UT AVE
N ST
P ST
Q ST Q ST
N STN ST
O ST
P ST
Q ST
M ST
23
RD
ST
24
TH
ST
24
TH
ST
25
TH
ST
22
ND
ST
22
ND
ST
L ST
M ST
L ST
M ST
MASSACHUSETTS AVE
MASS AVE
MASSACHUSETTS AVE
M ST M ST M ST
L ST
M ST
N ST
O ST
N ST
O ST
P ST P ST
11
TH
ST
12
TH
ST
12
TH
ST
13
TH
ST
10
TH
ST
9T
H S
T9
TH
ST
8T
H S
T
7T
H S
T
6T
H S
T
5T
H S
TVER
MO
NT
AVE
RHODE ISLAND AVE
RHODE ISLAND AVE
C STC ST
D ST
F ST
G ST
F ST
G ST
E ST
H STH ST
22
ND
ST
23
RD
ST
23
RD
ST
CONSTITUTION AVE
VIRGINIA AVE
PENNSYLVANIA AVE
PENNSYLVANIA AVE
WASHING
TON AVE
LOUIS
IANA A
VE
MASSACHUSETTS AVE
MASSACHUSETTS AVE
NE
W JE
RS
EY
AV
E
NEW YORK AVE
PENNSYLVANIA AVE
PENNSYLVANIA AVE
ThomasCircle
ColumbusCircle
LoganCircle
ScottCircle
DupontCircle
WashingtonCircle
NEW
HA
MP
SH
IRE
AVE
25TH
ST
N W N E
S W S EARLINGTON
MEMORIAL
BRIDGE
THEODORE
ROOSEVELT BRIDGE
30N
30S 3
2 3
3 3
680
52
52 5
3 5
452 5
4
80 X
2
S2 S
4X
2S2 S
4
42 4
338B
80
42 43
43L2
L2 N2 N4 N6
G8
X9
42
42 S
2 S
454 S
2 S
4
31 32 36 80
31 32 36 80
39S1 X1 N3
N3
X1
80
54
5230N 30S 32 34 3630N 30S 32 34 36
30N
30S 3
2 3
4 3
6 5
454
70
70
70
39
79 79
80
80
80
P696
P6
79 79 74
74
70
79 7474
16X 39 A9P17 P19 W
13
P17 P19 W13
G8
S9S1
S9S1
3Y D1 D3 S1
80 53 80
D6 D
1 D3
37 39 A9
37 39
37 39
11Y P17 P19 W13 7Y
P17P19W13
P17P19W
13
P17P19W
13
11Y P17P19W13
11Y 11Y11Y13Y
11Y13Y
16Y 16Y A9
37 39
S9 3Y 7Y D1 D3 D6 D4
7Y
7Y
7Y
D4
D4
D1 D
3 D6 37
D1 D
3 D6 37
G8 S9
80
80
3Y 7Y 11Y S1 16Y
80
3Y 7Y 11Y S1 16Y
7Y 11Y S1
7Y 11Y S1
D6D5
3YD1D3D5S1
N2
N4
N6
30N 30S 31 33 38B
38B
30N 30S 32 33 36
D5
39
31 3
2 3
631 3
2 3
6
80
80
H1 X1 L1 N3
L1
L1
L1 N3
L1
H1
X1N3
7Y
ARLINGTON
MEMORIAL
BRIDGE
X1
L1
H1
3Y
16Y
H1
39
32 36 38B
38B 8038B
X280 X2
D8 X1 X9
D3 D4
30N 30S 32 33 36 42 43 S2 S4 X2
30N 30S 32 33 36 42 43 S2 S4 X2
D1 33 3
4 S
2 S
4
33 S
2 S
4
52 54
52
5A V1 5A
5A 5A
97
97
X1
V1
13Y 16X 11Y
16X
63 64 P6
63
63D6
64 G8
63 64
L1 N
3 H1
D5
G8
N2
N4
N6
L2
A9W9
74
P6
P6
P6
373979X1
V5V1
G2G2 D2 D6 G2
D2
N2 N3N4 N6
H1 L1
37D2 D6
D1 D3
D1 D3 G2
G8
G2
G2
96
96
42
63 G8 X9
P6
P6
3739 G8
63 64 N3
96
96 D6 X8
D4
96
X9
D4 P6
D3
D3
13YD6
D3
13YD6
13Y 16X
79
L1N3 H1
43, L2 via underpass
16Y 3Y 7Y
13Y97
D6
A9
30N 30S 32 33 36 33 30N 30S 34 36 54
GalleryPlace
L’Enfant Plaza
FederalCenter SW
CapitolSouth
Archives
Mt VernonSq
MetroCenter
McPhersonSq
FarragutWest
FarragutNorth
Federal Triangle
Smithsonian
Foggy Bottom-GWU
Dupont Circle
JudiciarySq
Union Station
NoMa-Gallaudet U
George WashingtonUniversity
GWU Hospital
KennedyCenter
LincolnMemorial
World War IIMemorial
VietnamVeteransMemorial
Korean WarMemorial
MLK Memorial
FDR Memorial
StateDepartment
WatergateVerizon Center
WMATA
NationalBuildingMuseum
GeorgetownLaw Center
US Capitol
Supreme Court
Library ofCongress
WashingtonMonument
Bureau ofEngraving &
Printing
HolocaustMuseum
SmithsonianCastle
Museum of Natural History
Museum of AmericanHistory
John A WilsonBuilding
NationalTheatre
WarnerTheatre
Ford’sTheatre
Air & SpaceMuseum
Museum of theAmerican Indian
NationalGalleryof Art
The WhiteHouse
Walter E WashingtonConvention Center
Not to Scale
See individual route schedulesfor additional details.
Central Washington, DC
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Summary of network design strategiesFigure 12 summarizes some of the key strategies that effective, freedom-increasing network redesigns generally employ, and why those strategies work. These strategies are associated with increased ridership because they make service useful to more people, for more purposes
How do we get more service without more money?Strategy Benefits Downsides
Strategies that Decrease Duplication and Excess Service
1 Remove Duplicative Route Segments
Resources can be reallocated to create more useful services.
More people have to transfer during their trip, but this does not mean total travel times are longer. Sometimes they are shorter due to less waiting.
2 Remove Excess Peak-Only Service
Resources can be reallocated to create more useful services. Peak-only service is especially expensive to run, so more resources are freed.
Minor, as this would only be done only where demand does not justify added peak service and frequency is high anyway.
3 Consistent Route Spacing
Avoids partial duplication where parallel routes serve the same area. Resources can be reallocated to create more useful services.
Longer walks to service are difficult for those who have difficulty walking.
4 Wider Stop Spacing Increase average speed. Faster trip times free resources to create more useful services. Better infrastructure is possible at each stop.
Longer walks to service are difficult for those who have difficulty walking.
Strategies that Increase Connection Opportunities
5 Remove Fare Penalty for Transfers
Encourages connections, which are the essence of an efficient network. The more connections a route makes, the more useful it is.
Would require review of fare structure. Could increase base fare.
6 Focus Service on Transportation Centers
Expands usefulness of all routes serving a transit center. Especially important for travel between City and suburban counties.
Transit Centers must accommodate more buses. In some cases this may require infrastructure.
7 Strengthen the Frequent Grid The most efficient form of network for dense cities.
Frequency is expensive, so can be deployed only where many people will use it.
8 Link to Regional Rail Connections Improved travel between city and suburban counties.
Difficult, due to low frequencies and irregular sched-ules of regional rail, but worth doing to extent possible.
Figure 12: Budget neutral strategies for increasing service.
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What should happen next?We recommend that SEPTA undertake a redesign study for the Philadelphia network, building on the analysis from this report. A redesign should:
• Develop multiple alternatives for what the network might look like, depending on different priorities that might be chosen. For example, one network alternative might focus more on ridership, and the other on coverage.
• Launch a major public conversation about these alter-natives, to get feedback from citizens about what the priorities should be.
• Develop a draft recommended network based on the priorities that have been expressed.
• Conduct a second round of public conversation, to get public feedback on the recommended network.
• Revise the recommended network and implement it.
While this report focuses on just the network within the City of Philadelphia, a similar conversation and redesign process can, and should, be undertaken in the other jurisdictions within the SEPTA service area. How that conversation and process is structured is a critical next step in the overall redesign process.
It is sensible, though, to work on the network in separate parts, in parallel planning processes. This way issues in one part of the network do not sidetrack the planning process in a far away part of the network elsewhere. Of course, where the network in different areas overlap, coordination in the planning process will be crucial to a successful redesign.
Outline of this reportChapters 1 and 2 introduce the network and its current performance.
Chapter 3 discusses speed and reliability issues, and the important role of City of Philadelphia leadership in this area.
Chapter 4 explores the transit market, looking at how the patterns of development and demographics affect transit demand.
Chapter 5 dives deeper into existing performance at the route and stop level. It studies examples of different kinds of design problems and showing why certain design prin-ciples make sense.
Chapter 6 lays out recommended design principles that should guide a network redesign.
Recommended