Image credit: Michael Barera / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). License: CC BY-SA 4.0.
SEPTA starts Phase 1 of its New Bus Network on Sunday, August 23, and finishes one leftover piece on Monday, August 24. Two new routes open, six routes extend, seven routes end, and the agency’s trip tools switch to the redesigned map that weekend.
Philadelphia visitors who rely on buses for hotels, museums, the Navy Yard, University City, or neighborhood restaurants should test the New Bus Network Trip Planner before travel day. Standing at an old stop with an outdated app screenshot will not help once the Phase 1 maps go live.
- Effective dates: Most Phase 1 changes begin Sunday, August 23; Route 105 and Route 106 change Monday, August 24.
- Who is affected: Bus riders across Philadelphia plus Cheltenham and Lancaster Avenue corridors.
- What changes: Two new routes, six extensions, seven discontinuations, and frequent-service sign updates.
- Traveler action: Run the New Bus Network Trip Planner before August 23 and save the revised stop names.
- Why now: SEPTA says apps and maps flip to the new network starting that Sunday.
What Phase 1 actually changes
According to SEPTA’s August 18 newsroom release, Phase 1 is the first comprehensive redesign of the bus network in the authority’s 63-year history. The package is not a one-stop cosmetic refresh. It adds service where SEPTA wants more frequency and removes lower-use routes so crews and buses can move.
New Route 72 creates an east-west link between Frankford Transit Center and Cedarbrook Plaza on Cheltenham Avenue. New Route 76 ties North and South Philadelphia on a corridor that includes G Street, Frankford Avenue, and Columbus Boulevard, with Pier 70 and Columbus Commons in the mix.
Route 45 extends to the Navy Yard seven days a week, replacing the previous Navy Yard pattern that depended more heavily on Route 17. Route 79 extends between South Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, reaching 40th Street Station on the Market-Frankford Line through University City on every other trip.
SEPTA will discontinue Routes 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, and 106 in Phase 1. Riders on those lines need a substitute before Sunday, not after the first missed bus. The Phase 1 initiative page lists alternate routes for each cut and posts PDF corridor maps for City, North, and West sectors.
How visitors should replan a Philadelphia trip
Treat August 23 as a hard schedule break, not a soft advisory. If a hotel near University City, the Navy Yard, Kensington, Juniata, Roxborough, or South Philadelphia is already booked, open the New Bus Network Trip Planner and test the exact origin and destination pair you will use for arrivals, museum days, and airport-to-hotel legs that involve a bus transfer.
SEPTA says SEPTA.org, the SEPTA app, Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Transit will show the Phase 1 network beginning Sunday. That helps later in the day, but it does not protect a traveler who printed last week’s directions. Screenshot the new stop name and the frequent-service color coding once the planner returns a route you trust.
For stay decisions that sit next to bus corridors, Deep Arrival’s where to stay in Philadelphia guide is useful for Center City, Old City, Rittenhouse, University City, and South Philly neighborhood tradeoffs. Pair that with the things to do in Philadelphia list so sightseeing days do not depend on a discontinued route number.
PhillyVoice reporting notes the first weekend affects Juniata, Roxborough, Kensington, South Philadelphia, and the Cheltenham and Lancaster Avenue corridors. Those are also the neighborhoods where visitors often mix hotels, food stops, and short bus hops instead of driving.
Navy Yard, University City, and other high-impact pockets
Navy Yard workers and visitors gain seven-day Route 45 service. That matters for people who previously timed trips around thinner weekend patterns or Route 17’s southern end. Confirm the boarding stop name at the Yard and the return stop toward Center City before counting on the extension.
University City connections improve when Route 79 reaches 40th and Market. Travelers staying west of the Schuylkill who used Route 49 for South Philadelphia links should recheck the new pattern, because Route 49 no longer serves South Philadelphia under Phase 1.
Route 60 adds Wissahickon Transit Center on every other trip, and Route 53 stretches toward Carpenter Regional Rail and the Richmond-Westmoreland Loop. Those extensions help regional-rail to bus transfers, but every-other-trip patterns punish assumption. Build a five to ten minute buffer into hotel checkout and theater call times.
Signs, frequent service, and what ends on Monday
SEPTA is installing redesigned bus-stop signs at affected stops. Frequent routes that run every 15 minutes or better get a red treatment so riders can spot the high-frequency lines at a glance. Signs also carry clearer stop names, reflective bus symbols for dark streets, and destination text that matches the front of the bus.
Most changes land Sunday. Monday, August 24, covers the Route 105 extension toward Paoli Hospital on some trips and the elimination of Route 106. Anyone using Lancaster Avenue or Overbrook hospital trips should treat Monday morning as a second switch day, not a clean continuation of Sunday’s map.
SEPTA frames the cuts as capacity for growth. The agency says removing lower-use routes supports a planned 30 percent expansion of routes that run every 15 minutes or better, putting about 1.1 million more people within a ten-minute walk of frequent bus service. That benefit only arrives if riders actually change boarding points.
| If you are… | Do this before August 23 |
|---|---|
| Staying near the Navy Yard or South Philly hotels | Confirm Route 45 seven-day Yard service and the exact boarding stop for return trips. |
| Using University City or 40th Street transfers | Check Route 79 every-other-trip timing and stop relying on old Route 49 South Philly patterns. |
| Riding Routes 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, or 106 | Pick the published alternate now and walk the new stop once in daylight if possible. |
| Arriving Sunday for museums or food corridors | Run the Phase 1 trip planner for hotel-to-attraction pairs and save the new stop names. |
| Traveling Monday on Lancaster Avenue hospital trips | Verify Route 105’s Paoli Hospital extension and do not assume Route 106 still exists. |
- Rebook buffers: Add ten to fifteen minutes on the first two Phase 1 travel days while stop signs and apps settle.
- Hotel pickup plans: Tell rideshare or shuttle drivers the new stop name, not only the old route number.
- Print vs live tools: Prefer the New Bus Network Trip Planner over screenshots taken before August 23.
- Neighborhood sightseeing: Recheck Kensington, South Philly, and University City bus hops before locking a tight itinerary.
Phase 2 and Phase 3 remain on SEPTA’s longer New Bus Network calendar, so this weekend is not the end of redesign work. For August 23 to 24, the only useful question is whether your specific hotel-to-attraction path still exists under the Phase 1 table.
Travelers who already tracked SEPTA’s separate M Line shuttle bridge work through December should keep those rail substitutes and this bus redesign on different checklists. One is a temporary rail replacement. Phase 1 permanently retires seven bus numbers and opens two new ones.
If a first attempt in the trip planner looks longer than your old ride, compare one alternate boarding street before switching to a rideshare by default. SEPTA designed several replacements to trade a short walk for a more frequent trunk route, especially near Frankford Transit Center and University City.
When does SEPTA New Bus Network Phase 1 start?
Most changes begin Sunday, August 23, 2026. Route 105’s extension and Route 106’s elimination follow on Monday, August 24.
Which SEPTA bus routes are discontinued in Phase 1?
SEPTA ends Routes 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, and 106. Use the Phase 1 page for the published alternate for each cut.
How do I check my new SEPTA bus trip before August 23?
Use the New Bus Network Trip Planner at nbn-plan.septa.org, then confirm the same trip again after apps flip on Sunday.
Does Route 45 now serve the Navy Yard every day?
Yes. SEPTA says Route 45 extends to the Navy Yard seven days a week under Phase 1.
