{"id":1981,"date":"2026-07-03T12:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1981"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:42:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:42:02","slug":"septas-bus-numbering-system-is-a-relic-from-the-streetcar-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1981","title":{"rendered":"SEPTA\u2019s bus numbering system is a relic from the streetcar era"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div><audio><\/audio><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>While waiting for his SEPTA bus, Jake McGovern, 28, noticed at least three routes go by his corner in Point Breeze. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1979\">Everything we learned from Jaylen Brown\u2019s first stream since being traded to the Sixers<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>He wondered if route numbers had any particular meaning, maybe seven indicated a north-south route, and nine meant east-west. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere has to be some logic to it,\u201d he thought.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>No amount of looking at the bus maps proved helpful in deciphering the pattern, so McGovern asked Curious Philly, The Inquirer\u2019s forum for questions about the city: \u201cIs there any rhyme or reason for the SEPTA bus numbering system?\u201d<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><b>\u00bb ASK US: Have something you\u2019re wondering about the Philly region? Submit your Curious Philly question here.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Places like New York City have bus lines with a combination of letters and numbers that show the borough they serve: Bx (Bronx), B (Brooklyn), M (Manhattan), and even S for Staten Island. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Philly, on the other hand, has always vibed to its own logic, even when that might mean not having one.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>SEPTA operates more than 120 bus routes, including the lines to the suburbs. But, bus numbers in Philly don\u2019t indicate where routes go or what streets they operate on, according to SEPTA spokesperson John Golden. <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1977\">Frederick Douglass\u2019 critical lesson for the 250th: \u2018Contend, contend\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>SEPTA bus numbers above 90 are lines driving to the suburbs.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The routes below 90 were formerly Philadelphia Transportation Company streetcar routes, Golden said. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The bus numbers in Philly are a relic of a time when Philadelphians moved through streetcars pulled by horses. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Back then, the lines were named in the order they were introduced, Billy Penn reported in 2020. When bus routes replaced them, the route numbers were retained. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>For areas with new bus routes,letters were assigned as the route identifier. Eventually, new bus routes were numbered in the high 80s, Golden said. <\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The letter system ended in February 2025, when SEPTA renamed bus routes named after letters into numbers, turning:<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<p>The G into 63<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The H into 71<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The J into 41<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The L into 51<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The R into 82<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>The XH into 81<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>Upon hearing the explanation McGovern said, \u201cOh, jeez\u201d between laughs.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a letdown, but it\u2019s funny that it worked out like that,\u201d McGovern said. \u201cI imagine the randomness is probably useful to other people in the city as well because it makes it very unique.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1975\">Paul George was a flashy free-agent signing two years ago. His choppy Sixers stint led to another blockbuster trade<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The bus numbers in Philly are a relic of a time when Philadelphians moved through streetcars pulled by horses. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SEPTA\u2019s bus numbering system is a relic from the streetcar era - Corporate Movers USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=1981\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SEPTA\u2019s bus numbering system is a relic from the streetcar era - 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