SEPTA drops plan to cutback service between city and Plymouth Meeting

As MoreThanTheCurve.com reported in October, SEPTA is in the process of considering changes to its bus schedule. One change proposed was not providing a direct route between Center City and Plymouth Meeting (the terminus is the Plymouth Meeting Mall) via the 27 bus. The other two suburban stops on the route are The Metroplex in Plymouth Meeting and the intersection of Church Lane and Germantown Pike in Lafayette Hill.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on March 20th that SEPTA has now dropped this proposed change to its revised bus plan.

When the possible change was announced, a petition was started by residents who live in Manayunk and Roxborough in an effort to save the direct route. One big concern from their perspective is that children currently utilizing the 27 to access schools in Center City would need to make a transfer if SEPTA moves forward with the proposed changes. The 27 travels to and from the city using Ridge Avenue and I-76.

While access to schools isn’t a suburban concern, many people who live within the city utilize the 27 to reach work at The Metroplex and the Plymouth Meeting Mall. Removing direct service to these areas could impact the length of time necessary to travel to and from work.

According to SEPTA, the 27’s route is 19.5 miles and in 2018 carried 4,390 riders on a typical workday (the pandemic impacted ridership). The route was established in 1984 and extended to the Plymouth Meeting Mall in 1989 (the previous terminus was in Lafayette Hill).