When the Democratic National Convention came to Philadelphia in 2016, officials at the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority touted their big bet on new green technology and offered visiting dignitaries rides on electric Proterra buses they were planning to buy.
A request by SEPTA officials for longer charges from additional heavy batteries, made before the million-dollar buses went fully into service in 2019, eventually led to cracks in their chassis that idled the entire 25-bus fleet. SEPTA’s experience served to underscore the nascent, imperfect state of EV mass transit technology.
Now, SEPTA has unveiled yet another high-profile makeover of its bus system, designed to improve service, restore post-pandemic ridership and help reduce Philadelphia’s greenhouse gas emissions without new technology.
Calling the plan “SEPTA Forward: Bus Revolution,” the agency has begun redesigning more than 120 routes so that buses become a more dependable form of transportation, taking people from where they live to many new places where they work in a metropolitan area noted for its “job sprawl.” The authority’s fleet of 1,400 buses serves Philadelphia and four suburban counties with a combined population of 4.1 million - link - Daelin Brown - link - more like this - link
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