Bus Service

In 1923, the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company introduced the first bus line in the City, operating between Broad Street & Erie Avenue and Frankford Avenue & Arrott Street. Buses soon became the primary form of public transportation in Philadelphia, as buses could operate without expensive infrastructure such as tracks or wires, while allowing companies’ the flexibility to alter routes frequently and quickly.

Transit companies including the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (Red Arrow) and Schuylkill Valley Lines also operated buses throughout the Philadelphia suburbs before SEPTA took them over in 1969 and 1976.