SEPTA to Change Buses Labels from Letters to Numbers

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Philadelphians who utilize SEPTA to get around the city will be having to check the bus schedule again after next month.

Six SEPTA bus routes that are now lettered – G, H, J, L, R, and XH – will change to numbers in February 2025. New numbers and old letters will appear alongside each other for a period of time so riders don’t get confused.

SEPTA is the nation’s fifth largest transit network. The city and region have changed a lot in the last couple of decades and SEPTA is rolling out a new bus network to accommodate

Why is SEPTA changing the bus letters to numbers?

According to SEPTA, their expansion plan will name all bus routes with numbers and name all metro services with letters. The changes will take shape in phases, but before changing where any routes go, we’re making our bus network a bit clearer.

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SEPTA has been moving in this direction for a while. SEPTA actually used to have many lettered bus routes, remember the “C” bus? However, over the years they’ve been switched to numbers one by one. Today only a few remain, which can cause confusion among riders.

SEPTA also vows it will be making its bus network more frequent, more reliable and introducing better service on nights and weekends.

The new bus network will include 106 routes including 41 frequent routes, plus the addition of 6 new SEPTA GO zones (where riders will be able to request a ride and be picked up).

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