![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Will-Tung.jpg\")
Philadelphia firefighter Will Tung spoke at a SEPTA budget hearing. May 19, 2025. (Meir Rinde\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\nSEPTA has launched a publicity blitz as it prepares to finally roll out its long-delayed New Bus Network redesign.<\/p>\n
Under the plan \u2014 formerly called the Bus Revolution \u2014 the transit authority will eliminate more than a dozen bus routes, create some new ones, reroute many others and run more frequent buses in an effort to better meet demand and speed up service.<\/p>\n
The first phase of the initiative will launch in August, with subsequent phases to follow in February 2027, June 2027, and sometime around August 2027.<\/p>\n
SEPTA is holding a series of events through August to educate the public about the changes. They include an April 15 public hearing, and town halls and open houses throughout its service area.<\/p>\n
Read on for more on the meetings, the plan, and its history.<\/p>\n
Events in Philly, West Chester, Norristown<\/p>\n
The next set of events are:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Thursday, April 2, 5-7 p.m. Town Hall at West Chester Borough Hall, 401 E Gay St, West Chester<\/p>\n
\u2022 Monday, April 6, 5-7 p.m. Open House at Simons Recreation Center, 7200 Woolston Ave, Philadelphia<\/p>\n
\u2022 Tuesday, April 7, 6-8 p.m. Open House at Vare Recreation Center, 2601 Moore St, Philadelphia<\/p>\n
\u2022 Thursday, April 9, 2-5 p.m. Open House at Norristown Transit Center, 42 E Lafayette St, Norristown<\/p>\n
Philadelphia firefighter Will Tung spoke at a SEPTA budget hearing. May 19, 2025. (Meir Rinde\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, April 15, SEPTA will hold two sets of open houses and public hearings on its Annual Service Plan, which includes the first three phases of bus network changes. They\u2019ll be held at its headquarters, 1234 Market St., and the hearings will also be streamed online.<\/p>\n
An in-person open house will be held at 11 a.m. following by a public hearing at noon. The second open house will start at 5 p.m., with another public hearing at 6 p.m. For information on how to participate in the hearings virtually, visit SEPTA\u2019s bus initiative page<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n More meetings will be held through the spring and summer. SEPTA is also accepting feedback on the New Bus Network phasing and other upcoming changes at planning@septa.org and (215) 580-7800.<\/p>\n A lengthy rollout planned<\/p>\n SEPTA announced in early March<\/a> that it would begin implementing the bus network redesign<\/a>, and released a detailed, interactive map<\/a> of the first three phases.\u00a0<\/p>\n That led to confusion among some riders who said the plan seemed to have been altered since it was approved by SEPTA\u2019s board<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cSeemingly, they\u2019ve walked back most of the more substantial changes,\u201d a Reddit commenter wrote<\/a>, noting the apparent loss of a new 40\/42 route from their neighborhood to South Street. \u201cI paid most attention to West Philly because that\u2019s where I live, and I feel cheated.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the plan is \u201croughly 95%\u201d the same, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said. It\u2019s just that the fourth phase won\u2019t happen until August 2027 \u2014 which actually falls in the 2028 fiscal year \u2014 and the agency hasn\u2019t released the schedule for those changes yet.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there were significant changes, we would have to go back and reintroduce new tariffs for the routes, and go through hearings and board approvals for those,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only thing that goes before the board this year is the implementation schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe put as many of the changes as possible into the three phases that we could implement in fiscal year 2027, but we\u2019ll need one more schedule change cycle in the following fiscal year to complete it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The board approved the new network in May 2024, after two years of planning and more than 200 public meetings. Implementation was expected to begin in June 2025.<\/p>\n But in November 2024, SEPTA announced it would postpone the launch in light of a funding crunch<\/a> that eventually led it to raise fares sharply and reduce service<\/a>, with plans for deeper cuts that would have shut down five Regional Rail lines and permanently eliminated some bus routes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The long-running budget crisis concluded last September, when Gov. Josh Shapiro allowed SEPTA to use $394 million in capital assistance dollars<\/a> for operations, putting off the need for a long-term funding solution for another two years. That allowed the transit authority to revive the bus network project.<\/p>\n Highlights of the four phases<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/septa-gm-scott-sauer-speaks-budget-crisis-press-conference-1536x864-1-e1744312057259-1024x587.jpg\")
SEPTA interim general manager Scott Sauer, right, discussed the agency\u2019s budget woes during a press conference at its Market Street headquarters. April 2025. (SEPTA)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/new-bus-network-map.png\")
A map shows a portion of SEPTA\u2019s New Bus Network plan. The full interactive map can be accessed from SEPTA\u2019s bus initiative page. (SEPTA)<\/p>\n