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The city of Philadelphia and the regional public transit system SEPTA plan to restore certain bus lines that serve schools after they were eliminated as part of sweeping transit cuts implemented earlier this week.
In a press release Thursday, the city said that SEPTA agreed “in concept” to dedicate a portion of the $135 million transit subsidy the city pays the transit authority to restore priority bus lines for students on Sept. 2.
The city did not provide further details about the nature of the agreement.
The move comes after an outcry from transit advocates and educators across the city, who worried SEPTA’s 20% service cuts would make it impossible for students and teachers to get to school on time.
On the first day of school Monday, Superintendent Tony Watlington said he had heard from one principal that attendance was lower than expected following the transit cuts.
Watlington said in a Thursday statement he was “elated” about the deal between SEPTA and Mayor Cherelle Parker’s office. After looking at school attendance figures for the first three days back compared with last year, Watlington said he found that 63% of district schools showed an increase in late arrivals and 54% reported an increase in student absences.
“We’re optimistic that the restoration of priority routes will enable more students to attend school and accelerate academic achievement,” Watlington said.
“We are proud that our City teams moved quickly with SEPTA to find a way to restore transit services in the areas where students are most affected by the cutbacks that started on the first day of school this week,” Parker said in a statement. “Making sure that all of our city’s children and youth can get to school on time and safely is one of our top priorities.”
The restored services are:
- Bus 84.
- Bus 88.
- Bus 452.
- Bus 461.
- Bus 462.
- Bus 476.
- Bus 478.
- Bus 484.
- Bus 31 – service will be restored from Overbrook Park to 63rd and Market St.
The city announced service will also be “augmented” on other routes that serve students, but did not elaborate. Those routes are:
- Bus 14.
- Bus 20.
- Bus 23.
- Bus 26.
- Bus 47.
- Bus 63.
- Bus 67.
- Bus 70.
- Bus 82.
- Trolley T2.
- Trolley T5.
The city said schedules for the restored routes will be published “later in the month.”
This story has been updated to include attendance figures and comment from Superintendent Tony Watlington.
Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that impact students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org.
