Route 79 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | Southern District [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator | SEPTA City Transit Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Began service | 1912 1956 (bus service) 1961 (trackless trolleys) 2003 (bus service) | (trolleys)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Philadelphia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Communities served | South Philadelphia, Point Breeze | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Start | 29th & Snyder Streets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Via | Snyder Avenue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
End | Columbus Commons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Length | 3.0 mi (4.8 km) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ridership | 5,066 (2019 weekday average) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Annual patronage | 1,519,800 (FY2019) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Timetable | Route 79 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SEPTA Route 79 is a former trackless trolley and current bus route, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the Point Breeze neighborhood and the vicinity of Pier 70 along the Delaware River. Trackless trolleys replaced buses in 1961 [2] but were suspended in 2003, [3] and the authority later decided against restoring trackless trolley service. Trolley cars had previously served Route 79 from 1912 until 1956. [2]
The line begins at 29th Street and Snyder Avenue, and then heads east along Snyder Avenue. At 25th Street, a viaduct above the street and the line is for a former Pennsylvania Railroad rail spur designed to serve neighborhood industries. Major intersections along this line include 22nd Street, Passyunk Avenue, and Broad Street, where commuters can connect to Snyder station on the Broad Street Line, along with a RiteChoice Pharmacy, which serves as an auxiliary bus stop for Greyhound and other intercity buses. The next major crossings are at 12th and 11th Streets which carry the southbound and northbound segments of Route 45, originally the southern portion of Route 23.
Just east of Front Street and under I-95, Route 79 runs through Snyder Plaza. Besides the former Route 29 trolley bus, other connections to Route 79 in this area include SEPTA bus routes 7 , 25 , 64. Eastbound buses turn north on Dilworth Street until they reach Columbus Boulevard, near Pier 70. The route then turns down Columbus Boulevard until it reaches Snyder Street and head west again before passing by another shopping center known as Columbus Commons.
All buses are ADA-compliant, and contain bicycle racks. Overnight "Night Owl" service is available.
Along with SEPTA Routes 59, 66, 75 and 29, the Route 79 trolley bus was replaced with diesel bus service in 2003. The last trolley buses ran on June 30, 2003. [4] This was the last remaining trolley bus service in Philadelphia, [5] Route 29 had been converted to diesel buses in February, [6] and Routes 59, 66 and 75 had already been temporarily operated by diesel vehicles since June 8, 2002.
Trolley bus service on Routes 59, 66 and 75 was restored in 2008. A proposal to restore trolleybus service along Route 79 (along with 29) was considered by SEPTA in 2006, after the authority had placed an order for 38 new trolley buses for the three reinstated routes. However, in October 2006 the SEPTA board voted against any further consideration of purchasing new trolley buses to allow Routes 29 or 79 to be restored, a decision that effectively eliminated the possibility that trolley bus service might return to either of the two routes. [7]
On March 23, 2023, SEPTA released a new draft plan for Bus Revolution, SEPTA's bus network redesign. As part of the plan, Route 79 would be extended to 40th Street Station on the Market-Frankford Line via University Avenue to provide better connections to hospitals, West Philadelphia, and the Market-Frankford Line and would also be extended on its eastern end to shopping at Pier 70 to provide direct service to key destinations.
As part of a pilot program, in 2016 SEPTA placed an order for 25 new battery electric buses from Proterra, Inc. [8] They, along with two overhead charging stations, are being purchased using a $2.6-million Federal Transit Administration grant and are expected to enter service on routes 29 and 79 in 2017, returning electric propulsion to these routes after nearly 15 years of diesel operation. [9]
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws power from dual overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires, and two trolley poles, are required to complete the electrical circuit. This differs from a tram or streetcar, which normally uses the track as the return path, needing only one wire and one pole. They are also distinct from other kinds of electric buses, which usually rely on batteries. Power is most commonly supplied as 600-volt direct current, but there are exceptions.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people in five counties in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It also manages projects that maintain, replace and expand its infrastructure, facilities and vehicles.
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The Shore Line Trolley Museum is a trolley museum located in East Haven, Connecticut. Incorporated in 1945, it is the oldest continuously operating trolley museum in the United States. The museum includes exhibits on trolley history in the visitors' center and offers rides on restored trolleys along its 1.5 mi (2.4 km) track as the Branford Electric Railway. In addition to trolleys, the museum also operates a small number of both trolleybuses and conventional buses.
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SEPTA Trolley Route 23 is a former streetcar line now operated with buses. It is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the Chestnut Hill and Center City neighborhoods via Germantown Avenue, 11th, and 12th Streets.
SEPTA Route 75 is a trackless trolley route operated by SEPTA in North and Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It connects to the Market–Frankford Line at Arrott Transportation Center Station, and runs primarily along Wyoming Avenue. Route 75 connects to the Wyoming local line and goes to Wayne Junction in Nicetown.
SEPTA Route 59 is a trackless trolley line operated by SEPTA that runs from the Market–Frankford Line at Arrott Transportation Center Station to Bells Corner in Rhawnhurst, primarily along Oxford and Castor Avenues. Major stops along the route include Oxford Circle and the Alma Loop in Castor, which is near a shopping center and a junior high and senior high school.
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The Seattle trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network in the city of Seattle, Washington, operated by King County Metro. Originally opened on April 28, 1940, the network consists of 15 routes, with 174 trolleybuses operating on 68 miles (109 km) of two-way parallel overhead lines. As of the fourth quarter of 2022, the system carries riders on an average of 35,400 trips per weekday, comprising about 18 percent of King County Metro's total daily ridership. At present in Seattle, a very common alternative term for trolleybus is trolley.
The Philadelphia trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. It opened on October 14, 1923, and is now the second-longest-lived trolleybus system in the world. One of only five such systems currently operating in the U.S., it presently comprises three lines, and is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), with a fleet of 38 trolleybuses, or trackless trolleys as SEPTA calls them. The three surviving routes serve North and Northeast Philadelphia and connect with SEPTA's Market–Frankford rapid transit line.
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