SEPTA Wayfinding: Philadelphia’s $40 Million Public Transit Reorg Includes Simplifying Its Maze of a Map

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SEPTA service names
Image via SEPTA at Bloomberg.
Simplified and icon-based signage is expected to be among the many strengths of the SEPTA Metro overhaul.

SEPTA wayfinding — the Philadelphia transit authority’s concept guiding its Norristown regional rail, subway, streetcar, and bus system reorg — will also address its present map, reports Laura Bliss for Bloomberg.

The goal of the $40 million, multiyear initiative is to ease users’ passage among destinations, even when trips involve various modes of transportation.

The revised map reflects the new approach to identifying lines and providing more consistent station signage.

Eighteen months of surveys, public meetings, and University of Pennsylvania research back the complete, proposed re-do.

The master plan is currently open for public comments. SEPTA plans to unveil the initiative’s final version next week, with a rollout of new signage expected to take place over the next several years.

“We’re really trying to emphasize moving toward a network level of thinking,” said Lex Powers, SEPTA strategic planning manager. SEPTA says it expects to unveil a finalized version in 2022, with a rollout of new signage over the next few years.”

The new system map at the heart of these changes replaces lengthy historic names for train-trolley lines with color, number, and letter-based identifiers.

If the transit agency fully adopts the proposal, “SEPTA Metro” will be its overarching title.

Read more about the SEPTA wayfinding concept in Bloomberg.

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