Editing SEPTA (section)

== History ==
=== Formation ===
[[File:PCC2790 Philly 1970s.jpg|thumb|The former [[SEPTA Route 6]] trolley in [[Philadelphia]], {{circa|1980}}]]
SEPTA was created by the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly]], on August 17, 1963, to coordinate government funding to various transit and railroad companies in southeastern Pennsylvania. It commenced operations on February 18, 1964.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pawson |first=John R. |title=Delaware Valley Rails: The Railroads and Rail Transit Lines of the Philadelphia Area |publisher=John R. Pawson |year=1979 |isbn=0-9602080-0-3 |location=[[Willow Grove, Pennsylvania]] |pages=21}}</ref>

On November 1, 1965, SEPTA absorbed two predecessor agencies:
* The Passenger Service Improvement Corporation (PSIC), was created on January 20, 1960, to work with the [[Reading Company]] and [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] to improve commuter rail service and help the railroads maintain otherwise unprofitable passenger rail service.
* The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Compact (SEPACT), was created September 8, 1961, by the City of Philadelphia and the Counties of Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester to coordinate regional transport issues.

[[File:SEPTA logo 1970s.svg|thumb|SEPTA's logo in 1970s]]
By 1966, the [[Reading Company]] and Pennsylvania Railroad commuter railroad lines were operated under contract to SEPTA. On February 1, 1968, the Pennsylvania Railroad merged with the [[New York Central]] railroad to become [[Penn Central]]. On June 21, 1970, it filed for bankruptcy. Penn Central continued to operate in bankruptcy until 1976, when [[Conrail]] took over its assets along with those of several other bankrupt railroads, including the Reading Company. Conrail operated commuter services under contract to SEPTA until January 1, 1983, when SEPTA took over operations and acquired track, rolling stock, and other assets to form the [[SEPTA Regional Rail|Railroad Division]].

=== Subsequent expansion ===
[[File:PATCO1516LocustStation.JPG|thumb|The entrance to the [[15–16th & Locust station]] on [[Locust Street]] in [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City Philadelphia]], which serves as both a SEPTA and [[PATCO Speedline|PATCO]] station]]
[[File:Broadstconcourse2018a1.jpg|thumb|The concourse at the [[Walnut–Locust station]] in Center City Philadelphia]]
[[File:Market-Frankford line on Kensington Avenue in Philadelphia.jpg|thumb|The above-ground [[Market–Frankford Line]] in the [[Kensington, Philadelphia|Kensington section]] of Philadelphia]]
Like [[New York City]]'s [[Second Avenue Subway]], the original proposal for the [[Roosevelt Boulevard Subway]] dates back to 1913, but construction has remained elusive. Instead, after completing the [[Market–Frankford Line]] in and around the city stagnated until the early 2000s.

On September 30, 1968, SEPTA acquired the [[Philadelphia Transportation Company]] (PTC), which operated a citywide system of [[bus]], [[Tram|trolley]], and [[trackless trolley]] routes, the Market–Frankford Line (subway-elevated rail), the [[Broad Street Line]] (subway), and the [[PATCO Speedline|Delaware River Bridge Line]] (subway-elevated rail to City Hall, Camden, NJ) which became SEPTA's City Transit Division. The PTC had been created in 1940 with the merger of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (formed in 1902), and a group of smaller, then-independent transit companies operating within the city and its environs.

On January 30, 1970, SEPTA acquired the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, also known as the Red Arrow Lines, which included the [[Philadelphia and Western Railroad]] (P&W) route now called the [[Norristown High Speed Line]], the [[Media–Sharon Hill Line]] (Routes 101 and 102), and several suburban bus routes in Delaware County. Today, this is known as the [[SEPTA Suburban Division bus routes#Victory District|Victory Division]], though it is sometimes referred to as the Red Arrow Division.

On March 1, 1976, SEPTA acquired the transit operations of Schuylkill Valley Lines, known today as the [[SEPTA Suburban Division bus routes#Frontier District|Frontier Division]]. Meanwhile, SEPTA gradually began to take over the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] and [[Reading Company]] commuter trains. SEPTA primarily sought to consolidate the formerly-competing services, leading to severe cutbacks in the mid-1980s.<ref name="mitchell">{{Cite news |last=Mitchell |first=Matthew |date=April 1992 |title=SEPTA Budget for Fiscal 1993: Continued Rail Retrenchment |work=The Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers}}</ref> Subsequent proposals have since been made to restore service to [[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]], [[Bethlehem, Pennsylvania|Bethlehem]], [[West Chester, Pennsylvania|West Chester]], and [[Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Newtown]], with support from commuters, local officials, and pro-train advocates.

SEPTA's planning department focused on the [[Schuylkill Valley Metro]], a "cross-county metro" that would re-establish service to [[Phoenixville, Pennsylvania|Phoenixville]], [[Pottstown, Pennsylvania|Pottstown]], and [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]] without requiring the rider to go into Philadelphia.<ref name="PKostmayer">{{Cite news |last=Kostmayer |first=Peter |title=A Cross-county Metro Would Relieve Traffic |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=http://articles.philly.com/1990-05-25/news/25888037_1_septa-area-residents-philadelphia-suburbs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011235226/http://articles.philly.com/1990-05-25/news/25888037_1_septa-area-residents-philadelphia-suburbs |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 11, 2014 |access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref><ref name="NKostelnie">{{Cite news |last=Kostelnie |first=Natalie |date=March 9, 2012 |title=Dreams of rail service deferred, but not dead |publisher=Philadelphia Business Journal |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/print-edition/2012/03/09/Rail_service.html?page=all |access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref> However, ridership projections were dubious, and the [[Federal Railroad Administration]] refused to fund the project.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sofka |first=Stephen |date=16 January 2012 |title=Looking at SEPTA |url=http://philadelphia2050.blogspot.com/2012/01/looking-at-septa.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180116230730/http://philadelphia2050.blogspot.nl/2012/01/looking-at-septa.html |archive-date=16 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=Crossing the Lines: Site, Urban, Environmental, and Transportation Planning |publisher=Blogspot |quote=...the Schuylkill Valley Metro disaster basically sunk all of SEPTA's expansion plans for the past decade.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=M. |last2=Nigro |first2=D. |last3=Ritzler |first3=W. |title=DVARP's Criticism of SEPTA Plan Vindicated: Biehler Steps In, Demands SEPTA Rethink Schuylkill Valley Metro |url=http://www.dvarp.org/svm/press_release_20040117.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180116235429/http://www.dvarp.org/svm/press_release_20040117.html |archive-date=16 January 2018 |access-date=16 January 2018 |website=[[Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers]] |quote=...the SEPTA plan for separate tracks and such high-frequency service all the way to Reading was based on faulty estimates of cost and ridership, and had no realistic chance of winning federal funding.}}</ref>

Many derelict lines under SEPTA ownership have been converted to [[Rail trail|rail trails]], postponing any restoration proposals for the foreseeable future.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PA-TEC – Pennsylvania Transit Expansion Coalition |url=http://pa-tec.org/projects.html |website=pa-tec.org}}</ref> Proposals have also been made for increased service on existing lines, including later evenings and Sundays to [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]], [[Delaware, United States|Delaware]], and [[Newark, Delaware|Newark]]. Maryland's [[MARC Train|MARC]] commuter rail system is considering extending its service as far as {{station link|SEPTA|Newark}}, which would allow passengers to connect directly between SEPTA and MARC. Other recent proposals have also focused on extending and enhancing SEPTA's other transit services. Senator of Pennsylvania, [[Bob Casey Jr.|Bob Casey]], has supported recent proposals expanding the Broad Street Line to the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]].<ref name="VZW">{{Cite news |last=Van Zuylen-Wood |first=Simon |date=November 25, 2013 |title=Could the Broad Street Line Expand to the Navy Yard? |publisher=Philly Magazine |url=http://www.phillymag.com/news/2013/11/25/broad-street-line-expand-navy-yard/ |access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref> {{As of|December 2017}}, SEPTA had completed an [[Environmental Impact Statement]] to extend the [[Norristown High Speed Line#King of Prussia Spur|Norristown High Speed Line]] to the [[King of Prussia, Pennsylvania|King of Prussia]] area. However, the project was discontinued mid-way through.<ref>{{Cite web |title=King of Prussia Rail |url=http://kingofprussiarail.com/ |access-date=February 3, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Watts |first=Emily |title=KOP Rail Draft Environmental Impact Statement |url=http://koprail.com/deis/default.html |access-date=17 January 2018 |website=King of Prussia Rail |quote=The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for KOP Rail is released for public review in October 2017 with a comment period ending December 4, 2017.}}</ref>

In September 2021, SEPTA proposed rebranding their rail transit services, the [[Market–Frankford Line]], Broad Street Line, [[SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines|Subway–Surface trolley lines]], [[Norristown High Speed Line]], [[SEPTA Route 15|Route 15]] trolley, and the [[Media–Sharon Hill Line]]) as the "SEPTA Metro", in order to make the system easier to navigate.<ref name="Chang 2021 r268">{{cite web |last=Chang |first=David |date=September 7, 2021 |title=The SEPTA Metro? L Lines and B Lines? SEPTA Proposes New Signage and Name Changes |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/transportation-and-transit/l-lines-and-b-lines-septa-proposes-new-signage-and-name-changes/2950566/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=NBC10 Philadelphia}}</ref><ref name="CBS News 2021 r617">{{cite web |date=September 9, 2021 |title=SEPTA Proposing Series Of Changes Aimed To Make System Easier For Riders, Including Name Change To 'Metro' |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/septa-proposing-series-of-changes-aimed-to-make-system-easier-for-riders/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=CBS News}}</ref> Under this proposal, new maps, station signage, and line designations would be created. Under the proposed nomenclature, trunk lines would receive a letter and a color, with services having a numeric suffix and service name to make wayfinding easier.<ref name="Saunders 2023 t179">{{cite web |last=Saunders |first=Brian A. |date=November 14, 2023 |title=SEPTA to update transit lines with simpler, more consistent signage |url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/septa-metro-wayfinding-system-updated-signs-language-2024/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=PhillyVoice}}</ref> Services on the current Market–Frankford Line, for instance, would be called "the L" and colored blue, with local service becoming the "L1 Market–Frankford Local".<ref name="Wayfinding Recommendations">{{Cite web |title=Wayfinding Recommendations |url=https://planning.septa.org/projects/wayfinding-master-plan/recommendations/ |access-date=September 7, 2021 |publisher=SEPTA |archive-date=September 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907141259/https://planning.septa.org/projects/wayfinding-master-plan/recommendations/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> SEPTA budgeted $40 million for the rebranding in June 2023.<ref name="Fitzgerald 2021 y842">{{cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Thomas |date=September 7, 2021 |title=SEPTA proposes renaming its city rail lines to help everyone get around |url=https://www.inquirer.com/transportation/septa-signs-directions-rail-transit-el-metro-20210907.html |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref> SEPTA upgraded its website in late 2023 in advance of the planned rollout of SEPTA Metro in 2024.<ref name="Lutz 2023 p519">{{cite web |last=Lutz |first=Chandler |date=November 14, 2023 |title=SEPTA Metro aims to make Philadelphia's public transportation system easier to use |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/septa-metro-philadelphia-public-transportation-system/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=CBS News}}</ref><ref name="6abc Philadelphia 2023 x027">{{cite web |date=December 7, 2023 |title=Philadelphia's transit agency launches revamped website ahead of transition to 'SEPTA Metro' |url=https://6abc.com/septa-website-philadelphia-real-time/14150685/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=6abc Philadelphia}}</ref>

<ref name="Lynch 2023 b746">{{cite web |last=Lynch |first=Cherise |date=December 6, 2023 |title=SEPTA set to launch new user-friendly website |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/transportation-and-transit/septa-set-to-launch-new-user-friendly-website/3714705/ |access-date=December 22, 2023 |website=NBC10 Philadelphia}}</ref> In 2024, general manager [[Leslie Richards]] resigned. <ref name=":5" />