Here’s what you should know about proposed changes in SEPTA’s Route 18 bus service

SEPTA’s Bus Revolution project proposes to break apart and reassemble Route 18 (Fox Chase to Cedarbrook Plaza), which links Lawndale to East Mt. Airy over 11 winding miles, via the Olney Transportation Center. Ranked the second-busiest bus route in the system, it carried a weekday average 15,700 passengers in December 2019.

Here is how Route 18 could look if the proposed Bus Revolution plan takes effect:

Current service would be split into two new routes, and pieces of others would be added. A new Route 530, as it’s named in planning documents, would travel east along the current Route 18 alignment between Broad Street and Cottman Avenue. It would encompass Route 67 between Cottman and Bustleton Avenues, and add Route 58 along Tomlinson Road.

Route 530′s southern end-point would be at Olney Transportation Center and its northern terminus at Philmont Station, with access to the West Trenton Regional Rail line.

That new route would be designated “30 Max,” meaning that a bus would come along every 30 minutes or less between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays, and every 60 minutes until midnight. On Saturdays and Sundays, it would come every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and every 60 minutes at other times.

Time between buses averaged 15 to 19 minutes in daytime hours on weekdays, often less during peak traffic times in late 2019, meaning the new Route 530 would decrease frequency.

Another proposal, Route 533 would consolidate existing Route 18 service west of Broad Street and incorporate current Route 8. SEPTA says that would create a “very frequent” one-seat ride between Cedarbrook Plaza and Frankford Transportation Center via Olney Transportation Center. While existing Route 18 has a number of service patterns, the new 533 would operate the same way on all trips.

Route 533 would be designated a “10 Max” service, which means a rider could expect a bus to arrive every 10 minutes or less between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays and 15 minutes or less on weekends.

Other changes: Proposed Route 549 would replace existing Route 67′s service on some trips along Red Lion and Comly Roads east of Bustleton Avenue. Proposed Route 532 would replace existing Route 67 service south of Cottman Avenue.

The 18 travels through Cedarbrook and Mt. Airy to the Fox Chase Loop. Along the way, it serves the busy corridors of Chew, Olney, and Rising Sun Avenues. Students use it to get to a number of schools, including La Salle University, as well as Central and Girls High Schools.

It operates for 22 hours on all days of the week with service beginning at 3:50 a.m. and ending at 1:30 a.m. Time between buses averages about 15 to 19 minutes in daytime hours on weekdays, often arriving more frequently during peak traffic times.

Route 18 achieved a 78% on-time rate in late 2019, according to SEPTA data. About one-third of current Route 18′s riders transfer to the Broad Street Line at the Olney Transportation Center.

SEPTA will unveil its final plan for the entire bus network in early 2023, with community meetings to explain it and take questions — after considering public reaction at 22 in-person meetings and several virtual ones through the end of the year. Formal hearings and board consideration would follow in the spring. Some changes would start in fall of 2023. Most would be phased in throughout 2024.

No. SEPTA says it will consider people’s concerns and may make adjustments to the draft plan in response. It has scheduled a number of community open houses and virtual meetings on the changes, and could add more depending on demand. Near Route 18:

SEPTA officials will hold a meeting Dec. 6 at the Greater Olney Library, 5501 N. 5th St. from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. SEPTA says it may update its schedule of community meetings due to demand. Here’s the latest list.

To leave a comment or speak to a member of the Bus Revolution team, email [email protected] or call 267-291-6045.

For the first time since SEPTA began in 1964, the transit agency is proposing wholesale changes to the bus network in Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs. The aim: faster, more frequent service.

» READ MORE: Here’s what you should know about proposed changes to SEPTA’s popular Route 47 bus

The proposal would drop the number of bus routes from 125 to 99 by ending little-used services and combining others. Some would be shortened in the interest of faster trips.

As a result, many changes would mean more transfers. Planners looked for points where riders could transfer to another bus route, to SEPTA’s subways and trolleys or to Regional Rail, aiming to use the system as an integrated whole.

Linking buses to metro rail service “is the most efficient way for people to travel,” said Dan Nemiroff, SEPTA’s manager for the Bus Revolution project. “It’s on a dedicated right of way. Obviously it’s fastest and it doesn’t stop a lot.”

» READ MORE: Here’s what you should know about proposed changes to SEPTA’s Route G bus

Here’s everything we know about SEPTA’s Bus Revolution plan.