The first phase of SEPTA’s bus network overhaul begins Aug. 23, and Brandon Miller is mobilizing hundreds of employees for a final push to meet face-to-face with riders in the days leading up to the changes and during the first week after they take effect.
“It’s a blitz,” said Miller, manager of planning programs at SEPTA, describing discussions at “pop-ups” as an effective way to help people navigate the new network.
Unlike some transit agencies, SEPTA has not done a comprehensive redesign of its bus network in its 58-year history. The agency has publicly pushed to do so since 2021, but change was delayed by opposition, political wrangling, and, later, a two-year fiscal crisis.
Originally the “Bus Revolution” was supposed to happen all at once, but SEPTA ultimately decided to phase in changes to routes.
“I think there’s more willingness to accept the fact that … we need to make the bus network a little bit more efficient,” Nemiroff said. “We need to make the system more attractive for people.”
Some routes with low ridership or that duplicate nearby service will be eliminated. Others will be extended or run more frequently, and two new routes will be added.
What routes will change?
New and expanded routes: Route 72, a new crosstown bus running along Cheltenham Avenue, and the new Route 76 bus from Columbus Commons to Rising Sun and Olney. Route 45 will be extended to provide service to the Navy Yard, and Route 79 will be extended from South Philadelphia into University City.
Eliminated routes: 35, 47M, 62, 78, 80, 89, and 106.
Riders can call SEPTA customer service at 215-580-7800 or email specific questions to planning@septa.org.
I want to talk to someone in person.
Beginning Monday, street teams will conduct “pop-up” visits at key transit hubs at various times between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Next week, visits will include South Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, Cedarbrook Plaza, Hunting Park Station for changes to Route 53, Spring Garden Station, and Willow Grove Mall.
Staff are also attending community events.
When will changes happen?
The majority of changes will take effect Sunday, Aug. 23, followed by the Route 105 extension and elimination of Route 106 on Monday, Aug. 24.
Phase 3 changes are planned to begin in June 2027.
Phase 4 changes are planned to begin in Fall 2027. Many details are still being worked out.
Why redesign the bus network?
SEPTA launched its bus redesign efforts in earnest after ridership declined 13% from 2013 to 2019, a drop attributed to slow speeds, reliability problems, and competition from ridesharing companies. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bus ridership rebounded faster than it did on other transit services, but SEPTA’s thinking is that simplifying the network will make it easier to use, with more frequent service on fewer or shorter routes.
Will bus stops be changed?
Stops will disappear during the first phase on routes that are eliminated, but there will be no wholesale changes yet.
Having more stops per mile provides access to more people, but closely spaced stops can also slow buses and make them less reliable.
Early plans for Philadelphia’s bus network redesign aimed to “rebalance” stops by spacing them farther apart to improve speed. But the idea has been unpopular.
SEPTA may revisit the issue later.
More questions about the New Bus Network?
Email transportation reporter Thomas Fitzgerald at tfitzgerald@inquirer.com.
In this week’s Shackamaxon, the race for City Council kicks off, SEPTA police officers step in front of the cameras, and a Big Tech reckoning comes for the Ambitious Abingtonian.
Councilmember Jeffery “Jay” Young Jr. during the Barber’s Hall community legacy celebration on Aug. 1.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Contrarian challenge
In political circles, the legislative lineage of Philadelphia’s 5th Council District is one of the city’s most esteemed and iconic. The first person to represent the residents of the 5th in City Council was Raymond Pace Alexander, the civil rights leader who was later appointed as the first African American judge on the Court of Common Pleas. The seat has also been held by Cecil B. Moore, Ethel Allen, and John Street. Few other districts can boast such an impressive list of luminaries.
Today, its occupant is someone very different, Council’s quarrelsome contrarian, Jeffery “Jay” Young Jr.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with “good trouble” or sticking out from the crowd. Moore himself was famously pugnacious, with the former Marine once quoted as saying that “The imported Gandhi philosophy of nonviolence that still exists in the South will not be accepted in Philadelphia, where we believe in self-help and self-defense.” Allen was also a maverick, styling herself as a “B.F.R. — a Black, female Republican, an entity as rare as a Black elephant and just as smart.”
Moore and Allen, however, were quarrelsome on behalf of the people they represented, and contrarians at a time when Black Philadelphians were mostly excluded from the halls of power.
Moore successfully desegregated Girard College, paving the way for Young himself to attend decades later.
Young, however, starts fights that help nobody. Worse, no one seems to understand why he’s fighting in the first place.
From delaying repairs at the Cecil B. Moore Library to blocking popular housing proposals, Young’s actions frequently bring him in conflict, rather than concert, with the community he was elected to represent.
It is unsurprising, then, to see that he’s already attracted a declared challenger for his seat, months before election season kicks off in earnest.
Jalon Alexander has a big advantage over the opponents Young (almost) faced in the past: He’s managed to successfully get onto the ballot before, during the 2023 City Council at-large election.
While he brings his own ideas to the table, Alexander is also clearly running in opposition to Young’s choices. The cybersecurity attorney grew up in Strawberry Mansion, and still lives there, but is running a campaign built to find support across the district’s geographic and political spectrum.
Kellan White, at this point a potential candidate, presents another strong alternative. White managed Rebecca Rhynhart’s 2023 mayoral campaign, which was successful across much of the 5th District. He has a deep knowledge of city politics and policy, and a Rolodex of contacts that any political journalist would be jealous of. Unlike Young, both Alexander and White are willing to answer the phone to talk to reporters, community leaders, and their constituents.
At this point, even if a dozen candidates run against him and split the opposition vote, Young may still face an uphill battle.
When I’ve criticized other Council members, I always get calls or emails from constituents who defend their choices. In nearly three years writing about Young, not a single person has offered a defense.
A SEPTA Route 38 bus at 15th and Market Streets in May.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Spotlight on SEPTA
A few readers have asked me about film crews they’ve seen following SEPTA police around stations and transit vehicles recently. Media Relations Director Andrew Busch confirmed that the A&E Network is filming a docuseries, which will be broadcast next year.
Personally, I’m looking forward to watching it. SEPTA’s roughly 250-strong police force is charged with patrolling more than 285 train and trolley stations, and nearly 3,000 vehicles. They are also in the midst of substantial declines in serious crime, which occurred alongside a crackdown on fare evasion and a surge in enforcement for quality-of-life issues. That’s a story worth showing.
Less worthwhile would be a series focused on Kensington and the city’s drug epidemic. That’s a real part of SEPTA’s policing duties, but is often exploitative when told by outsiders.
Gov. Josh Shapiro announces a $20 billion investment by Amazon in Pennsylvania data centers in Salem and Falls Townships in 2025.Commonwealth Media Services
Data-driven
Ever since the creation of the first computer, there have been concerns about its role in the future. It doesn’t help matters that many tech CEOs, like OpenAI’s Sam Altman, regularly express a kind of contemptuous attitude toward humanity and human needs. At one point, Altman said that artificial intelligence would “lead to the end of the world.” How inspiring!
This has put public officials in a tough position over their support of data centers.
For generations, states and cities have competed to attract investment. But these days, cash is flowing into an industry opposed by 74% of voters. Seeing an opportunity, challengers from across the political spectrum are using data centers in their political attack ads, while incumbents are scrambling to explain themselves.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, the Ambitious Abingtonian, exemplifies this conundrum. He was an early advocate for embracing data centers, but with polls tightening for his reelection efforts, he’s been forced to adapt.
Of course, there’s a certain opportunism to state Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s embrace of the techlash.
Her own party has been quite supportive of data centers. President Donald Trump has called them “tremendous.” Pennsylvania state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman has long advocated for the centers, which represent a particular opportunity for his own community, which has, in his words, “a long and storied history when it comes to the production of electricity.” U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, the highest-ranking Republican in Pennsylvania, is married to Meta executive Dina Powell McCormick. Meta is one of the four companies investing a total of $1.5 trillion in new data centers.
Pennsylvania Senate Republicans declined to pursue Shapiro’s proposed “GRID” initiative, which would have required the centers to produce their own electricity, conform to environmental standards, and make community benefits agreements in exchange for permitting assistance.
Many of the current pitchfork-wielding politicos may themselves be forced to pivot when in office. Voters may hate data centers, but they also hate tax increases and service cuts.
Loudoun County, Va., which is known as data center alley, has averted both. Local authorities have cut property tax rates by nearly 30% over the last decade, and the centers pay roughly half of the county’s property tax revenue. Given the increasing share of Pennsylvania’s budget that is paid through the extractive gambling industry, the need to invest more in schools and transportation, and the continuing structural deficit, it is no surprise politicians initially saw the AI boom as an opportunity.
Now, state leaders will have to pick their poison.
If they pursue data centers, they’ll face voter backlash. If they continue to embrace gambling, they’ll contribute to the impoverishment of their own constituents. If they stop investing in education or allow transit agencies to fail, they’ll weaken the commonwealth’s economy going forward. If they raise taxes, they’ll take the blame for that, too.
While the data center surge may seem sudden to many, it is also a response to demand. Both businesses and individuals are increasingly using AI in daily life.
Ironically, many social media posts about data centers include AI-generated text and images. It is a bit like if the Women’s Christian Temperance Union had fundraised with a booze cruise.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of ordinary men walked into a brick building in Philadelphia and signed their names to the most consequential document in American history, the Declaration of Independence. Throughout this year, and all across the nation, Americans are gathering to celebrate those first steps toward freedom.
Last month, while I listened to the concerts on the Parkway and watched the fireworks over the Art Museum, I found myself thinking about the people who have kept it going ever since.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is shown along Route 539, Whiting-New Egypt Road, Manchester Township, N.J. The author has served nearly all of his 26-year Air Force career at the 514th Airlift Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press
I have spent nearly my entire 26-year Air Force career right here, at the 514th Airlift Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in South Jersey, affectionately known as the Freedom Wing. That name has always meant something to me, but this anniversary year, it carries a particular weight.
Freedom is not a monument or a date on a calendar. Freedom is a daily act of service, renewed by ordinary people who choose to do an extraordinary thing: raise their right hand and pledge to lay it all on the line for their fellow citizens.
The members of the Freedom Wing are your neighbors. Truly and literally. They teach your children in Philadelphia classrooms. They run toward the smoke when your house is on fire. They wear a SEPTA uniform in the morning and a flight suit in the evening. They are nurses, corporate executives, police officers, and small-business owners. They coach Little League in the summer and strut down Broad Street on New Year’s Day.
And then, when the nation calls or the mission demands, they put on the uniform and get to work. They leave their families, their jobs, and their routines, and they go where they’re needed. No questions asked.
In the Air Force Reserve, we call them citizen airmen. I call them my chosen family and the best people I have ever known.
Since this wing was originally designated in 1949, our citizen airmen have answered the call in every major conflict our country has faced — Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan — and in humanitarian missions across the globe. The Freedom Wing has never sat on the sidelines of history.
Task Force McGuire-Dix Airmen prepare personal protective equipment to aid in the arrival of Afghans in support of the U.S. Department of State-led Operation Allies Refuge at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey in 2021.U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joseph Morales
After more than a quarter century standing alongside these individuals, what strikes me most is not the mission accomplishments, though they have been extraordinary — it’s the sacrifice that surrounds each one.
It’s the spouse who holds the household together for a sixth month of deployment. It’s the firefighter who tells his crew he has to leave again, and the crew that jumps to cover his shifts. It’s the teacher who builds training plans instead of lesson plans in the back of an aircraft at 30,000 feet, and the students who send hand-drawn cards and care packages.
The uniform isn’t what makes these people and their loved ones remarkable. Their character does. Their grit does. This city is known for it, and so are our citizen airmen.
As Philadelphia continues to celebrate 250 years of this improbable, magnificent country, take a moment to consider how we got here.
Look around for the people who have dedicated their lives to preserving our freedom — they are already among you. Tell them you see them. That recognition costs nothing, and to a citizen airman who has given up more than most will ever know, it means everything.
The truest way I know to celebrate Freedom 250 is not just to enjoy the freedoms we have inherited, but to honor the people who are still out there, right now, making sure we keep it.
Col. Thad Amundson is the deputy wing commander of the 514th Airlift Wing, the “Freedom Wing,” at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. The Philadelphia resident has flown combat sorties in Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, and Inherent Resolve. He is a command pilot with over 4,000 flying hours, 800 hours flown in combat, and more than 5,000 flying hours as a civilian airline pilot.
Philadelphia is the latest locale for vigilante Jack Reacher's shadowy dealings in season four of Reacher, streaming now on Amazon Prime. The show, which stars actor Alan Ritchson as the hulking retired Army investigator, was spotted filming around town last year.
Based on Lee Child's 2009 novel Gone Tomorrow, this season has Reacher facing off against the CIA, federal agents, and international mercenaries following a woman's suicide. And while much of the on-screen action appears to have been filmed elsewhere — namely Toronto, which looks a lot like Philly, but with space — the City of Brotherly Love does show up quite a bit.
Here, we'll be rounding up all the Philly spots we can identify this season. Check out the map below for where Reacher and his cohorts took them in the city.
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Philadelphia
City Hall
Michael Bryant / Staff P
Reacher's fourth season immediately sets the scene with a shot of the William Penn statue atop City Hall as a nightscape of Center City shines in the background.
Philadelphia
Uptown Beer Garden
Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer
We catch our first glimpse of our hero, Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson), as he exits Uptown Beer Garden, who walks out of the establishment silently with a beer in hand.
Philadelphia
LOVE Park
MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
Reacher speaks for the first time this season, ordering a "wiz wit" from a nondescript food truck in Love Park.
Philadelphia
Avenue of the Arts
JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Here, Reacher strolls down the sidewalk on the west side of Broad Street, chomping on his cheesesteak. Canonically, it is just after 2 a.m., and the street is deserted as he descends into the Walnut-Locust entrance B line, which runs along Broad Street.
Philadelphia
Walnut-Locust Station
Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
As he enjoys his cheesesteak, Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) heads down into the Broad Street Line at this Center City station. Several interior shots of the station are shown, including one in which a rat munches on a hot dog.
Philadelphia
Benjamin Franklin Bridge
Thomas Hengge / Staff Photographer
Philly is again shown off in all its nocturnal glory with a low-light shot of Center City from the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Philadelphia
Benjamin Franklin Parkway
For the first time in the season's first episode, the sun rises on Philadelphia. And it does so in this stunning aerial shot showcasing many of the Ben Franklin Parkway's gems — Logan Circle, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the works.
Philadelphia
Parkway Central Library
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
We get a great glimpse of the exterior of the Parkway Central Library before heading inside, where Jack Reacher (Alan Ritchson) and Jacob Merrick (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette) do research on Congressman John Sampson (Marc Blucas), a North Carolina representative who is launching a presidential bid.
Philadelphia
Parc
Courtesy of HughE Dillon
Parc briefly plays host to Reacher, Lila Hoth (Agnez Mo), and Jacob Merrick (Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette) as the trio settles in at an outdoor table to evade police.
Philadelphia
Walt Whitman Bridge
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Reacher and his cohorts travel back into Philly via this bridge after escaping Washington, D.C. In the background, the old Southwark Generating Station is clearly visible.
Philadelphia
Schuylkill Expressway
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
As Reacher and his crew traverse Philly at night, the action leads to a shot of the west end of Center City near 30th Street Station from the Schuylkill Expressway.
Philadelphia
Schuylkill Expressway
Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Here, we get another nightscape shot of Philly's skyline, again from I-76 near 30th Street Station looking east. In the foreground, Locust on the Park is lit up green and is featured prominently.
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That was every location we could spot in the opening three episodes. Explore the map of all locations featured. Tap onHover overa pin to learn more.
Staff Contributors
Design and Development: Garland Fordice and Sam Morris
Cheltenham Township’s latest long-range plan, approved last month, provides a glimpse of how the township of 38,000 could look by 2040.
The Montgomery County Planning Commission, alongside officials and volunteers from the township — one of Philadelphia’s oldest suburbs — spent several years on the plan, said Carl Freedman, a Cheltenham planning volunteer.
“Communities like Cheltenham have a difficult time, being so developed, that being given an opportunity to direct where new development goes is helpful,” Freedman said.
The comprehensive plan, which exceeds 200 pages, lays out challenges and recommendations, ranging from streetlights to denser housing, for the township’s homes, businesses, transportation networks, community services, and historical assets over the next 10 to 15 years.
More business, more tax money
Many of Cheltenham’s residents still commute to Philadelphia, but more people are working from home after the pandemic, creating opportunities to welcome new restaurants and other businesses, planners wrote.
Which is sorely needed, because Cheltenham wants more tax money without a ton of new residents.
One of the challenges for the township, which has very little undeveloped land remaining, is its large proportion of institutional properties — universities, churches, and other nonprofit entities — that do not pay property tax, planners wrote: “Institutions such as non-profits or higher education have taken over many of the large estates in the township. This supports the preservation of these historic and beautiful places but at the same time has real impacts on the tax revenue of the township.”
Plans to attract business include reviewing rules for home-based enterprises, identifying opportunities to convert some of the parking spaces at large shopping centers into sites for new shops, and piloting a program to bring more food trucks to major commercial streets.
More main streets, more trees, slower traffic
The comprehensive plan identifies several neighborhood hubs with potential for more development that Cheltenham could encourage by slowing traffic with road narrowing and other measures, and adding decor to draw foot traffic into town centers.
Glenside and Elkins Park East top the list for main street revitalization, according to the plan. Wider sidewalks on Glenside Avenue and decorative lighting on Wesley and East Glenside Avenues could be part of the solution, planners wrote.
Public art and infrastructure marking the entrances to the downtowns could also help to give these neighborhoods a sense of place.
Tree cover is also key, the planners wrote — both preserving existing foliage and planting new trees in hotter, exposed areas, like the parking lot at the Elkins Park Square mall.
Denser housing, more pedestrians
Cheltenham has plenty of multifamily apartments compared with other Montgomery County towns, making up about a third of residences.
But putting additional dense housing in the right locations could liven up Cheltenham’s downtowns without adding too much traffic, planners wrote, by encouraging public transit use.
Putting more apartments above existing storefronts would create taller buildings that balance out some of the township’s wider streets, encouraging pedestrian traffic and patronage of local businesses, the comprehensive plan notes.
Planners pointed to a similar approach Ardmore took in the 1990s as a model: “Through the Downtown Ardmore District’s work and an increase in multifamily residences in the vicinity of the business district, the neighborhood has experienced increased redevelopment and economic vitality without sacrificing its historic character.”
Cheltenham could build more attractive bus shelters and benches to further encourage mass transit, and add bike parking at SEPTA Regional Rail stations.
The township is also considering encouraging more accessory dwelling units, allowing residents to add in-law suites and other small homes to their existing property.
Tookany Creek in Elkins Park, PA pictured on Monday, April 11, 2022.
Fresh community spaces
Cheltenham’s municipal buildings are old: In 2022, the average age of township facilities was 117.
The township’s administrative building is located in the former home of the Breyer’s ice cream family, Freedman said — and it was built during World War I.
Cheltenham closed two of its libraries several years ago after boilers failed in both buildings, but plans to renovate only one, La Mott Free Library. The document does not mention plans to rehab the second, East Cheltenham Library.
The township also plans to continue connecting trails along Tookany Creek and making those trails bike-friendly, and to consider preserving more historic buildings, such as Glenside National Bank.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Welcome to Shackamaxon, a weekly politics column focused on what’s happening at City Hall and in Harrisburg. It is named for the place where the Lenape chiefs would meet to conduct the people’s business, which is now known as Penn Treaty Park.
This week’s edition questions a plea deal, looks at Center City’s efforts to bring back daytime foot traffic, and examines the legacy of the Philadelphia wage tax.
SEPTA Transit and Philadelphia Police at the scene of the fatal shooting of SEPTA bus driver Bernard Gribbin in Germantown in October 2023.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Deterrence desired
On Oct. 26, 2023, Bernard Gribbin became the first city transit operator to die by gunfire while on the job. Family members called him “the best of the best,” and described the 48-year-old Army veteran as a man who loved Philadelphia, who proudly took out-of-town relatives on tours of the city when they came to visit, and who served the public by working as a bus operator — a demanding, underpaid, and utterly essential job.
Gribbin’s murder sent shock waves through the city’s transit agency. His colleagues were left angry and afraid.
Around that time, reporting from Mensah Dean at the Trace identified a spate of attacks against public employees. During the next contract negotiations, the Transport Workers Union demanded SEPTA install bulletproof glass to protect drivers. Operators report that management, which has long emphasized de-escalation, became even more strict about the kinds of interactions bus drivers and train conductors are permitted to have with unruly passengers. For many, this undermined their sense of stewardship of their vehicles.
The death of Gribbin seemed like a case in which prosecutors could send a message that violence against SEPTA workers will be met with serious consequences. Instead, District Attorney Larry Krasner opted to accept a plea bargain.
Gribbin’s killer, Zhontay Capers, was able to secure a conviction for third-degree murder this week, rather than first, which was her original charge. Pennsylvania law defines first-degree murder as a willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing. Given Capers shot six times and that surveillance video showed her with a firearm shortly before the shooting, there would seem to be a strong case.
Of course, there could be complications I don’t know about. Perhaps another passenger was armed, a witness recanted, or Capers stood a good chance of being declared incompetent to stand trial. Prosecutors often accept plea deals in cases in which going to court presents too much risk.
Yet, Krasner’s office refused to comment on any of these possibilities when asked. Instead, they called it an example of individual justice. Capers now faces up to 40 years in prison, rather than a life sentence. Unlike Gribbin, she may one day again enjoy the unfettered company of friends and family.
Of course, individual justice is important. And if the circumstances of a particular case merit a third-degree charge, then so be it. But Krasner has not provided any additional information or shed any light on his office’s decision-making.
Every killing is a tragedy that deserves justice, but Gribbin’s death had a magnified impact. Capers’ actions also caused public servants to be fearful of coming into work, and resulted in millions of dollars’ worth of unplanned spending in installing the protective glass.
The public deserves a fuller account of why the plea deal happened.
Happy Hour at the Air Grille Garden at Dilworth Park in 202, part of the midweek Center City District Sips after-work events.TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Eventful days
Like most big city downtowns, Center City is a major employment hub. More than 300,000 people work there, representing around 42% of jobs in Philadelphia.
According to Clint Randall, the vice president for economic development at the Center City District, the amount of downtown office space has remained relatively stable for decades. That’s despite the rise of residential conversions and remote and hybrid work arrangements. Still, people are coming to the office less often, and momentum on bringing workers downtown on a more regular basis has stalled.
Thankfully, Randall and his colleagues have a plan to ensure the city’s commercial core remains as essential as it can be by leveraging its status as a regional host, with events seen as both a short- and long-term way to make Center City more vibrant.
Randall cited Center City Sips as a way to bring more people into town on Wednesday evenings during the summer. Philadelphia Open Streets, the FIFA World Cup, festivities around the MLB All-Star Game, and other smaller events have proved a major boon. They’ve brought out not just those who live and work in Center City, but also people from around the region and the world who may not otherwise have had a reason to come.
I asked Randall about the potential for event fatigue among locals. With Center City adding thousands of new residents each year, would this create pressure to draw down on hosting? Randall said that vibrancy is what brings many people to live downtown in the first place. As inconvenient as it can be to live next to major festivals, it is also a major amenity.
My own experience bears this out. I may not have made it to the Eagles’ Super Bowl parades if they hadn’t marched down Broad Street, not far from my South Philly home. Our friends and family also enjoyed the convenience of having a place to sit down and use a nonportable restroom.
A view of the Center City skyline as seen from the Schuylkill Expressway, where it intersects with the Vine Street Expessway, in May.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Tax switch
When Philadelphia became the first American city to institute a wage tax all the way back in 1940, the idea seemed like a no-brainer. After all, where else were people supposed to work? Suburban rail stations were packed to the brim with commuters, the Interstate Highway System did not yet exist, and anyone who wanted access to skilled workers had little choice but to open offices in Center City.
Today, however, the region looks different.
While Center City remains a major regional hub, Philadelphia has lost tens of thousands of jobs to suburban office parks. Most Delaware Valley residents drive themselves to work, and hundreds of thousands of people have moved to the suburbs. This has left us with an important policy question: How much of this shift is simply due to national cultural trends, and how much of it was caused by public policy?
A new study from René Livas and Matthew Jacob at Harvard University, working with the Progress and Poverty Institute, attempts to answer this question. They say there is a clear link.
As the wage tax rate rose between 1940 and 1976, jobs fled to the suburbs. Since City Hall began decreasing the tax in 1995, jobs have started to flow back into Philadelphia. In fact, the city recently overtook Montgomery County as the top host for office jobs in the region.
The researchers’ proposal for replacing the wage tax is based around switching to a land value tax, an idea that is popular among economists. Separate tax rates for land and property are already legal in Pennsylvania, and the city already splits the two in its own property assessments.
The idea, however, may be politically fraught. Homeowners already resent the chaos of the city’s regular assessments. Additionally, determining how much of a property’s value is inherent to its location may be easier said than done. While an 80/20 split between structural and land value is often cited as standard, levying the two individually would require significantly more research from the city’s Office of Property Assessment.
In an email, Livas suggested phasing in the switch, which would help avoid big increases. He also said that the city’s existing programs, like the homestead exemption and Longtime Owner Occupants Program, should help alleviate the burden on homeowners.
The data suggests the city could add around 26,000 jobs if this reform is pursued.
AI-powered cameras on SEPTA buses and trolleys have captured about 212,000 parking and stopping violations that delay trips since automated enforcement began last year, according to the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
The median travel time of buses in the enforcement areas dropped 41 seconds in March compared with the same month last year before the cameras, SEPTA said.
“It’s not massive, but it is appreciable,” said Matthew Zapson, manager of planning programs for SEPTA.
The parking authority has issued $14.5 million in fines from May 2025 through June 30.
But violations have trended down from the high numbers recorded in May 2025, when enforcement began.
That means hefty fines seem to be nudging more drivers to avoid adding to congestion, particularly in Center City.
In just over a year, no-stopping violations in bus-camera enforcement areas were cut in half, said Gabriel Roberts, interim executive director of the PPA, while violations for blocking bus stops decreased by 27%.
“Drivers are learning, in large numbers, to not park illegally in no-stopping zones, bus lanes, and bus stops,” Roberts said.
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Violations fell from 1.8 to 0.75 per camera per hour,Zapson said.
Windshield-mounted cameras, powered by artificial intelligence, on buses in Center City and West Philadelphia are scanning for violations for about 14,000 hours per month — a rate that has stayed steady, Zapson said.
“I think that is perhaps the most telling point about the success of the program,” he said.
Measuring violations per camera hour avoids the possibility that violations appear to be down only because of lower camera use.
The penalty for parking and stopping violations is $76 in Center City and $51 elsewhere.
Tickets are sent to the owners of vehicles based on evidence gathered by windshield-mounted cameras on 152 buses on 16 routes. But human parking enforcement officers have to verify violations first.
PPA, SEPTA, and the city have partnered on the program.
Buses navigating Philadelphia traffic averaged 8 mph in Center City, slower than the national average of about 14 mph. Every year, congestion in Center City causes 1.7 million hours of passenger delays and adds $15.4 million to the transit agency’s operating costs, according to a 2019 Econsult Solutions study commissioned by SEPTA.
On April 1, cameras were added to 38 trolleys in Philadelphia, making SEPTA the first transit system to use them on streetcars. Early PPA numbers show 30,856 violations for cars and trucks blocking trolley lanes and stops.
City ordinance authorizes the camera program in Center City from river to river from the northern edge of Spring Garden Street to the southern edge of South Street. Violations also can be camera-enforced on Chestnut, Walnut, and Market Streets westward to 63rd Street. The law also covers any roadway in Philadelphia that conveys trolleys.
Zapson cautioned that a variety of factors influence bus speeds, including continued growth in ridership since the pandemic, which increases the amount of time the vehicles spend at stops to load and unload people.
So, more work is needed.
“Parking on trolley tracks or in bus lanes is a recurring issue, despite having these cameras,” Zapson said. SEPTA is working with the city and PPA “to see what other policies might be available to us,” he said.
A Northwest Philadelphia woman who fatally shot her estranged husband and staged his death as a suicide pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder and related crimes.
Investigators said Baxter shot and killed her husband, a longtime SEPTA employee, in the bedroom of her home before dragging his body down the stairs and staging his body between two cars in a nearby driveway.
Police found Jordan Baxter there around 7 a.m., covered in blood. He had been shot through the back of the head, they said.
While investigators initially believed Baxter’s death was a suicide because he was found with a 9mm pistol in his hand, they soon questioned the nature of the crime after finding irregularities in statements made by Danielle Baxter.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski of the homicide unit outlined those details during Baxter’s plea hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge J. Scott O’Keefe.
It was Danielle Baxter who called police to report her husband’s death, Toczylowski said. She told investigators she came across her husband’s body while she was taking out the trash that morning at her West Bells Mill Road home.
But investigators noted that Baxter was breathing heavily on the call and was unable to answer basic questions about her husband’s condition, she said.
Inside the home, police found blood pooling on Baxter’s bed where a pillow would be. Baxter, Toczylowski said, lied when she told police the blood was there because she had recently had her period.
Investigators later downloaded data from Baxter’s Apple Watch and learned she had recorded a “very steep level of activity” between 1 and 4 a.m. the morning Jordan Baxter was killed, activity they attributed to climbing multiple flights of stairs.
And investigators eventually determined that the bullet that killed Jordan Baxter was not of the same caliber as the weapon found on his body.
Rather, the bullet matched a gun that investigators recovered from Danielle Baxter’s closet, Toczylowski said.
Taken together, those factors led investigators to believe the killing “was not a suicide, but rather a staged homicide,” she said.
Baxter said little in O’Keefe’s courtroom beyond acknowledging that she was pleading guilty to third-degree murder and possessing an instrument of a crime.
She is expected to be sentenced Nov. 18.
Jonathan Strange, Baxter’s attorney with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, declined to comment.
Federal prosecutors have charged a Montgomery County rail parts supplier and its owner with participating for eight years in a bid-rigging conspiracy involving SEPTA contracts.
Hatfield-based Qual-Tran Products Co. LLCand owner Cathleen Shive colluded with competitors and others, including a former SEPTA employee, to manipulate the transit agency’s competitive bidding process, according to a charging document filed July 23 in theU.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania.
Invoices show SEPTA did $20.3 million worth of business with Qual-Tran from 2007 to 2025, authority spokesperson Andrew Busch said. The transit agency says it bought a variety of train and railway parts from the company, many of them for Regional Rail.
A person answering the phone at Qual-Tran’s listed telephone number declined to comment. Lawyer Fortunato Perri is representing the company according to court records and declined to comment Friday.
“SEPTA’s Office of Inspector General has been working closely with the Department of Justice on this matter and will continue to do so as the investigation moves forward,” Busch said.
Qual-Tran distributes after-market parts to transit systems and freight railroads across the country.
The company specializes in overhead catenary wires, which transfer power to passenger trains, as well as other equipment such as current sensors and third-rail contacts, according to its website and coverage in trade publications.
SEPTA won’t have a complete picture of how much money was involved in the alleged scheme until the government reveals more details as the case progresses, Busch said.
Qual-Tran was able to reverse-engineer replacement parts no longer made for older rail cars in SEPTA fleets, he said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Pennsylvania declined to comment on the case beyond court records.
Qual-Tran and Shive,prosecutors allege,conspired with five people and two corporations, noneidentified by name in court records. They created the appearance of competition for SEPTA work while deciding among them which company would win some contracts, the charging document says.
The alleged scheme ran from 2016 to 2024, according to the charges. Shive, the documents say, joined Qual-Tran in 2011 and became the president and owner of the company in 2024.
They face antitrust charges of unlawful restraint of trade in interstate commerce.
Prosecutors described five transactions.
In one September 2023 instance, the government said, Shive asked a senior resource controller with SEPTA to arrange for a second corporation to deliberately submit a higher bid of $3,310 each for “30 manhole frames and lids.” Qual-Tran won the contract by quoting a lower price.
SEPTA confirmed that the senior resource controller mentioned in the charging documents is no longer employed by the agency.
A state board that oversees the City of Philadelphia’s finances signed off on Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s five-year financial plan on Tuesday, despite a structural deficit and significant uncertainty about future federal funding.
The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, which was established in the early 1990s to monitor the city’s finances amid a severe fiscal crisis, must every year approve the five-year budget plan agreed to by the mayor and passed by City Council. The board voted 5-0 to green-light the plan.
In June, Parker and Council agreed to a $7.1 billion budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1, as well as a five-year financial plan in which the city is projected to spend more than it generates in four of those years. This fiscal year, the city is projected to spend about $550 million more than it brings in.
As has been common in recent years, the city’s budget relies on reserves and an existing surplus to avoid a significant deficit. The city is projecting that this year it will have a $364.6 million fund balance, which is the amount of money left over in the city’s general fund after liabilities are accounted for. That balance is set to decline in each of the next five years.
Parker administration Finance Director Rob Dubow said the city is on track to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue once its pension fund is fully funded, a major milestone that is projected to take place in fiscal year 2033.
Also on Tuesday, Alan C. Kessler was unanimously elected to serve as chair of the PICA board after Kevin Vaughn, who has chaired the board for a decade, announced he would not seek reelection to the position. He intends to remain a board member, he said.
Kessler, who has also served on the board for about a decade, is a commercial litigation attorney. He is a prominent fundraiser in the Democratic Party and has long been active in local and national politics.
As for the city’s financial position, board members on Tuesday also discussed potential risks that are largely outside the Parker administration’s control, such as the funding issues that both SEPTA and the Philadelphia School District have faced in recent years. The transit authority has warned of the possibility of debilitating service cuts, and the public school system is borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars just to pay its bills.
Parker had earlier this year proposed implementing a tax on rideshare services to generate about $50 million a year for the district, but Council members rejected her plan.
Administration officials identified existing funding for the district to stave off planned staff cuts. Dubow said Tuesday that cuts were made in each year of the five-year plan to make up for that money, but that the hope is to reach an alternative, recurring revenue generation plan before the cuts would take effect.
The biggest uncertainty for Philadelphia’s finances, the board said, is the federal government and potential policy shifts affecting funding under President Donald Trump. PICA officials warned in a report that while the city has so far sustained only limited losses as a result of slashed grants under the Trump administration, the city “will not be able to absorb federal funding reductions at a greater scale without significant service reductions.”
The city received more than $2.2 billion in aid from the federal government in fiscal year 2024, the most recent data available. More than half that money was for healthcare and other social safety net programs for poor and disabled residents.
The president has repeatedly threatened to cut off federal funding to cities like Philadelphia that are led primarily by Democrats and have relatively permissive local immigration policies. However, those efforts have been tied up in litigation.
A more pressing concern for the city, PICA officials wrote, could be the changes made last year to the enrollment criteria for social programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Philadelphia is one of the poorest big cities in the nation, and hundreds of thousands of residents rely on government assistance. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has estimated that changes to Medicaid instituted under the Trump administration will leave more than 73,000 Philadelphians without coverage by next year.
And, the PICA report warned: Changes to federal programs can have ripple effects.
“The fiscal crisis that precipitated the creation of PICA in the 1990s,” officials wrote, “was in part due to dramatic reductions in federal programs for vulnerable individuals that the City tried to manage but was incapable of replacing.”
