With a large number of students relying on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in some capacity and that number only seeming to grow by the year, the news of a number of routes being cut came as a point of concern for much of the AFS community. Compounded with worries about the transportation department not having enough space on their buses to get students from Abington Train Station to AFS, there has been mounting tension about getting students to school in a timely manner recently.
Cuts to SEPTA would cause issues for everyone due to increased traffic, as those who normally would take a cut route would have to change to driving to their destination.
As the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission said, “with more cars on the road, vehicle trips on major corridors will be slower and take longer across the entire region.”
When it comes to both leaving and getting to school, students have faced trouble with SEPTA.
When asked about SEPTA buses not arriving in a timely manner, Axel Oravec ‘27 said, “It happened a lot on late start Fridays… the choices were [to] either come 45 minutes early or 10 minutes late.”
When asked about difficulty with leaving via SEPTA, Una Davis ‘26 said, “There’s a lot of understanding about people needing to take the late bus to get home, but there isn’t a lot of understanding about people needing to take a later [or earlier] SEPTA but home because, for example, the 77 comes once an hour. If you miss it you have to wait for the 6:49 that usually doesn’t come, because nobody takes that route.”
The number of students taking SEPTA only seems to be increasing this year, too. There has recently been a pressing concern of the shuttle bus from Abington Train Station to AFS not having enough space for all of its students and the driver having to call another shuttle to the station. The students who have to wait are not marked as late.
SEPTA did eventually roll the cuts back. In an article by Spotlight PA, SEPTA announced “that it will restore services that it eliminated after a judge ordered it to undo the two-week-old cuts that were challenged in court as discriminatory toward poor and minority communities.” The question still remains, though: can we count on them to keep the cuts reversed?
Aarohi • Oct 16, 2025 at 7:56 pm
As a student who takes SEPTA often, the lack of shuttles from AFS to the train station causes me to walk a mile after soccer practice along with leaving early from practice to be able to catch a train that goes to my stop. The cuts have made my line unreliable and run even later than usual. The SEPTA app is slow to be updated and complications are rarely communicated to users of the service which makes situations unsafe for teen girl passengers who can be waiting at the station well after sunset. Overall, there’s a large problem from both AFS’s side and SEPTA’s side that need to be resolved soon than later.
Elise C • Oct 15, 2025 at 9:21 am
I appreciate the study of this topic! I use the SEPTA transportation system mostly on the weekends and throughout the summer to get to my workspace. Between the months of July and August, a below ground trolley system I had been using was out of order for a month, along with shortages in staff and other SEPTA transportation vehicles. I had to largely adjust; my commute took an extra 25-30 minutes to walk about 17 blocks in the bustling city. This affected many citizens who have their offices in Philly. While I do not use SEPTA to make the commute to school, I still use it often to get around; SEPTA is crucial for transportation, and the many cuts are worrisome for numerous communities.
Ruhi • Oct 15, 2025 at 9:21 am
As a student who relies on SEPTA regional rail to get to and from school, SEPTA cuts and changes (especially now that each train is down two cars but has the same number of people relying on it) have affected my commute to school, and if I reach school on time. My commute is a 20-minute ride to the train station and a 20-minute ride on the train. Due to safety concerns, SEPTA has taken multiple cars out of circulation in order to perform mandatory inspections. This has made it so that most trains only have 2 cars when they used to have 4 or 6. So with the same number of people but fewer cars, cars are being filled to capacity, making the train express or skip local stops, only stopping at major stations. Jenkintown-Wyncote (a local stop and the train station near AFS) is one that frequently gets skipped over. Due to this issue, I have been late to school, either missing morning assembly or first period, almost five times in the past week and a half. I also almost missed the PSAT because of these changes, and my mom had to leave work in order to make sure I could take the test. I have also had to be creative with my routes, getting off at different stations, and taking a combination of trains. It’s getting really hard to get to AFS on time, and now that classes are finally getting into the swing of things, missing one class can put you really behind and make class difficult. I really appreciate this article bringing the concerns and issues related to SEPTA to attention!
Mercury • Oct 14, 2025 at 11:54 pm
I used to ride SEPTA down Germantown and Mt. Airy. Hearing about the SEPTA cuts makes me sad. There are so many people who rely on SEPTA for their main way of transportation, and it’s getting ruined. If they were willing to force SEPTA to cut routes, I have little trust that they won’t do it again (many people do not care about communities affected by changes, right now). Not everyone can walk to their destination, or has something to ride to get there. SEPTA is super important, and these cuts make it difficult for many people. The fact that some buses don’t come because almost no one rides them suck. I hope all affected find ways to get where they need on time.
Anthony • Oct 13, 2025 at 8:38 pm
Before the year started I had to get use to taking the bus just in case no one could pick me up, I learned about catching the 77 to AFS that it would most of the time be late and not come on time. For me that would be an issue because I would be stuck in a situation where I can not get home. This article helps others understand that the people who take the septa are at risk of not being able to get to school or getting to school late. It is very unfortunate that some people can not rely on septa anymore.
Robert Spruill • Oct 13, 2025 at 4:39 pm
This article does a great job of capturing the real concerns of AFS students who rely on SEPTA for transportation. It highlights how route cuts and unreliable service directly affect students ability to get to school on time, making the issue feel personal and relevant. The inclusion of quotes from students adds authenticity and shows how widespread the problem is. It’s also strong in connecting the local impact to a larger issue of accessibility and equity, especially with the mention of the court ruling. Overall, it’s a thoughtful and informative piece that effectively raises awareness about transportation challenges in the community.
Mila • Oct 13, 2025 at 11:41 am
I do not ride SEPTA to school but I am upset to hear about the cuts because I know how many people rely on this way of transportation. I take the school bus to and from school every day, but this summer I spent a month commuting to and from the city using SEPTA regional rail. I have previously experienced many issues with SEPTA already being unreliable, sometimes the trains come forty five minutes to over an hour late. I have been following the news on the SEPTA cuts because they plan to cut the entire route that the station closest to my house relies on to function. This would mean that I, along with a lot of people who rely on this as their daily commute to work/school would not be able to take the train ever.
Sammy • Oct 12, 2025 at 7:39 pm
I take the school bus to school most days, or one of my parents drives me, so changes to SEPTA service have not had a big impact on my school commute. But I have seen a lot of other people at AFS being affected by the changes. I know someone who can’t get to sports practice regularly because they don’t have reliable transportation home, for example. I felt badly when I heard this because I really enjoy going to practice and I would be very sad if something outside of my control, like transportation, prevented me from going.
Nathaniel • Oct 10, 2025 at 6:45 pm
I take the septa to and from school most days. I have not followed the cuts closely because they do not impact the 77 route which I take. The only major SEPTA issue that has impacted my commute is when the morning bus doesn’t arrive. This happens infrequently but when it does, I have to call an uber to school. I think the school does a good job of accommodating students who are late because of issues with public transportation, but in the event of future SEPTA cuts, the administration needs a clear plan for making sure all students are able to get to school.
Helene M • Oct 7, 2025 at 1:39 pm
It is beyond frustrating about the rollbacks. I used to ride the 77 to school, but because the times were so inconsistent, my parents were able to make time to take me to school. This is not the case for many many students who’s parents need to go to work early or who live too far away. There needs to be more awareness and also more grace for students navigating septa daily! AFS needs to do better and provide necessary assistance as well as put in place systems to accommodate and prevent penalization for being late completely outside of student’s control
Una • Oct 7, 2025 at 7:57 am
I absolutely love that you are bringing this to the attention of the community. AFS has always, and still needs, a more deliberate focus/understanding of students who rely on public transit to get to and from school. In my opinion, public transit is one of the best ways to get to school – not only does it instill independence in students (learning how to take SEPTA is a very useful skill if you live in Philly), but it’s also better for the environment. If SEPTA is able to keep cuts reversed, I think AFS should encourage more students to use public transit to get to school, rather than having someone drive them. Especially if they live in the city of Philly, because then it’s free!
Natalie Kovalenko • Oct 7, 2025 at 7:52 am
I am personally blessed with a source of transportation other than SEPTA, but it has still impacted me greatly. I travel to the city very often for practices or friends’ homes, but during the major events, it is difficult for me to accurately plan my arrival at those activities. Because of the early time slots now, I can either arrive extremely early or extremely late, which was never a problem before. This gets me thinking about how detrimental it might be to those who have ot arriuv at a certain time, like those who work downtown. I am now forced to either pay for Uber to get to my destination, which is five times more expensive than the five-dollar train ticket, or forced ot dive downtown, which we know is a living hell.