Transit service - where is it the most extensive (Philadelphia: neighborhoods, university)

[IAmAngieBowie]

When relocating, my partner and I are pretty set on living in the city of Philadelphia itself. I don't like suburbs, and since he grew up in suburban MD, he's pretty burnt out on them as well.

We're coming from the most liberal part of the City of Pittsburgh, and most people in that end of town ride the bus to work because it is convenient and parking is tough. (Pgh is a pretty car-dependent city otherwise.) I currently live within 3 city blocks of almost 20 bus lines, including myriad express buses to town. What specific areas of Philly have extensive transit service to the major business districts of town?

(Some thoughts to add: I am in publishing, and am looking for positions in or close to Center City/University City, those areas are also on the list of places to live. I might also telecommute, but I can't rely on that. Since I will rely exclusively on pub. transit for getting around, lines or buses that run late are very necessary.)

[bryson662001]

You can pretty much get anywhere from anywhere in Philly. The most transit heavy area is Center City with a bus running on every street and the subways running the length of Market St and the length of Broad St. Otherwise you are never more than a few blocks from a bus line which mostly tend to feed into the subway stops. There are also many rail lines going out to the suburbs. Google SEPTA for more information.

[Tone509]

With the exception of the Northeast section of Philly IMO, coverage is great everywhere in the city limits. Center City itself is but two square miles so if you do live downtown you may be able to walk to work many days. Outside of Center City (which, as bryson said, is the nexus of most routes), University City has the most coverage as the Market-Frankford El(evated)train, most Green Line light rail trolleys and various buses go through that area to the rest of West Philly.

Some areas of South Philly can be convenient as you can take the Broad Street Subway north to Center City. I'll leave it to others more knowledgeable about which neighborhoods to choose as it can be a bit of a hodgepodge.

The Market Frankford El is the main east-west train that runs through CC while the Broad Street Line is the north-south equivalent. The line techincally runs 24 hours although between about Midnight-5:00am, they will run shuttle buses above ground on their routes. Many other buses will also run past midnight if not also 24 hours as well.

If you choose to live in an area which is primarily served by a Regional Rail commuter train, be advised that most routes end around midnight.

To sum up, Philly may be the least car-dependent city in the Northeast outside of New York. I don't drive and I got around well in my 20-ish years of late teenager/adulthood living in and around the city.

[bruce20020]

you can get anywhere in Philadelphia on public transit. Check out septa.org. There are numerous subways, trolleys, tons of busses, and regional rail to get you anywhere you need to get up to over an hour or more outside center city.