February 03, 2026
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
SEPTA is moving away from using social media to alert riders about bus and trolley delays, shifting instead to real-time updates on its website, app and third-party platforms like Google Maps.
SEPTA is moving away from using social media to alert riders about some delays and cancellations affecting its system. Instead, starting Monday, that information will be posted on SEPTA's website, its app and other third party platforms.
The change affects how riders will find information about bus and trolley routes and the Norristown High Speedline. Officials are promising the change will make it easier for riders to find specific and useful information about potential delays and cancellations in real time.
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In addition to bus and trolley data being posted to SEPTA's website and app, it can also be found on platforms like Google Maps and Apple Maps. Social media posts with information about Regional Rail lines, the Broad Street and Market Frankford lines, as well as large-scale disruptions, such as the recent snowstorm, will continue, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said.
The practice of notifying customers of potential cancellations or delays hours in advance, usually due to operator unavailability, began around the end of the COVID-19 pandemic when the transit system regularly experienced staffing shortages, Busch said.
"That was before we could rely so much on the real-time information coming from the buses," Busch said. SEPTA adds about 100 new buses each year that are equipped with the latest GPS technology. While this location information allows the transportation authority to update is website and app more precisely, he said there was no system to get that information to social media.
"We find a lot of times it (the social media alerts) doesn't reflect the situation on the ground because when we do have a staffing issue, we're in a better position to mitigate it."
Improvements in real-time reporting and a more reliable mobile app have rendered social media posts, like this one on Tuesday, obsolete.
As additional bus drivers and trolley operators have been hired during recent years, Busch said delays or cancellations affecting buses or trolleys are less persistent. SEPTA still has about 100 job openings for operators each month, which he called "much more manageable" than in years past.
Data on "ghost buses," or canceled buses that are still listed as active on mobile apps, also has improved, but the issue is still not eradicated. Customers are urged to report incidents of ghost buses to SEPTA's Customer Service Office by calling (215) 580-7800.
"We've done a lot more testing to make sure that what customers are seeing on the app is accurate," Busch said. "We've put backup systems in place, and we figured out ways to factor in some redundancies, so we're lessening that."
