Does Philadelphia Have the Best Subway System in the United States?

As someone who has lived in New York, DC, and Philadelphia, the system doesn’t stack up, obviously. But Philly more than makes up for that with its walkability and the fact that many areas are within a 20 minute walk or 10 minute bus ride from the SEPTA, and the regional rail has good overall coverage (although terrible service). Everything in this city is so walkable, and even though it is twice the square mileage of DC, it is way easier to walk between the places I need to be than it is back there. So while not a great system, the SEPTA is just good enough that you can probably live car-free in Philadelphia.

One thing Philadelphia does well (for a US city at least) is the through running of electrically powered regional rail, like the Paris RER or the German S-Bahns. This opens up the possibility of easily commuting from one suburb to another and it's something that New York could learn from with its three different commuter rail systems all terminating in the city requiring lengthy layovers. But I suppose the state borders are a hindrance and this is where SEPTA has an edge over New York. I find it interesting that European cities situated at borders between countries are often much better at operating cross-border transit despite not having nearly the same level of economic integration as US states do.

A subway supplemented by a trolley/bus system. Perfect combo for urban transportation. Kudos to Philly for having such a great mass transit program.

Outside of center city the line does not go where people need it to go hence the reason so many buses feed the line as well as trollys. The broad street line is unique because its nyc subway like with 4 track local express, but again the line is too short and has to have feeder bus and trolly lines

transit in america has been severely under-invested in in favor of megahighways and road infrastructure, evidenced by all these dillapidated stations. washington's subway is still pretty nice though, easily the best in the country if youre balancing scale and appeal.

Septa is ok. But in recent years the El train and the Broad st line suffers from the effects of the drug issue and homelessness the city has. I never saw so many drug addicts and homeless in my life.

I used Philly’s subway system a month ago, and it’s so inefficient with just two main lines. NYC and Chicago on top BY FAR

Small but efficient. Sure has its share of problems but you don't hear much of it.

As an European, knowing the Standards of US public transport in terms of Area covering , i think its pretty good, you have 2 subways (+ Patco) ,the Norristown thingy, all those trolley lines (i think 7 or 8 lines kinda) in a pretty dense network, and commuter trains. Its a nice and variated network

They should expand the subway system because NYC, DC, and Chicago are better in that category and it can also be as great if it had a larger system because the city has the population density.

For Philly to be sandwiched between DC, and NYC, it’s public transit is underwhelming. I’d put them a notch above MARTA(Atlanta)

They need more than 2 subways lines/ 4 trolleys lines. Philadelphia could have way better transit system. (Patco doesn’t count because it also goes to NJ. Just like how the Path doesn’t count as a NYC subway)

To answer the question in the title... No. I've lived in Philly for 2 years now its public transit is there, but by no means is it close to the best. The fact it is just 2 lines is extremely limiting, and I often have to include a bus trip just to get close to my destination. I will say it is reasonably priced for a big city in the US though. Philadelphia regardless is a great city

Super Video!!! Greetings from switzerland

SEPTA, the Best ! I love Philly !!!...👍♥️💎🌇🇦🇱🇺🇸🗽.

PATCO, though not SEPTA, is still part of Philadelphia’s subway system, and should be included. You could also make an argument that the Norristown line belongs here too, with its 3rd rail operation.

Complementing the subways there is also a commuter rail system that serves the northwest section of the city (the Cynwyd, Manyunk/Norristown, Chestnut Hill West and Chestnut Hill East lines) and parts of the northeast section of the city. (Fox Chase, West Trenton and Trenton lines. A large portion of the northeast part of the city was mostly farmland until just after World War 2 which explains the lack of rail infrastructure).

For its size Philly's Subway is pretty good. I feel it need some expansion in some areas but it trolley/bus systems does the job. Though I feel the trolley system could be expanded also. It's much better in terms of cleanliness compared to NYC Subway. The Regional Rail system act like a secondary rail system to get across farther parts of Philadelphia. I feel the fare should be the same as SEPTA City Transit Division within Philadelphia that way more riders can ride it. But SEPTA would have to add in more trains to meet the demand of that.

Does Philadelphia have one of the best subway lines? You betcha. It is my place of birth. I remember taking the trains there when I was a kid, especially with my dad.

Great video , very nice train ride ! Timosha21