One Step Away: An unofficial SEPTA map for real riders

A public transit user in Philadelphia has created an unofficial map of SEPTA bus routes, hoping to present a simplified and clear diagram of the complex transportation network.
Easily accessible information is crucial to everyone, but especially to those with little or no income. The time we live in—"the information age"—offers endless promise in dispersing knowledge and awareness, but as a society we're still working up to that potential. This is certainly applicable in our own city. While Philadelphia offers a wide range of public services and social services to those in need, they are only helpful if people know how they work, or even that they exist.
As a newspaper that pays special attention to homelessness and joblessness issues, One Step Away often helps with the dissemination of practical information. Other organizations around the city also do their part to spread information about useful resources. Local homelessness organization Project HOME distributes a pocket-sized Where To Turn guide covering various services around the city, such as showers and housing. Rosa's Pizza in Center City provides sweatshirts printed with local meal schedules and information about free classes to people experiencing homelessness. As One Step Away reported in July, a Philadelphia tax attorney launched a smart phone app in 2015, called DONAFY, that locates nearby nonprofits and provides essential information about each organization. These are just a few examples.
In ways both high- and low-tech, nonprofits, businesses, and individuals are chipping in to make Philadelphia's supportive infrastructure more accessible.
One of Philadelphia's most essential public services, especially to people struggling with joblessness or homelessness, is its extensive web of SEPTA buses. While regional rail brings commuters in from the suburbs, and the subway system provides speedy travel more or less along Market Street and Broad Street, the network of bus lines provides a way to get from one specific destination to another for those without cab money or a personal vehicle.
"Public transportation is the only way I have to get around," says One Step Away vendor Bernard. "I need SEPTA, it's my lifeline."
One Step Away vendor Cadence expresses the same sentiment; "I use public transportation for everything."
SEPTA's bus system is expansive and thorough; if there is somewhere you want to go within Philadelphia's city limits, chances are you can reach it by bus. While the bus system is extensive, however, it can be hard to navigate, and the bus maps available either only outline one route or, in attempting to encompass the whole system, become too convoluted. In addition, bus schedules can be misleading, each route having quirks that daily commuters learn and adapt to, but can disrupt the travel plans of one-time users.
One Philadelphia resident, Thomson Kao, set out to create a map to provide a solution to the navigation woes of Philadelphia's bus travelers.
"I think almost everyone agrees, for most cities, buses are a complete mystery to any newcomer," says Kao. "A lot of times knowledge is gained incrementally if someone has lived in a place for a long time, but I believe it doesn't have to be that way, it's just kind of a standard practice that we see."
Kao, a project manager at a nonprofit housing developer with a background in urban planning, determined that the minimal essential information a traveler needs to know is the route and how often the bus comes.
"For transit, I think frequency matters the most," says Kao, "A service that's really frequent is something that you can just walk up to and wait for the next vehicle, if you miss one you know the next one is coming up pretty soon, if you have a change of plans, its not a big deal, you'll still be able to depend on that bus service."
His map includes only buses with frequent service—12 minutes or less between busses—between 7:30am and 6pm. The result is a clear diagram of the areas easily accessible by bus, how to get from one place to the other, and how quickly you can expect to get there.
"I did it mainly to get that information out there and to uncover things that may not be known to a lot of people," says Kao. "As a second motivation I wanted to start discussions."
Already, the map has spurred conversations about transit in the media and on social media, and it has highlighted some of the patterns of the bus system.
"A lot of people have pointed out that there is not a lot of frequency in the east–west direction at all," he cites. Kao hopes that this and other observations will help in the process of analyzing the current transit system, but also the city's planning and development as a whole.
The map is also useful to the everyday traveler.
"Schedules usually offer information one bus route at a time," says Kao. "Even if you look at something like Google Maps, you can get transit directions instantaneously, but its really hard to see the big picture."
The frequency map gives you an understanding of the system, so you can visualize how long you would wait after a missed bus, or what alternate routes are available.
Among the many Philadelphians who could benefit from the map are those at the bottom of the economic spectrum. People experiencing homelessness or joblessness in Philadelphia use the bus to reach destinations such as medical services, job interviews, or social service appointments. These can often require people to take unfamiliar routes and Kao's map could be very helpful, especially to those with limited internet access.
This map is just one example of the democratizing effect of the "information age". We are now in a time when an individual can take it on themselves to contribute to society and find a way to disseminate that information. The internet offers a venue for everyday people to fill in the gaps that arise in our infrastructure or even aid in the analysis and updates of our established systems. This possibility benefits everyone, but especially those on the margins of society whose interests may otherwise be ignored. Now, it is up to us to continue to turn this democratizing potential into a reality. •