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Route of the Week

Route of the Week - 36

July 29, 2019

This week, we're exploring the Route 36! The Route 36 is a SEPTA Trolley that runs from 13th & Market in Center City to 80th & Eastwick in Southwest Philly.  It is the longest of the five lines that are part of SEPTA's Subway-Surface Trolley system, and was even longer between 1956 and 1962 when the western terminus was at 94th and Eastwick Place.

The Route 36 is one of SEPTA's Nite Owl Routes, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On a typical weekday, the Route 36 carries 12,856 passengers and makes 308 trips. In 2018, the Route 36 traveled approximately 549,201 miles. 

The Route 36 was established as the Elmwood Avenue Line in 1904 by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. Original streetcar service operated between Island Road and Elmwood Avenue via Center City on Market Street to Front & Market Streets. Service rerouted into the Subway-Surface Tunnel and extended to the Westinghouse Plant in Essington on November 5, 1955 replacing Route 37 trolley service.