SEPTA aims to create more bicycle-friendly transit

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is looking to further integrate bicycles on transit, among several other initiatives put forth in the agency's fourth annual Sustainability Report, which was released yesterday.

To keep up with Philadelphia's increasing bicycle ridership, which SEPTA officials say has grown more than threefold in the past two decades, the report details a "Cycle-Transit Plan" to adopt more bicycle-friendly infrastructure. That includes providing sheltered or secure places to park bikes at stations and other key locations, officials said in a press release.

"At a time when SEPTA's ridership is near quarter-century highs and auto parking lots are approaching maximum utilization, encouraging cycle-transit use can serve as a cost effective strategy to grow ridership," said General Manager Joseph Casey.

SEPTA plans to collaborate with bicycling advocates, transit riders and community leaders to implement its Cycle-Transit Plan.

The report discusses potential uses for $87 million in grants that SEPTA received through the Federal Transit Administration. Those funds would be used to kick start a project, known as an "Infrastructure Resilience Program," aimed at protecting SEPTA's system and services from the effects of climate change and extreme weather.