Everyone knows that mass transit is an environmentally-friendly and cost-conscious way to get around. But it only works for people if it’s easy to navigate and get where you actually need to go. Of course, SEPTA has an app for that. But how well does it work?

We tested it to find out.

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Steps taken to use the SEPTA app:

1. First, I downloaded the SEPTA app from the app store. 
2. Upon opening it, I clicked “next- to-arrive” on the bottom of the screen. 
3. I selected “bus” under the “next- to-arrive” header. 
4. I entered the route I wanted to take which was “4: to Fern Rock Transportation Center.”
5. Next, I selected the starting destination which I made “Broad St & Arch St.” 
6. Lastly, I selected the end destination which I made “11th St & Somerville Av-FS.” 
7. Once I had filled out all of the required information, I pressed “next to arrive,” which showed me the different buses I could take, their block numbers, and their scheduled times. The app even showed me the route I would be taking on a map, so I could visually picture where I’d be going.

Takeaways: If you have a smartphone and a basic level of app-savviness, the SEPTA app makes the process of finding a bus route super easy. Overall I spent 5 minutes (and zero dollars) filling out the information and finding a bus that would come at a time that worked for me.

Lightning Bolt Rating: ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️

Special thanks to the students of Meg Cohen Ragas’ and Anne Gerbner’s high school journalism class at Germantown Friends School.