Route 38 is a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

and former

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

route operated by the

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...

(SEPTA) in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Route description

Starting at the Wissahickon Transfer Center, Route 38 crosses the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

along

City Avenue U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south U.S. Highway, extending from Key West, Florida, in the south to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for from the Maryland state lin ...

, winds its way through the River Park neighborhood to Belmont Avenue and the

Please Touch Museum The Please Touch Museum is a children's museum located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The museum focuses on teaching children through interactive exhibits and special events, mostly aimed at children seven years ...

in Fairmount Park. Turning southeast, the route continues along Parkside Avenue, 40th Street, Mantua Avenue and Spring Garden Street. After recrossing the Schuylkill River and circling the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the route enters Downtown via

Benjamin Franklin Parkway Benjamin Franklin Parkway, commonly abbreviated to Ben Franklin Parkway and colloquially called the Parkway, is a boulevard that runs through the cultural heart of Philadelphia. Named for founding father Benjamin Franklin, the mile-long Parkway c ...

and 20th Street. Buses reach 5th and

Market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

Streets by way of Market and Chestnut Streets, and return on Market Street and JFK Boulevard.

History

Streetcar service

The original streetcar line ran from Parkside Loop on Parkside Avenue (where it connected with the Fairmount Park trolley) to Market Street and Delaware Avenue (now Columbus Boulevard). On August 7, 1908, streetcars were rerouted into the Subway-Surface tunnel.

Bus service

Buses replaced trolleys on October 15, 1955, following the original route, but only as far as 33rd and Market Streets. On May 27, 1956, it was extended east along Market Street back to City Hall. On September 1, 1960, Route 38 was extended north along Belmont Avenue and City Avenue to the Presidential Apartments (at Presidential Boulevard), replacing Route XB. Monday through Saturday express service was added between Center City and Parkside via the

Schuylkill Expressway The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as "the Schuylkill", is a freeway through southern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 (I-76) in the U.S. state of Pennsyl ...

and

Girard Avenue Girard Avenue is a major commercial and residential street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For most of its length it runs east–west, but at Frankford Avenue it makes a 135-degree turn north. Parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 13 and U.S ...

. At the same time service was extended four blocks south from Penn Square to Broad and Spruce Streets in Center City. On June 16, 1963, the route became express-only, with local service via Powelton Village transferred to Route 30. A stop was added at the

Bala Cynwyd Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two separ ...

Shopping Center on January 28, 1973. Express service was eliminated on June 19, 1983, in favor of new local service via the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that replaced the ''"Cultural Loop"'' bus. On June 15, 1986, Route 38 was split into two due to bridge weight restrictions on 34th Street at the

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo, located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, is the first true zoo in the United States. It was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859, but its openin ...

. "Via Zoo" buses ran along Pennsylvania Avenue, 32nd Street and Girard Avenue, while "via

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

" operated through the residential neighborhood of the same name. Westbound service through Center City was moved from Chestnut Street to Market Street on June 11, 1989, to allow the reopening of Chestnut to all traffic, back from a

transitway Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

. On September 9, 1990, the route was extended across the Schuylkill River to the Wissahickon Transfer Center. The "via Zoo" routing was transferred to Route 76 on May 16, 1993. At the same time, Bala Cynwd Shopping Center service was also eliminated. New service to the relocated Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park was added on November 2, 2008.

References

External links

* {{SEPTA 38 38 Streetcars in Pennsylvania Tram routes in Philadelphia Transportation in Philadelphia Railway lines closed in 1955 5 ft 2¼ in gauge railways in the United States