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 route operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Route description

Starting at the

Wissahickon Transfer Center Wissahickon station is a passenger rail station on SEPTA's Manayunk/Norristown Line in Northwest Philadelphia. In FY 2013, Wissahickon station had a weekday average of 410 boardings and 452 alightings. The station was recently upgraded as part of ...

, Route 38 crosses the Schuylkill River along City Avenue, winds its way through the River Park neighborhood to Belmont Avenue and the Please Touch Museum in

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...

. 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 Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, the route enters Downtown via Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 20th Street. Buses reach 5th and Market 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 In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. 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 and Girard Avenue. 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 Powelton Village is a neighborhood of mostly Victorian, mostly twin homes in the West Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is a national historic district that is part of University City. It extends ...

transferred to Route 30. A stop was added at the Bala Cynwyd 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. "Via Zoo" buses ran along Pennsylvania Avenue, 32nd Street and Girard Avenue, while "via Mantua" 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. 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