We the undersigned members of the Roxborough, Andorra, Wissahickon, and Manayunk communities write to demand that our neighborhood retain a direct bus route to Center City in addition to one to 30th Street Station in West Philadelphia.

Eliminating the 27 bus, as is proposed in the current draft of the bus network redesign, would deprive commuters in the lower northwest of an important public good. Many people in our neighborhood work in Center City in retail and hospitality, city government, the court system, or schools and colleges, and they depend on the 27 to get to work from our neighborhood.

Not only is the 27 a critical route for adults who work in Center City, but it is a critical route for student commuters as well. Children in 5th through 12th grades use the 27 to travel to middle schools and high schools in Center City, including Benjamin Franklin High School, the Franklin Learning Center, Friends Select, Masterman Middle and High School, Roman Catholic High School, Science Leadership Academy, and String Theory, among others.

Many kids in our neighborhood depend on the 27 bus to get from their homes to their schools. In gathering data, Transit Forward Philadelphia’s survey primarily got responses from adult commuters. However, student commuters, who can be as young as 10 and 11, and their parents, would prioritize a ride without transfers. These needs have not been factored into the proposed design. With the proposed network, some students in Andorra and upper Roxborough would need to take two buses and two trains to get to the destination they currently access directly on the 27.

Lower northwest Philadelphia has a growing population, and it needs bus routes that connect it directly to the hubs of West Philadelphia and Center City. Reducing incentives to commute by car from Roxborough and Manayunk can and should be part of the solution to the area’s traffic, but getting rid of the 27 bus won’t help solve that problem; it will only add to it.

Bus commuters in Roxborough and Manayunk have dealt with delays and infrequent service on the bus lines that serve the community for many years. We deserve – and the whole city deserves – a bus network that delivers on-time, reliable, frequent service and convenient routes that connect us all with jobs, schools, and services in the city’s centers. It can’t be either/or. SEPTA and our local and regional officials must do better.