Share of the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company, issued 16 September 1895SEPTA trolley tracks in the median of West Chester Pike, originally used by the trolley route
Route 104 was established in 1895, by the newly established Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company.[citation needed] In 1936, the P&W went bankrupt and was reorganized as the Philadelphia Suburban Transit Company taking the line with it. At the corner of West Chester Pike and Darby Road was the Battle of Llanerch which was a physical and legal struggle between the PRR and the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company.[3] There was concern that a new trolley to Newtown would hurt the PRR line to Newtown and therefore they tried to block it as they had to cross each other at this location.[3]
In 1954, rail service was cut back to the Westgate Hills section of Haverford Township in order to allow the Pennsylvania Department of Highways (now PennDOT) to expand the highway into its current configuration. By 1958, all rail service on the West Chester Pike corridor was replaced by bus service.
Bus serviceEdit
SEPTA Route 104 bus near 69th Street Transportation Center
For many years, bus service operated along the entire length of West Chester Pike between 69th Street Transportation Center and the terminus of the Pike, just east of West Chester Borough, where West Chester Pike and Paoli Pike merge to form Gay Street (from the westbound direction) and Market Street (from the eastbound direction). Service operated via Gay Street, New Street, and Market Street, laying over on Market just east of New.
In the late 1990s, selected weekday peak hour short-turn trips were extended from the center of Newtown Square in Delaware County to serve the Newtown Square Corporate Campus just west of the center of town.
In 2002, service was extended to serve West Chester University, eliminating a 10- to 15-minute walk not just for college students, but also for residents of the borough's south end neighborhoods. This eliminated the simple loop routing that had been in effect for many years previously.
In addition, a new evening routing operated directly into the Edgmont Square Shopping Center, a rapidly developing retail complex in Edgmont Township, just west of the Edgmont/Newtown township boundary.
On March 23, 2023, SEPTA released a new draft plan for Bus Revolution, SEPTA's bus network redesign. As part of the plan, Route 104 trips deviating off West Chester Pike would be eliminated.
Today, Route 104 operates service to West Chester every 10–20 minutes during weekday peak hours, every 30 minutes during weekday hours and late Saturday afternoons, and every hour on evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays. Short-turn trips to Newtown Square provide 10-minute headways to that town during weekday peak hours, and 30-minute service levels on Saturdays and Sundays.
ReferencesEdit
^"SEPTA Route Statistics 2018" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
^"Fiscal Year 2021 Service Plan Update". SEPTA. June 2020. p. 24. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
^ ab. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External linksEdit
SEPTA Route 104 Schedules and Map
October 20, 2023
septa, route, route, route, operated, septa, between, upper, darby, 69th, street, transportation, center, north, campus, west, chester, university, west, chester, pennsylvania, route, initially, streetcar, line, which, operated, parallel, west, chester, pike, . Route 104 is a bus route operated by SEPTA between Upper Darby s 69th Street Transportation Center and the North Campus of West Chester University in West Chester Pennsylvania Route 104 initially was a streetcar line which operated parallel to the West Chester Pike PA Route 3 and was operated by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company a k a Red Arrow Lines Route 104West Chester to 69th Street Transportation CenterOverviewSystemVictory District 1 OperatorSEPTA Suburban Transit DivisionBegan service1895 1895 streetcar 1958 1958 bus RouteLocaleDelaware ValleyCommunities servedNewtown SquareStartWest Chester UniversityViaWest Chester PikeEnd69th Street Transportation CenterDaily ridership3 088 FY 2019 2 Annual patronage969 632 FY2019 TimetableRoute 104 scheduleRoute map 103 Suburban Transit Division 105 Contents 1 History 1 1 Rail service 1 2 Bus service 2 Route description 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditRail service Edit nbsp Share of the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company issued 16 September 1895 nbsp SEPTA trolley tracks in the median of West Chester Pike originally used by the trolley routeRoute 104 was established in 1895 by the newly established Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company citation needed In 1936 the P amp W went bankrupt and was reorganized as the Philadelphia Suburban Transit Company taking the line with it At the corner of West Chester Pike and Darby Road was the Battle of Llanerch which was a physical and legal struggle between the PRR and the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company 3 There was concern that a new trolley to Newtown would hurt the PRR line to Newtown and therefore they tried to block it as they had to cross each other at this location 3 In 1954 rail service was cut back to the Westgate Hills section of Haverford Township in order to allow the Pennsylvania Department of Highways now PennDOT to expand the highway into its current configuration By 1958 all rail service on the West Chester Pike corridor was replaced by bus service Bus service Edit nbsp SEPTA Route 104 bus near 69th Street Transportation CenterFor many years bus service operated along the entire length of West Chester Pike between 69th Street Transportation Center and the terminus of the Pike just east of West Chester Borough where West Chester Pike and Paoli Pike merge to form Gay Street from the westbound direction and Market Street from the eastbound direction Service operated via Gay Street New Street and Market Street laying over on Market just east of New In the late 1990s selected weekday peak hour short turn trips were extended from the center of Newtown Square in Delaware County to serve the Newtown Square Corporate Campus just west of the center of town In 2002 service was extended to serve West Chester University eliminating a 10 to 15 minute walk not just for college students but also for residents of the borough s south end neighborhoods This eliminated the simple loop routing that had been in effect for many years previously In addition a new evening routing operated directly into the Edgmont Square Shopping Center a rapidly developing retail complex in Edgmont Township just west of the Edgmont Newtown township boundary On March 23 2023 SEPTA released a new draft plan for Bus Revolution SEPTA s bus network redesign As part of the plan Route 104 trips deviating off West Chester Pike would be eliminated Route description Edit nbsp Map of former trolley now bus Routes 103 and 104 orange as well as existing trolley Routes 101 and 102 red and Route 100 blue Today Route 104 operates service to West Chester every 10 20 minutes during weekday peak hours every 30 minutes during weekday hours and late Saturday afternoons and every hour on evenings Saturdays and Sundays Short turn trips to Newtown Square provide 10 minute headways to that town during weekday peak hours and 30 minute service levels on Saturdays and Sundays References Edit SEPTA Route Statistics 2018 PDF SEPTA Retrieved September 2 2019 Fiscal Year 2021 Service Plan Update SEPTA June 2020 p 24 Retrieved March 11 2022 a b Archived copy Archived from the original on December 11 2020 Retrieved November 29 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link External links EditSEPTA Route 104 Schedules and Map Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SEPTA Route 104 amp oldid 1161640753, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
