1901 Philadelphia Rapid Transit Franchises
1913 Future Rapid Transit Map – Proposed by A. Merritt Taylor
1914 Rapid Transit Map with Delivery Loop and Broad Street Spurs
1923 Suggested Combination of Standard Type Subway for Rapid Transit, with Moving Platforms for Local Service As a Substitute for Surface Cars

1984 – General Operations Plan for the SEPTA Regional High Speed System

1984 General Operations Plan for the SEPTA Regional High Speed System

Before SEPTA released its new transit map in 2019, the transit agency did a series of what-if maps in the style of other worldwide transit agencies called Transit Map Tuesdays. Check them out below.

London

SEPTA Map in the style of London Underground

Boston

SEPTA Map in the style of Boston MBTA

Seoul

SEPTA Map in the style of Seoul Metropolitan Subway

Paris

SEPTA Map in the style of Paris

Los Angeles

SEPTA Map in the style of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority  (LACMTA)

Tokyo

SEPTA Map in the style of Tokyo

Germany (Berlin, Köln, and Stuttgart)

SEPTA Map in the style of German Cities

New York

SEPTA Map in the style of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Singapore

SEPTA Map in the style of Singapore

Stockholm

SEPTA Map in the style of Stockholm

It’s a cottage industry among designers, transit nerds and planning geeks to try their hand at improving a transit map, especially the oft-maligned SEPTA map. Here is a collection of some of the best ones I’ve come across over they years.

If I haven’t provided proper credit for a map, please give me the details and I will make sure to praise those who took the time to try and make a better Philadelphia transit map.

2014 – Peter Dovak

One of our favorite alternatives to the SEPTA map is this design by Peter Dovak. The design is clean and balanced, doing an excellent job of showcasing regional rail, subway/elevated, trolley and even New Jersey entries like the River Line and Atlantic City Line. Sadly Dovak passed away in 2017.

2014 Philadelphia Regional Rail and Rail Transit Peter Dovak

More Alternative Maps of Philadelphia Transit ⫸