Ever thought about making it your life goal to visit the more than 280 SEPTA stations? Bet you didn’t even know there were that many stops.
Rose Cohen is definitely aware of every station. The Temple University senior studying geography and urban studies has made it her mission to visit all 284 SEPTA stations—and rank them.
Originally from Northern Virginia, Cohen had been living in Philly for more than three years when she decided to better familiarize herself with the city’s buses and train routes.
“There’s just so many interesting places to discover and you can only really discover these places by just going out and exploring on a whim, you don’t even need to plan, just get on a bus and train,” Cohen said.
Inspired by YouTuber’s video of riding every London Bus route, Cohen began her journey with a tweet in which she pitched the idea of visiting all of SEPTA’s stations in alphabetical order. After getting lots of positive feedback, Cohen said she was shocked to see how many people were interested in following her journey.
Billy Penn tagged along for a ride across the city, seeing Cohen in action—capturing pictures, ranking stations, posting her reviews—and even picking up the occasional piece of trash.
Cohen settled on the idea as a way to simply get out into the city rather than sitting around at home.
Cohen’s checklist has many different criteria, including service, accessibility and overall vibe. Ratings also include the surrounding areas and whether there is transit-oriented development of any kind. This allows Cohen to get a feel for the station and its surrounding area. She then ranks each station in comparison to the other SEPTA stations.
We visited three stations, all beginning with the letter A and in this instance, the same name, “Allegheny.” Something that could prove to be very confusing, especially for people who are newer to Philadelphia. The first stop was– of course–Allegheny, on the Manayunk/Norristown Line.
Cohen picked up trash, took pictures and ensured the station’s ADA features were in proper working order.
Cohen documented everything she saw and issued the station her official ranking. She’s been documenting her challenge on X (the site formerly known as Twitter) and working on a YouTube video.
Cohen uses the app “Transit” to track the buses and trains in the city. And while our ride-along happened before a rash of shootings on or near SEPTA vehicles in recent weeks, Cohen said she’s not afraid to get around the city and feels comfortable everywhere she is.
So far, she’s been to places she never thought she would be and has become the literal hand of SEPTA. She’s featured on SEPTA’s website. You can spot her hand on the SEPTA’s website on “How To Pay SEPTA Key Tix.”
She’s also been featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer for her expertise in transit. She hopes to continue sharing all the facts she’s learned about public transportation.“
I would say that even applies to my experience as a trans woman, I always have something to work towards in my transition,” Cohen said.
I joined her for another station at Ambler on the Lansdale/Doylestown Line the following week. We enjoyed a nice crisp pizza by the station, and after considering the surrounding area, we decided to rate the Ambler station: 8/10.
Seeing Cohen’s affinity for public transit was refreshing. Watching her navigate the often inherent frustrations of public transportation makes you think it’s not so bad being delayed when you have time to take in what the city has to offer.
Editor’s Note: This story was revised from its original version for clarity.
