SEPTA Route 23

Route 23
Center City to Chestnut Hill
A southbound route 23 bus in 2022
Overview
System	Midvale District[1]
Operator	SEPTA City Transit Division
Began service	1859 (1859) (horsecar)[2] 1894 (1894) (electric trolley)[2] 1992 (1992) (bus service)
Former operator(s)	Philadelphia Transportation Company
Route
Locale	Philadelphia
Communities served	North Philadelphia, Northwest Philadelphia, Chinatown
Start	11th and Market Streets
Via	Germantown Avenue 11th Street (northbound) 12th Street (southbound)
End	Germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike (Chestnut Hill Loop)
Length	10.7 mi (17.2 km)[1]
Service
Frequency	8-15 minutes (6am-9pm)[3]
Weekend frequency	15-40 minutes[3]
Ridership	13,117 (2019 weekday average)[1]
Timetable	Route 23 schedule
Route map Trolley Bethlehem Pike Chestnut Hill West Chestnut Hill West Line Mermaid Lane Germantown Avenue Gorgas Lane Germantown Carhouse │ Musgrave Street Wayne Junction Glenside Line US 1 Lincoln Highway Broad Street  53  56  Erie Avenue Old York Road to Luzerne Carhouse  60  Allegheney Avenue Huntingdon Street Susquehanna Avenue SEPTA Main Line Girard Avenue 12th Street│11th Street I-676 Vine St. Expwy.  / US 30 Market Street Bainbridge Street Passyunk Avenue Snyder Avenue Oregon Avenue Marvine Street│10th Street Bigler Street I-76 Schuylkill Expwy. Diagrams are not to scale Bus Chestnut Hill Loop  51  Wayne Junction Windrim Avenue US 1 Lincoln Highway Hunting Park Avenue  82  Erie Erie Avenue  56  Ontario Street (late-night terminal) Allegheny Avenue  60  Susquehanna Avenue SEPTA Main Line Cecil B. Moore Avenue  3  Girard Avenue Spring Garden Street Ridge Avenue Noble Street  45  terminal I-676 Vine Street Expressway  / US 30 Arch Street  48  Market Street  17  33  48  11th Street Chestnut Street  21  Walnut Street  21   45  Legend Bus/trolley services Subway/rail services Diagram shows only major stops and high-frequency routes This diagram: view talk edit ← 22  City Transit Division  24 →

Route 23 is a former streetcar line and current bus route. It is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the Chestnut Hill and Center City neighborhoods via Germantown Avenue, 11th, and 12th Streets.

Route 23 was once Philadelphia's longest streetcar route,^[4] extending south to 11th St. and Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia, and was one of three suspended by SEPTA in 1992. A restoration of trolley service has been proposed in recent years, with a feasibility study planned between 2021 and 2027.^[5] Route 23 was also believed to be the longest trolley route within a city in the world.

The route is consistently one of SEPTA's most heavily-traveled bus lines, coming in as the fourth-busiest for daily ridership in 2018, as well as an average weekday ridership of 14,322.^[1]