69th Street Transit Center, formerly known as 69th Street Transportation Center, is a SEPTA terminal in the Terminal Square area of Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It serves the SEPTA Metro L, M, D, and multiple SEPTA bus routes. It is located at the end of 69th Street, a major retail corridor in Upper Darby Township across Market Street (Route 3) from the Tower Theater.
69th Street is the second-busiest SEPTA transfer point, after its 15th Street/City Hall station, serving 35,000 passengers daily during the week.
History
20th century
69th Street is one of the original Market Street Elevated stations built by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company; the line opened for service on March 4, 1907, running between the 69th Street and stations. By 1931, the P&W was operating Bullet electric multiple units between 69th Street and Norristown Transportation Center.
The Great Hall station house, which opened in 1907 with the Market Street Elevated, was a catalyst for nearby development in Upper Darby, considered to be one of the earliest examples of transit-oriented development.
In 1954, the Media, Sharon Hill, and Norristown lines were purchased by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (PSTC), also known as Red Arrow Lines. PSTC merged into SEPTA in 1970, unifying all services in the station under a single operator for the first time on January 29.
A train crash occurred here on August 23, 1986, injuring 44 and killing 1.
21st century
thumb|A bus and trolley at the West Terminal in June 1968
On February 2, 2016, SEPTA opened a new West Terminal at the station, serving multiple bus routes and the 101 and 102 trolley lines. The $19.6 million project brought new tracks and pavement, new platforms and ramps to the terminal building, as well as a green roof and eco-friendly LED lighting.
On August 22, 2017, an inbound Norristown Line train crashed into an unoccupied train at the terminal, injuring 33.
Plans for a new parking garage, which would bring 318 additional parking spaces to the station, were announced in October 2018. The garage would be located above the South Terminal bus berths, is expected to cost $37 million, and will break ground in summer 2020. A 2019 report suggested removing the bridge across Market Street in favor of a traffic-calmed intersection with crosswalks. The two trolley routes run southwest out of the station into the median of Terminal Square, and then via a separate right-of-way until diverging at . All bus routes at this terminal are operated by SEPTA's Suburban Division and operate west out of the station on West Chester Pike, State Road, or Garrett Road.
The station's South Terminal is adjacent to Market Street just east of 69th Street, also south of the terminal building. This area is located adjacent to the station's taxi stand and has berths for routes .