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Swarthmore College
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Swarthmore College - Transportation - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.46

Transportation

B
Where does this grade come from?View all Transportation rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

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Quick Stats

Best Ways to Get Around Town
  • Find a friend with a car
  • Philly shuttle
  • SEPTA
  • Walk
Best Ways to Get to the Airport Take the R3 SEPTA line from the Swarthmore station to the University City stop. From there, take the R1 train that runs directly to the airport. This costs about $7 each way. Better yet, take Swarthmore's airport shuttle that runs during most school breaks for a minimal fee.

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Since most students don’t have cars on campus, they must find other ways of getting around. Usually, this means using SEPTA, the public transportation authority in Philadelphia. There are two bus stations and a train station on campus, so riding is pretty convenient. However, SEPTA can be a little expensive for the average college student, particularly the train, and the trains stop running around 11:30 p.m. Buses are less expensive and run almost all the time but don’t always deliver students directly to Center City.

Free campus shuttles take students to off-campus dorms, stores along Baltimore Pike, a movie theater, downtown Philly, and Bryn Mawr and Haverford. Most students agree that the shuttles are reliable but don’t run often enough. Most shuttles are driven by students, sometimes creating problems with unreliability, but nonetheless, they remain the cheapest way to get around Swarthmore and the surrounding area. More unreliable than the student drivers themselves are the shuttle vans. They tend to magically not work a lot of times and can cause frustration to many. However, a new shuttle to King of Prussia Mall was just created.

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Swarthmore Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Transportation at Swarthmore College

wukathryn

'14

English

4.6
A

Free Shuttles, Bus, and Train

There are free shuttles that run to the movie theater, shopping mall, and Philly. Many students take the train, which is moderately expensive ($10 to get to Philly and back). The bus is a slightly cheaper option and also accessible option, although they tend to run around 10 minutes late.

Dec 09, 2010

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Transportation at Swarthmore College

skazak1

'14

Chemistry

4.2
A-

Public All the Way

If you need to get somewhere, chances are that public transportation can get you there. Things like the Bluebus transport students from the Tri-Co colleges (Swarth, Haverford, Bryn Mawr). If you want to get into Philly, use Septa. If you want to go to the movies or Target or something, use the shuttle vans provided on campus.

Nov 09, 2010

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Transportation at Swarthmore College

stimrec1

'14

International Studies

3.8
B+

Transportation

Transportation is pretty good on campus. We're right next to a train station, so getting in and out of campus is pretty easy. There vans and shuttles to the local mall and Target are existent, but generally unreliable due to the nature of student drivers. So generally convenient, free if you're using campus transportation, and you can get where you need to go.

Nov 02, 2010

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Page 1 of 5

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the cost of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of long-distance transportation to travel between home and school

How convenient is the campus-provided transportation?

How necessary is it to have a car on campus?

How easy is it to get around town?

Facts

Did You Know?

To become a student van driver, you have to get van certified. If you are van certified and don’t have a car on campus, you can rent a van from the College to get to places downtown at any hour, even late at night. So, basically, students who are van certified practically have a car on campus.

Safety Escort ServicesWhat's This?

Public Safety Escort Services
(610) 328-8281
Daily 24 hours

Campus ShuttleWhat's This?

Movie & Target Shuttle

Runs to Marple AMC Movie Theater and Target.

Friday–Saturday 7 p.m.–1 a.m. (movies)

Sunday and Tuesday 7 p.m.–9 p.m. (Target)

Philly Shuttle

Stops/pick-ups at Electric Factory, Chinatown, Ritz Movie Theater, and South Street.

Weekends leaving at 6:45 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 10:45 p.m., 12:30 a.m.

Tri-College Vans (Tri-Co)

Will pick up and drop off at Swarthmore College in front of Parrish Hall. After 7 p.m., vans will pick-up and drop-off in the Bond Parking Lot. Tri-Co vans pick up and drop off at Bryn Mawr's Pembroke Arch only.

(610) 526-7570

Hours vary daily, but generally run between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Chester Shuttle

Runs from Parrish Circle to community-service sites.

Monday–Thursday 3 p.m.–6 p.m.

Evening Campus Shuttle

Runs on a 10- or 20-minutes basis.

(610) 328-8281

Daily 5 p.m.–2:30 a.m.

Morning Campus Shuttle

Runs every 15 minutes between Mary Lyon, Strath Haven, and PPR dorms.

(610) 328-8281

Monday–Friday 7:45 a.m.–9:30 a.m.

Saturday 10 a.m.–12 p.m.

Public TransitWhat's This?

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)

There is a station at the foot of campus.

(215) 580-7800

1234 Market St., Philadelphia

www.septa.com

Nearest AirportWhat's This?

Philadelphia International Airport

The airport is about 10 miles from campus. It takes about 15 minutes to get there by car.

(215) 937-6937

www.phl.org

Nearest Passenger BusWhat's This?

Greyhound

The Greyhound station is in downtown Philadelphia, right across from the Market East Station. Take R3 from Swarthmore to the Market East Station stop. For schedule information, call (800) 231-2222.

1001 Filbert St., Philadelphia

(215) 913-4075

www.greyhound.com

Nearest Passenger TrainWhat's This?

Amtrak 30th Street Station

The 30th Street station is in downtown Philadelphia. Take the R3 from Swarthmore to the 30th Street Station stop. For schedule information, call (800) 872-7245.

30th and Market Streets, Philadelphia

(215) 349-2222

www.amtrak.com

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Swarthmore

Name: Sudarshan Gopaladesikan

Hometown: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Major: Math and Engineering

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