If you still haven’t finished Christmas shopping, there’s a unusual place you could look for gifts with a quintessentially Philly flare.
The SEPTA Store, located on the first floor of SEPTA’s headquarters in Center City, has a cult-like following.
Inside the store you’ll find your typical gift shop items, like sweatshirts, t-shirts, cups and hats. But over the years the shop has grown in popularity, and now shoppers can take home the nostalgia of SEPTA in the form of quirky and unique gifts.
Store manager Al’Lee Floyd says many shoppers are train enthusiasts who take pride in their transit system.Â
She says no matter how angry commuters can get at SEPTA, they also have a deep connection to the system’s bus lines, subways, trolleys and regional rail.
“It’s the line, its the journey to SEPTA, whether you are on a bus or a trolley or you take regional rail or parents took regional rail,” Floyd said. “Often times we have customers come in and it’s something specific with the trolley because their dad or mom traveled, or they worked for SEPTA and helped build this.”
The hot item this year was a now-sold out SEPTA-themed ugly Christmas sweater.
While it’s too late to order items online in time for Christmas, the store is open daily.Â
Money generated from store sales goes into the system’s general fund.Â
And if you flash your SEPTA Key Card you get a 10% discount.