Bicycle
Philly’s bike-share system is Indego and there are stations located around the city.
You’ll need a US-registered credit or debit card to rent the bikes for the walk-up rate of $4 for 30 minutes.
A better deal is to order an Indego key ahead of time. The IndegoFlex ($10 per year) gives you a rate of $4 per hour. The Indego30 ($15 per month) is the best deal if you plan to use the bikes a lot, as the first hour of every trip is free, before the $4 per hour kicks in.
If you’re wanting a better-quality bike to ride for the day (plus helmet and bike lock) check out the following:
Brewerytown Bicycles
Fairmount Bicycles
Trek Bicycle Philadelphia Manayunk
Wheel Fun Rentals
A couple of good online resources for planning your cycling route are:
GoPhillyGo (https://gophillygo.org)
Circuit Trails (http://circuittrails.org)
Boat
From late May to early September the RiverLink Ferry shuttles every 30 minutes between Penn’s Landing and Camden’s waterfront.
Bus
Market St is the main artery – hop on buses here to cross the center, or go underground to take the trolley to University City.
Between the end of March and the end of December, the purple PHLASH bus makes a loop around major tourist sites; tickets can be bought for cash (exact change only) on the bus; or you can buy the all-day pass at the Independence Visitor Center or City Hall Visitor Center.
Car & Motorcycle
Driving isn’t recommended in central Philadelphia; the traffic is heavy, parking is difficult and expensive, and regulations are strictly enforced. Downtown distances are short enough to let you see most places on foot, and a train, subway, trolley, bus or taxi can easily get you to places farther out.
If you are driving, when booking a place to stay in the city ask about the parking options: nearly all downtown hotels will offer valet parking and some may have deals with local parking garages with rates that can be as much as $50 a day.
Driving east–west across downtown, note that the I-676 (Vine St Expwy) runs under the city streets and can save you a lot of time. Most downtown streets have alternate one-way traffic. The exceptions are Broad St, Vine St, Benjamin Franklin Pkwy, and Market between City Hall and Front St and west of 20th St (between 20th and 15th, it’s one-way eastbound).
Subway & Trolley
SEPTA runs two subway lines:
Broad Street Line – orange on the transit map; connects Fern Rock in the north with AT&T (for the Sports and Entertainment Complex) in the south with a midline spur heading off from Girard to Chinatown and 8th St).
Market-Frankford Line – blue; connects 69th St in the west with Frankford in the northeast. This line is also referred to as the El because it’s an elevated line outside of the downtown area.
There are also several Trolley Lines (green), running underground along Market St and out to 30th St and beyond, where they emerge above ground again.
Taxi
Cabs, especially around Center City, are easy to hail. The flag drop (fare upon entry) is $2.70, then $2.30 per mile or portion thereof. All licensed taxis have GPS and most accept credit cards. Uber and Lyft also operate here.
Train
SEPTA Regional Rail Lines head out to suburban destinations such as Norristown (the line for Manayunk and Wissahickon) or Chestnut Hill East (the line for Germantown).
PATCO runs frequent subway trains to Camden, New Jersey. Stations in Philadelphia are 15-16th St, 11th-12th St, 9th-10th St along Locust, and 8th St at Market St. Then it’s a scenic ride across the Ben Franklin Bridge to Camden.
