In response to public outcry over the conversion, SEPTA stated that the suspension of these lines' streetcar service was temporary, and that they would be restored in 1997.

[1] In September 1997, at a City Council hearing, Jack Leary, SEPTA's general manager at the time, announced plans to restore streetcar service to only one of the three lines, Route 15.

[2] The initial proposal was to purchase twelve low-floor articulated light rail cars, to make some existing railcars available for the line.

By 2020, 14 of the 18 PCC II cars were unable to pass their internal mechanical inspections, thus prompting an early suspension of service on the Girard Avenue line to allow for refurbishments.

Plans had called for a shorter disruption to accommodate track refurbishment and a highway expansion, but this was initiated early when the breadth of mechanical issues were discovered.