Allegheny County Transit Council

All I am going to say about is that we have to figure out how to get life accomplished without driving cars. Everything else is downstream of that.

Not April fools. 32 years ago I was the subject of a 10" photo on page 1 of the morning paper. Even before I was on ACTC, I was advocating for the rider's point of view. I, as well as hundreds of thousands of others, was sick of union-vs-management bickering and just wanted the buses to get running again. Risking my job, I drove downtown from Monroeville on my lunch hour, parked way the hell out in the Strip somewhere, and unicycled down to the City-County building with protest sign in hand. Mission accomplished, though: The protest sparked Mayor Sophie Masloff to insert herself into the fray (the city otherwise has no say in how the transit system works), and with her kicking various asses, the buses were running again in just a few days.

Multiple construction projects will temporarily detour more than a dozen bus routes in downtown Pittsburgh this weekend, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced today.

Bus routes 61A, 61B, 61C, and 71B will be detoured from 6 p.m. on Friday until 2 a.m. on Saturday while Sixth Avenue between Wood Street and Liberty Avenue are closed.

The 61A, 61B, 61C, and 71B will not serve the bus stop in front of Trinity Cathedral on Sixth Avenue at Smithfield Street, however riders will be able to board these routes on Smithfield Street at Sixth Avenue at the PRT super stop.

On Saturday, 17 bus PRT bus routes will be detoured from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. while the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority completes a water line rehabilitation.

During that time, Smithfield Street and the Smithfield Street bus lane will be closed from Strawberry Way to Oliver Avenue and Sixth Avenue will be closed between Liberty Avenue and William Penn Place.

The detours will impact the 39-Brookline, 40-Mount Washington, 41-Bower Hill, 43-Bailey, 44-Knoxville, 48-Arlington, 51-Carrick, 77-Penn Hills, P1-East Busway, 61A-North Braddock, 61B-Braddock-Swissvale, 61C-McKeesport-Homestead, 71B-Highland Park, P68-Braddock Hills Flyer, Y46-Elizabeth Flyer, Y47-Curry Flyer, and Y49-Prospect Flyer bus routes.

And as a reminder, PRT will continue working in the transit tunnels under downtown Pittsburgh this weekend. Riders should expect disruptions from the South Hills to downtown Pittsburgh and the North Shore and allow for at least 30 minutes of additional travel time.

Rail cars coming from the South Hills will serve First Avenue and Steel Plaza stations before continuing to Penn Station, the otherwise inactive rail station located across the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway from The Pennsylvanian.

Riders traveling to Gateway, North Side or Allegheny stations should exit rail vehicles at Penn Station and board a free shuttle bus to Gateway Station. From Gateway, a rail car will operate to North Side and Allegheny stations.

From Allegheny Station, rail cars will serve North Side and Gateway stations. Riders continuing toward the South Hills should exit rail cars at Gateway, board a shuttle bus from the temporary stop outside the station, and travel to Penn Station, where they can board a rail car to the South Hills.

For a complete list of the detours and the stops that will be affected this weekend, please visit www.rideprt.org or call PRT Customer Service at 412-442-2000.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit Home Page

Pittsburgh Regional Transit next month will reduce service on about 20 bus routes and the Red Line to improve service reliability and on-time performance, the agency announced today.

Most routes will experience minor trip time adjustments and some frequency changes on February 18. Sixteen bus routes will see routing changes.

The service reductions to 23 bus routes and the Red Line are aimed at improving service reliability and on-time performance by ensuring the number of drivers needed does not exceed the number of drivers available. Overall, the reduction represents about 1.5% of PRT service.

Like most other transit agencies across the country, PRT has been short staffed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Several changes PRT made to its hiring process over the last 18 months - including offering hiring bonuses and reducing the amount of time from application to employment - appear to be working; projections show hiring will outpace attrition in 2024.

Additional changes starting February 18:

The 26-Chartiers, 27-Fairywood, 29-Robinson, 31-Bridgeville, 67-Monroeville, 69-Trafford, G3-Moon Flyer, and G31-Bridgeville Flyer routings will change in downtown Pittsburgh.

A few weekday morning trips will be added to the 71B-Highland Park to address crowding.

The 2-Mount Royal, 6-Spring Hill, 12-McKnight, and 15-Charles will be extended to Penn Station to provide a better connection to the East Busway.

A few midday Blue Line trips will be moved to the evening to better align with rider demand.

After about 5:20 p.m. on weekdays, the Silver Line will operate only between Washington Junction and Library Station. Riders traveling farther north can connect to the Blue Line at Washington Junction.

For a complete list of changes, visit www.ridePRT.org/ServiceUpdates.

Riders are encouraged to contact Customer Service with any questions at 412-442-2000, on Twitter or on live chat at www.ridePRT.org.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit Home Page