Allegheny County Transit Council

05/12/2024

05/06/2024

When people complain that bicyclists don't pay taxes, implying that motorists' motor fuels taxes pay for the roads instead (further implying they have more right to use the road, which is false anyway), that argument decreases in value for every petroleum car replaced by an EV. We're not too far from fuel taxes' percentage of road maintenance costs being the same as fare-paying passenger fares' percentage of public transit operating costs. Some sort of new tax has to pay for both of them, so opposition in principle to new taxes is just plain wrong.

04/22/2024

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.

04/01/2024

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.

02/24/2024

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.

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02/16/2024

Twelve years ago today, Feb 16 2012, I purchased the first Port Authority ConnectCard available to the public. Here's the receipt and my no-holds-barred Nastygram to my state representative and Majority Leader of the PA House.

February 17, 2012 House Majority Leader Mike Turzai Dear Mike, What good is a job if you can't get to it? I disagree with your views ...

01/19/2024

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.

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01/05/2024

The Monongahela Incline will remain out of service through the weekend, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced today.

Shuttle buses will continue to operate between the lower and upper stations during regular incline hours.

PRT is working with its contractors to ensure the 152-year-old incline is functioning properly and safely before it reopens. There is not yet a timeline for when that could occur.

The incline has been out of commission since Tuesday evening when multiple electrical and mechanical systems malfunctioned.

The systems that failed are covered under the existing contract of the rehabilitation project that closed the incline from August 2022 through March 2023.

01/05/2024

Pittsburgh Regional Transit will add a second work location to the University Line bus rapid transit project on Sixth Avenue between Smithfield Street and William Penn Place beginning next week.

The work will involve exploratory excavation and relocation of water and drainage infrastructure.

Contractors are expected to establish the new work location on Monday, although the exact day will depend on the severity of this weekend’s expected snowstorm.

Once construction gets underway, one traffic lane will be maintained in each direction on Sixth Avenue. No other streets will be impacted.

The work is expected to last at this location through mid-February.

Mellon Garage will remain accessible from all entrances and exits, and pedestrian access will be maintained on Sixth Avenue opposite the work zone.

PRT bus routes P1, P68, and P71 will detour one block to Fifth Avenue, however all stops will continue to be served.

Construction on Sixth Avenue near Grant Street Nears Completion

University Line construction at Sixth Avenue between Grant and Ross is expected to wrap up by the end of January.

Contractors are installing new water and drainage infrastructure there, too.

The first phase of construction on the University Line began September 13 and is expected to take about 18 months to complete. A construction contract for the second phase – Uptown through Oakland – will be put out to bid later this year.

For more information on the University Line, please visit www.rideprt.org/brt and to sign up for the University Line Newsletter, visit https://prt-brt-newshub.prezly.com/.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit, formerly Port Authority of Allegheny County, is the nation’s 26th largest transit agency. Our 2,600 employees...

10/05/2023

Wood Street Station will be closed for two weeks, from October 9 to October 23, to facilitate the removal of all four escalators at the station and to accommodate an ongoing light-rail construction project, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced today.

From October 9 to October 20, rail cars will continue to serve all other stations in the Central Business District and no delays are expected.

Starting at about 8 p.m. on October 20 through October 23, inbound rail service will terminate at Penn Station (the bus and rail station along the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway).

Riders traveling to Gateway, North Side, or Allegheny stations should exit light-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.

Meanwhile, during this time outbound rail service from the North Shore toward downtown will terminate at Gateway Station. Riders continuing toward the South Hills should exit the rail car and board a shuttle bus from the temporary stop outside the station. The shuttle bus will drop riders off at Penn Station to board rail cars heading to the South Hills.

Riders should allow for 30-45 minutes of additional travel time.

The bus stop located on Liberty Avenue outside Wood Street Station has been moved to Liberty Avenue past Strawberry Way to accommodate the station’s cleaning, a project that began in July. Shuttle buses will serve that temporary stop.

The replacement of the escalators at Wood Street Station is part of a $13.5 million project to replace nine escalators at three downtown light-rail stations. The escalators at Wood Street Station are expected to be fully installed by February 2024 and will remain out of service while they’re being replaced. The stairs and elevators will remain open.

Riders with questions are encouraged to contact Customer Service by calling 412-442-2000, on Twitter , or via live chat at

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10/05/2023

A portion of the Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway will be closed on Saturday and Sunday to create room for a window washing project at the UPMC Assembly Building on Centre Avenue.

The busway will be closed from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday from East Liberty Station to the busway ramp at Neville Street.

Buses traveling inbound and outbound on the busway will not stop at Negley Station. Those buses will instead pick up and discharge riders on Ellsworth Avenue at Negley Avenue.

Delays of up to 20 minutes are expected.

Riders with questions are encouraged to contact Customer Service by calling 412-442-2000, on Twitter , or via live chat at

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08/31/2023

After more than a decade of planning, construction on the downtown portion of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line will begin Wednesday, September 13, Pittsburgh Regional Transit announced today. The University Line is PRT’s first bus rapid transit project under the new level of service branded as PRTX.

Construction will start on Fifth Avenue between Liberty Avenue and Market Street, adjacent to Triangle Park. The contractor will be working weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The initial work includes relocating and replacing water and sewer infrastructure.

Traffic on Fifth Avenue will be reconfigured for the first 30 days of construction. Both lanes of Fifth Avenue heading toward Fifth Avenue Place will be closed from Market Street to Liberty Avenue. Vehicles traveling toward Fifth Avenue Place will use the remaining travel lane.

Traffic coming from Liberty Avenue onto Fifth Avenue will be detoured onto Sixth Avenue or Fourth Avenue via Stanwix Street.

The sidewalk along Fifth Avenue adjacent to Triangle Park will be inaccessible during this work.

Once construction is complete, the Downtown Loop will include five PRTX stations:

Ross Street (Fifth Avenue at Ross Street)
William Penn Place (Fifth Avenue at William Penn Place)
Market Square (Fifth Avenue at Market Street)
Wood Street (Sixth Avenue at Wood Street)
Steel Plaza (Sixth Avenue at Grant Street)
Buses will enter downtown on Fifth Avenue, turn right onto Liberty Avenue, right onto Sixth Avenue, and left onto Forbes Avenue. Construction of the Downtown Loop is expected to take 18 months.

PRT’s Board awarded the $27.8 million contract to Independence Excavating, Inc. on March 24. The second phase of the project – from Uptown to Oakland – will be put out for bid before the end of the year.

The University Line will improve accessibility and safety throughout the corridor. The project includes new sidewalks, ADA ramps, protected bike lanes, traffic signals, and landscaping.

Communities with PRTX service can expect increased reliability and on-time performance thanks to transit-only travel lanes and amenities like new shelters with real-time arrival screens.