PA: PRT’s second draft of bus route changes increases frequency on core routes

Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s second proposed revision of its bus routes concentrates on boosting service frequency on its core routes but still calls for substantial improvements in service between local neighborhoods and establishing nine completely new routes.

The agency announced at its board meeting Friday that it posted the details of the revised plan on its website and explained details afterward. The revision is substantially different from the plan the agency produced two years ago, when it recommended cutting overall routes from 95 to 77 while also creating 19 new routes.

The new proposal discontinues 13 current routes, adds nine and makes changes to the rest. The goal is to concentrate on providing more trips for the core routes that have the heaviest ridership.

“We focused on what we do now and doing it better,” said Emily Provonsha, PRT’s manager of service development. “Investing in frequency makes transit a better experience for more people. We hope our riders feel heard, that we took their feedback seriously.”

Ms. Provonsha said the number of routes to provide service every 20 minutes will increase from 11 to 18. Routes with service every 30 minutes will increase from 27 to 43.

All the previous routes will have some changes to the areas they serve and many of them also will have different names and numbers.

Even with the elimination of routes, spokesman Adam Brandolph said, 91% of riders would have a one-seat ride to Downtown Pittsburgh with the new route system. Saturday service would increase 20% and Sunday service by 18%.

Service changes

Beyond the core, the plan also will make changes to provide more connections to Oakland, Pittsburgh International Airport and neighboring communities.

In Oakland, the plan would add the 71C Point Breeze to the primary routes that will use the University Line, a Bus Rapid Transit system that will use exclusive lanes on Fifth and Forbes avenues to connect Downtown and Oakland when it is finished in early 2027. That route had been among four that were changed in October 2023 to end their routes in Oakland at the start of construction of the University Line.

Now, that route will join the 61A, B and C and the 71B that will travel the full route to Downtown Pittsburgh.

New Routes O35 Mt. Lebanon- Dormont, O45 Carrick-East Liberty and O9 North Hills- Oakland will provide additional connections to the vibrant Oakland job center.

The plan also would change the service area for the 28X, which provides direct service to Pittsburgh International. The new pattern would extend service in Pittsburgh from Oakland to East Liberty via the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, stop at all stops on the West Busway, then proceed directly to the airport without stopping at Robinson Town Centre.

Additionally, at least one route from the South Hills will go to Carnegie station on the West Busway. That will provide riders from both busways with transfer connections to the airport, something riders have been pushing for years.

Service to Robinson Town Centre will be handled by the D25, now known as the G3- Moon Flyer.

The new plan also has a major change in service between local communities. The original plan called for testing service with micro-vehicles — most likely vans — to take riders between local communities to eliminate the need to travel to Downtown Pittsburgh and transfer to another bus to get to a neighboring community.

Because the lack of funds would prevent buying new vehicles, Ms. Provonsha said, that service would be provided mostly by the agency’s smaller buses. The three “circulation routes” would connect Penn Hills and Monroeville, communities around Harrison in the Alle-Kiski Valley, and communities around McKeesport in the Monongahela Valley.

Additionally, Ms. Provonsha said, the number of stops where more than three routes use a stop — considered a hub — will increase from 20 in the initial plan to 34 in the second draft. That will create more easy transfer points for riders.

Why a second draft?

In the initial proposal in September 2024, the agency wanted to revise bus routes to address shifting population across Allegheny County and different riding patterns after the pandemic. The proposals drew a substantial response from the public, which questioned whether the agency was proposing too many changes at the same time.

Before the plan could be revised, it was put on hold for more than a year while the agency tried to persuade state legislators to increase the state subsidy for the first time in more than 10 years to deal with a $100 million deficit. The agency was facing service and staff cuts of more than 35%, including eliminating 41 bus routes and leaving 19 communities with no service, which would have eliminated the value of revising route patterns.

After a delay of three months beyond when the budget should have been passed, the Legislature refused to give more funds to public transit and Gov. Josh Shapiro gave PRT the nod to use $106.7 million in state funds for operating expenses for the next two years.

With that reprieve, PRT decided to release the updated plan to realign its bus routes.

“Riders shouldn’t have to wait any longer,” CEO Katharine Kelleman said.

Another key factor in concentrating on growing ridership is the agency’s belief that approach will have a greater appeal to legislators than extending service to a wider area when they revisit the idea of increasing the state’s transit subsidy.

The agency plans to hold a series of more than 30 public meetings to get feedback on the new proposal by early summer, make more changes if necessary and then develop a plan to roll out changes throughout 2027.

Ms. Provonsha stressed that the plan is still a draft and the agency wants more input.

“This is not the final draft,” she said. “I hope you can hear in my voice how serious this is. If we still didn’t get it right, we still need to hear from [the public] and make changes.”

Details about the plan, including a 192-page online book with route maps, and the schedule of public meetings about the proposal that begin March 10 in Braddock Hills are available at https://engage.rideprt.org/buslineredesign.

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