PA: Pittsburgh Regional Transit to shift from growing service area to boosting ridership

In the fall of 2024, Pittsburgh Regional Transit proposed massive changes to its bus lines — moves such as eliminating 18 of its least busy routes, adding almost 20 routes to new areas and even setting up suburban hubs for riders trying to get to a nearby community without going Downtown first.

But now, the agency is expected to announce as soon as next month that it is revising that strategy.

Instead of changes such as creating new service areas and eliminating less busy routes, the agency will concentrate on increasing frequency and growing ridership on core routes.

Planners are finalizing ridership projections before presenting the revised plans to the PRT board. What had been called a "bus line redesign" is now referred to as a "bus line refresh."

A key reason behind the change is the agency's effort to increase the state subsidy for public transit next year for the first time in 12 years. The hope is that a plan directly aimed at increasing ridership would would help that effort.

The shift is a substantial change to the goals PRT set in fall 2023, when it began a year-long effort to redesign its 95 bus routes for the first time in more than 10 years to meet the reality of ridership in the post-pandemic world.

Planners said they wanted to provide more early-afternoon service, improve service between local communities and expand coverage to areas of Allegheny County that have seen substantial growth since the last time the system was adjusted, more than 15 years ago.

After holding a series of public meetings and receiving thousands of online comments, the agency proposed massive changes in fall 2024.

Those included cutting bus routes to 77 from 95, adding 19 routes that would include service to new areas, and setting up 20 suburban hubs to allow local transfers instead of requiring riders to travel into Downtown Pittsburgh to transfer to a bus to a neighboring community.

It also planned to make its first venture into microservice, in which mini-buses or large vans would provide service between neighboring communities.

When the draft went public, the agency received thousands more comments about the proposals. Then at the start of 2025, the agency's funding crisis surfaced, and the redesign was put on hold for a year.

Now, it's unclear how many of those proposed innovations will survive.

Because of the lack of a state subsidy increase, all transit agencies statewide faced a funding shortfall after spending emergency federal money awarded during the pandemic.

Faced with a $117 million deficit last year, PRT proposed eliminating 40 of 95 bus routes, cutting union and administrative staff by about 38%, ending service to 19 municipalities and providing no service after 11 p.m.

That crisis was abated last fall after Gov. Josh Shapiro allowed PRT and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority around Philadelphia to use capital funds for the next two years to cover operating costs.

Now, with financial stability for the next two years, the agency is shifting gears on its system redesign.

Since the beginning, the advocacy group Pittsburghers for Public Transit has complained that the agency had too many problems with on-time service and missed trips that it should fix before tackling a system redesign. PPT Executive Director Laura Wiens said again at the monthly board meeting Jan. 30 that since many of those problems remain, doing the refresh now would be "a recipe for disaster."

Additionally, the agency has other important changes in the works this year, such as switching from the electronic ConnectCard to web-based ReadyFare system. Riders could be overwhelmed by so many changes, she said.

After the meeting, PRT Executive Director Katharine Kelleman said she believes the agency is making good progress with individual on-time route problems through its route changes every four months. She said the agency has "heard loud and clear" that riders want changes and that refreshing the system across the board can be done at the same time.

The goal is to make the refresh changes without increasing the agency's overall cost for delivering service.

Ms. Kelleman stressed that 99% of current customers would still have accessible service after the changes.

"That's something we can do with the resources we have," she said. "If we know we have changes that will improve the rider experience, we have to do it.

"I'd have to give back my public service card if we didn't."

The refresh will come at a time when the agency is lobbying for additional state funding.

Mr. Shapiro announced in his annual budget address Tuesday that he wants the Legislature to approve an increase in the state subsidy this year for implementation in 2027.

Agency officials concede privately that presenting a plan that concentrates on growing ridership can only help in subsidy talks with legislators.

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