PA: More than 180,000 used free transit for NFL Draft in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s ridership numbers during last month’s National Football League Draft support the key role public transit played in moving a record number of draft visitors.

In a news release Wednesday, the agency said it moved 485,387 passengers during the three-day event April 23-25, a 51% increase over normal ridership. Overall, nearly 25% — 180,563 people — of the record 805,000 who attended the draft took advantage of free bus, light rail and Monongahela Incline rides.

The NFL and local organizers strongly encouraged visitors to use public transit due to closed streets and limited, expensive parking in Downtown Pittsburgh and on the North Side during the event. Sponsors provided money to help pay for free rides.

Visitors not only used free rides on special Football Flyers bus routes, the light rail system and the incline — more riders than normal also used regular bus routes even though they ran on a Saturday schedule the first two days of the draft.

“Because it was free, a lot of people chose to ride transit,” said PRT spokesman Adam Brandolph. “We know a lot of folks who took other public transit a number of those days. It’s impossible to know where people were going, but it’s safe to say at least some of them were going to the draft.”

In a news release, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato praised PRT’s role in the draft.

“PRT helped make the Draft accessible to everyone,” she said. “This was a moment for Pittsburgh to shine, and transit made it possible for hundreds of thousands of people to be part of it while also delivering real economic value for our region.”

The agency had sponsorships for the free rides, including up to $200,000 from Sheetz for light rail and up to $175,000 from the Pittsburgh Organizing Committee for the event and the Pittsburgh Foundation for the Football Flyers for the incline. The agency will get the full amount from Sheetz — the actual cost was just over $350,000 — and just under the full amount for bus and incline rides, although Brandolph said the exact amount hasn’t been determined yet.

VisitPittsburgh contributed $350,000 to PRT to set up the Football Flyers, which operated every 15 minutes from park-and-ride lots in the north, south, east and west suburbs.

Additionally, the agency said it gained $494,000 through advertising sales and sponsorships related to the draft.

“The level of exposure and energy we saw during the Draft was incredible,” Terri Landis, PRT’s advertising director, said in the news release. “It showed that transit isn’t just about getting from point A to point B — it's a dynamic part of the region’s economic and cultural life.”

Even with the sponsorships and additional revenue, the agency likely didn’t cover its costs. It struck a deal with Local 65 of the Amalgamated Transit Union to pay operators 1½ times their normal salary to work during the draft.

Brandolph said the cost for employees isn’t available yet, but he stressed that fares and other revenue almost never cover the cost of providing service.

Katharine Kelleman, PRT’s CEO, said in the news release the overall draft effort was a major success for the region.

“Transit was at the center of that success,” she said. “We connected people to opportunity and showed what this region can do when we invest in a system that works.”

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