LAST UPDATED * August 24, 1993, by Derrick Brashear (shadow@andrew.cmu.edu) CHANGES * Noted progress in rebuilding Mount Washington Transit Tunnel. Noted problems Port Authority is having keeping the Siemens-Duewag LRVs running. Noted changes in schedules which happened August 22. Noted construction service changes. CITY AND CARRIER/DIVISION * Metropolitan Pittsburgh/Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA : PATransit (Port Authority Transit, Port Authority of Allegheny County). PASSENGER INFO * Phone 412-442-2000, 9am to 5pm Eastern (local) Time TTY 412-231-7007 * Mailing address Port Authority Transit, 2235 Beaver Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15233 * Walk-in address Downtown Service Center, 534 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, under Mellon Squ are Park. Open 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. * Map The system map is available at the walk in center at the service windows or by sending SSAE to System map at the mailing address above. * Timetables Pocket timetables are available for all routes, and are updated only as service changes necessitate. These are available at the service center and from the mailing address above with SSAE. Also, you may find timetables on board your bus, but don't count on finding any. If you do find some, they may not be for the route you are looking for. In addition, many merchants, malls, and other public places have schedule racks. For example, there is a schedule rack in our student union building here. * Other printed information Guides are published for the bus system, the light rail system, the inclines and various other things, including senior citizen free-fares. Also a bi- monthly mini-magazine called Rider's Digest is published. It contains puzzles articles and other information about service and changes. Brouchures are also available in German and Japanese. * Names and address of transit advocacy groups Allegheny County Transit Council 2235 Beaver Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15233 ROUTE STRUCTURE * What modes operated Bus (both conventional diesel buses and natural gas powered buses) Light rail Incline (known as funiculars in other parts of the world, basically 2 small cars running up and down a hill on a set of steep rails, pulled by a cable) Paratransit (under contract, operated by Diamond Cab) * List of rail routes Light rail routes, dubbed by the Port Authority as the 'T', are numbered in with the bus system of the city, so the significance of the route numbers in the overall scheme will be explained later. The gauge is Pennsylvania Broad Gauge, 5 feet, 2 1/2 inches. 42 spine- Routes beginning with 42 run via Beechview and Mount Lebanon 47 spine- Routes beginning with 47 run via Overbrook and the Saw Mill Run valley. 22.5 miles of track served by ~16 rebuilt 1949 St. Louis Car Company PCC streetcars running on 2 routes (47D Drake and 47S South Hills Village, plus 47 Shannon short turn trips) and 55 Duwag-Siemens U-3 LRVs running on 2 lines (42S South Hills Village and 42L Library, plus 42 Mount Lebanon short turn trips). One line, 52 Allentown, is scheduled to go back into revenue service this month. The line is now open, and testing, training and evaluation have been going on. Revenue service should begin in mid-May. Shuttle service between Steel Plaza Subway Station and Penn Park Station, adjacent to Amtrak's Pittsburgh Station and the Pennsylvanian, (ex-Pennsylvania Station), was discontinued as of February 28, 1993. Disruptions in service continue as the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel reconstruction goes on. Construction is moving along on schedule; the tunnel should be reopening on or before the scheduled date of November 1. All 42 series routes are currently detoured via the now-reopened 52 Allentown line. Most Allentown service is suspended, instead replaced by the frequent 42 series service on the line. The 47D Drake is operating as a shuttle on the outer portion of the line, from Drake to Castle Shannon, where one may transfer to a 42 series LRV, or take the 49 Castle Shannon shuttle bus. There is no service on the Overbrook portion of the 47 rail routes. Tracks are being relaid around the Castle Shannon Municipal Building, so there is currently no track connection from the 42 lines and the rest of the Overbrook line at the Castle Shannon end. An LRV continues in shuttle service to Station Square, operating every 20 minutes on weekdays, less frequently on weekends. There is currently bus shuttle service from Station Square to the South 10th Street Bridge, due to the fact that there is now no bus service through the transit tunnel. Additionally, PAT is only able to operate 35 LRVs during peak periods, instead of the 38 they'd like to be running, as 20 of the 55 LRVs are out of service. PAT is having trouble getting replacement parts for the one of a kind LRVs, built by Siemens-Duewag, a German consortium. An ASCII map of the 'T' light rail system is available from me, shadow@andrew.cmu.edu or shadow at andrew on request. * Bus service: Comprehensive countywide bus service is provided by almost 900 buses, reaching all areas of the county over 230 routes. Nearly all bus service runs from Downtown Pittsburgh, however there are now some smaller local hubs for bus service, including Monroeville and McKeesport. Additionally some areas have bus service to the Oakland cultural district which runs direct rather than via Downtown. Flyer and Express service is provided to most suburban areas during peak travel periods, making local stops and then running express to Downtown. Some of the express bus service is provided via the South Busway and the Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway. Each of these is a 2 lane exclusive bus highway, with the South Busway sharing part of it's right of way with the 47, 47S and 47D light rail lines via Overbrook, from Ansonia to the south of the South Busway, at Glenbury Street. The East Busway runs along the Conrail (former Pennsy/PC) mainline, from Wilkinsburg to the city, stopping at Homewood Avenue, Penn Avenue in East Liberty, Negley Avenue, and Herron Hill. Express service to the North Hills is provided via the High Occupany Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the middle of I-279 and I-579, the East Street Valley and Crosstown Expressways, respectively. The southern terminals of these lanes are: -adjacent the Civic Arena in the Hill District. -near Three Rivers Stadium Parking on the lower North Side. Northern terminals include: -McKnight Road -Perrysville Avenue -a ramp back onto the expressway itself north of the interchange with US 19, Perry Highway. The HOV lanes are shared with any vehicles carrying 2 or more occupants, in the peak direction of travel, except after 8pm and after major events, when there are no restrictions on the number of occupants. The South 10th Street Bridge is currently under construction. Some bus routes are being detoured via the Liberty or Birmingham Bridges, but I'm not sure of all of the details of this. * Incline service: Representing a relatively rare form of transport, Port Authority operates the Monongahela Incline, one of only 4 left in the United States. Incidentallly, Port Authority also owns the Duquesne Incline, but this is operated by a private group which leases from Port Authority at $1 per year. The Monongahela Incline runs from Carson Street, just west of the corner of Carson and Smithfield Streets, and adjacent to the Station Square shopping development (ex-Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad station) up the side of Mount Washington to Grandview Avenue. The Monongahela Incline will also be closing for repairs, in January 1994 if I remember correctly. * Operating Facilities: The Port Authority, in addition to the busways and light rail system, have certain other fixed facilities around the area. Included are: -South Hills Village Light Rail Center, the operating and maintenance home of the Light Rail Vehicles and the PCC streetcars. -Harmarville Bus Garage, located along the Allegheny River on old PA 28, Freeport Road, northeast of the city. -Collier Bus Garage, located off PA 50, Washington Pike, just north of Bridgeville, and southwest of the city. -Ross Garage, located on Perry Highway, US 19, north of the city, near the site of a former streetcar barn. -West Mifflin Garage, located on PA 885, Mifflin Road, south of the city, near the Century III Mall development. -East Liberty Garage, located just off Penn Avenue, PA 380, and Washington Boulevard, PA 8, in the eastern part of the city. -Manchester Headquaters, Bus Shops, and Garage, located in the Manchester section of the North Side, represents the administrative home of the Port Authority, as well as the main bus shops. -South Hills Junction complex, including a number of rail maintenance operations buildings which were rebuilt from the former car barns located at South Hills Junction. The old barns became disused when South Hills Village Rail Center opened. Also at the Junction is Operations Control Center, the central dispatching office for all of the light rail system. * History: The Port Authority of Allegheny County came into being in 1962. However, the Port Authority did not become a public transit operator until 1964. In that year, they acquired the largest transit operator in the county, the Pittsburgh Railways Company. In doing so, Port Authority took only the buses, track, and streetcars which they wanted, leaving Pittsburgh Railways with some odd stretches of track and disused streetcars. Many of these could be found at various points around the county for 5 to 10 years after the Pittsburgh Railways Company was dissolved. Additionally, PAT (Port Authority Transit, the public transit arm of Port Authority of Allegheny County) bought up a number of smaller operators from around the area and combined all of them into one large operation, the hub of which was the operations of Pittsburgh Railways. Over the years, the number of streetcars and streetcar lines was pared down, until all that was left was the South Hills segment that is still running today. Between 1984 and 1987, the street running Downtown was discontinued and replaced with a subway, while the Beechview line was rebuilt and the South Hills Village branch was added. Over the years, the bus fleet grew and was modernized, until now, about half the fleet is represented in the form of Neoplan Pennliners, purchased as part of a statewide bus pool in 1983 and 1984. Also, a number of new buses were received in 1991, from the Orion Bus Company. PAT runs a significant number of articulated buses on heavier lines around the county. PAT is expected to order a number of new buses this year if the funding goes through. PAT used to also operate commuter rail service. Subsidized lines ran to McKeesport and Beaver Falls. The Beaver Falls line was operated by the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, while the Baltimore and Ohio/ Chessie System / CSX ran the line to McKeesport. The Beaver Falls line, which actually ended in the town of College, PA, ran up the Ohio and Beaver River valleys to its destination, while the other line ran via the Monongahela and Youghiogheny River valleys to Versailles, just south of McKeesport. The line to Beaver Falls was discontinued in 1981, while the Mon Valley service, which became the PATrain, was equipped with push-pull coaches and two rebuilt F-9's painted for the service. The commuter coaches were former Chesapeake and Ohio commmuter coaches, and two were rebuilt with control cabs for the push-pull service. The F-9's were former Wellsville Addison and Galeton (PA) engines, which were refurbished by General Electric's Erie locomotive plant for PAT. The train was cut April 28, 1989. The cars and locomotives were sold to the State of Connecticut, where they still toil in daily service. The PATrain used to stop in Hazelwood, Braddock, McKeesport, and Versailles, in addition to Downtown. The route ran to Connellsville until 1965, and then was cut back by the B&O. In 1981, the Hazelwood stop was cut, as was Saturday service on the line. The Port Vue/Liberty stop was added at the same time. And sometime between when the Baltimore and Ohio removed their tracks from the center of McKeesport and the present, McKeesport's station first moved further west, just off Lysle Boulevard to behind what's now an Eat -n- Park restaurant, then back east to the McKeesport Transportation Center, a local bus service hub and an Amtrak stop until 1991. Replacement service is provided by three express bus routes, to McKeesport Transportation Center, Port Vue Park and Ride lot, and Versailles Park and Ride lot, by bus routes 58C, 58P and 58V, respectively. * Fares: PAT uses a zone fare system. There are 5 zones. Zone one is basically the city of Pittsburgh and most of the inner suburban neighborhoods. Four additional zones are concentric to this one. A one zone ride in any zone costs $1.25, with an additional zone charge for each additional zone you ride in. A two zone ride is $1.60, a three zone ride is $1.95, a four zone ride is $2.30, and a five zone ride is $3.50. There's only one route I know of that goes 5 zones. It's the HP Holiday Park flyer extended run to Apollo, which runs once in each direction each day. Transfers are available for $.25, giving the bearer three hours to use the transfer for a one zone fare in any direction. It can be used for a return fare. Weekly permit cards, and monthly and annual passes are available, for any number of zones. For peak hour, peak direction travel on the 'T' light rail system, a surcharge applies to cash fares. One zone is $1.50, two are $2.00. Fares are pay enter inbound, pay leave outbound, until 7pm, at which time all routes become pay enter. Other exceptions: routes which do not go Downtown, like 54C and local service, are always pay enter. The Downtown area is free until 7pm, except in the subway, when it is always free. Also, it costs only $.75 instead of $1.25 to ride the subway across the Monongahela River to Station Square, which is actually in zone 1. * Routes: All PAT services have a route designation. A letter designation, such as 'G' Greensburg Pike, designates a flyer bus, running express to and from the outlying area served by the route. All other routes have a number, like 67F Trafford or 68F Trafford Express. The number designates the spine or area the route serves, and the letter denotes where it goes. No, I have no clue what the difference between a flyer and an express is. For example, all 67 routes serve Oakland and the Boulevard of the Allies, before parting and running to their respective destinations. 68 routes run via the East Busway. In some cases, like 60 routes, the number denotes McKeesport area local service. 65 routes are East Pittsburgh local service. Each number represents a certain area. Low numbered routes begin on the northern side of the Allegheny Valley, and get higher in a counterclockwise direction with Pittsburgh as the center of the clock. So while the 1 and 3 series routes run along the north side of the Allegheny Valley, the 91A bus runs up the other side of the valley. In addition, 54C North Side/Oakland/South Side runs from the northern part of the city to the southern part, not via Downtown. All numbered routes which end with a U designate University service. Most of the U-buses, as they are called, serve Oakland. Some, however, serve Community College of Allegheny County campuses. U bus service has been cut heavily effective February 28, 1993. The best way to understand the numbering system is to get a free map from the Port Authority, by writing to the mailing address or going to the service center between 9 AM and 5 PM weekdays. So a small map of the numbering looks like this: \<-Ohio River/<-Allegheny River \ / 21\18 1/94 \ / \ / \ / \/ \ 56\61 \__ \<-Monongahela River * Times: Service operates from 5am to 1am on weekdays, with reduced frequency on Saturdays, and significantly reduced service on Sundays and major holidays. Major routes operate more frequently, with smaller routes operating perhaps only in peak direction or at peak hours, or both. * Changes: Last service changes to my knowledge were on August 22. These were apparently only minor time adjustments. * Other service providers in the area: -Westmoreland County Transit Authority provides service from Pittsburgh to Greensburg, as well as local service in Greensburg and other Westmoreland County areas, and service from Greensburg to Johnstown. Information: 1-800-221-9282 Mailing address: 101 N. Main Street, Lower Level Greensburg PA 15601 -Beaver County Transit Authority provides service from Pittsburgh to areas in Beaver County, as well as local service in Beaver County, both via fixed route buses and "DART", a Demand and Response system which you call to be picked up. No number or mailing address available. -Mid Mon Valley Transit Authority provides service from Pittsburgh to Charleroi and between towns in that area of the Monongahela River Valley. Service runs via routes 51 and 88 to Charleroi. Information: 412-489-0880 Mailing Address: 401 Sixth Avenue Charleroi PA 15022 Service provided under contract by 88 Transit Lines Information: 412-461-5111 Mailing Address: Arentzen Boulevard Charleroi PA 15022 -Butler Motor Coach provides service between Kittanning and Pittsburgh. Information: 412-282-1000 Mailing Address: 210 S. Monroe Street Butler PA 16001 -Lincoln Coach Lines provides service between Butler and Pittsburgh. Don't get confused, they don't run on Lincoln Highway anymore. Information: 412-271-9365 Mailing Address: 12681 Route 30 North Huntingdon PA 15642 -Grove City Bus Lines provides service between Pittsburgh and New Castle. Information: 412-458-9240 Mailing Address: 229 Sandy Lake Road Grove City PA 16217 -Lenzner Coach Lines provides service between Pittsburgh and Wexford/ Warrendale. Information: 412-761-7000 Mailing Address: Mount Nebo Road Sewickley PA 15143 * Additions and suggestions: If you have any, mail me! I'm: shadow@andrew.cmu.edu on internet and shadow at andrew on bitnet.