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Port Authority of Allegheny County

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A typical PAT transit bus sign.
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A typical PAT transit bus sign.
The Port Authority Of Allegheny County (also known as simply Port Authority or erroneously as its former nickname PAT) is the second largest transit agency in Pennsylvania and is the 19th largest in the United States overall when ranked by number of passenger miles [link]. The County-owned, state-funded public transit agency is based in Pittsburgh and is overseen by a CEO and a ten-member board of directors, who in turn report to the County Executive.

Although the Port Authority's bus and light rail system covers Allegheny County, its service also extends into neighboring Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties, where they have their own transit systems, including several that run into downtown Pittsburgh, where riders can make connections with the Port Authority.

Contents

History

The agency was created by legislation enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1956 to allow the planning and development of port facilities in the Pittsburgh area. In 1959 it was amended to allow the PAAC to acquire privately owned transit companies that served the area. On April 19 1963 the Board Of County Commisioners authorized the acquisition of 36 transit companies, including the Pittsburgh Railways Company, which had provided bus and streetcar service to the city of Pittsburgh since January 1902, and an incline plane company. On March 1 1964 the newly formed Port Authority Transit was unveiled.

The Port Authority/Ride Gold brand

Although Port Authority is part of the local fans folklore, their off-beat imaging is more notorious. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s the bus fleet was very recognizable with its fleet of air-conditioned GM "Fishbowls" sporting a white top with small red strip.

But by 1972 it entered what was dubbed by fans as the "Mod" era, as buses were given new paint schemes. As a result buses were painted with the color at the front and rear half (slanted to line up with the windows), while a large white portion was sandwiched in between.

In the 1980s that scheme gave way to newer one in which they went for a updated version of its white with red strip look from the 1960s, but this time the red strip was larger, a black strip was painted around the window area and the white background covered a majority of the buses' exterior. That look can still be seen around the area[via the Flxible and NovaBus 'classics' series], although they are expected to be repainted and refurbished into the current "Ride Gold" look.

In 1999 Port Authority "rebranded" itself as "Ride Gold" to coincide with its 35th anniversary. Today most of Port Authority's bus fleet can be spotted on the street in various colors with a splatter of gold "G"s adorning the exterior.

More recently, Port Authority's buses have included various words and phrases repeated across the exterior, such as the words "ride" or "connect", combinations of "rockin'" and "rollin'", "ziggin'" and "zaggin'", or "here" and "there". Newer articulated buses feature extended sayings such as "Parking got you down Don't make Faces hop on the bus theres plenty of spaces", "this big shiny bus/is really no riddle/but it sure is odd/how it bends in the middle", "getting to work/is no trouble/when you ride/the daily double", "there's the church/there's the steeple/and here's the bus/with all the people", and "if you're tired of all the traffic/and could use an assist/hop aboard a bus/with a bit of a twist".

Routing by Number/Branch letter

Since its inception in 1964, the system has adopted a bus route system by using a number/alphabet approach to let passengers know which route number, representing the main route, and branch letter representing the destination (e.g. 46G Elizabeth) they were trying to go to. The number provides two pieces of information.

First, it roughly indicates the region served: routes are numbered starting from the north shore of the Allegheny River (1A New Kensington), then proceeding counterclockwise around the central point of downtown Pittsburgh. Routes going west from downtown have numbers in the 20s and 30s, those going south in the 40s and 50s, and so on through the 90s, which serve the south shore of the Allegheny River. This aspect of the system was inherited from the Pittsburgh Railways Company.

Second, numbers ending in 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 or 8 and "Flyer" routes with letters only are bus routes that serve downtown Pittsburgh. All express routes end in 3 or 8. Flyers use a stand-alone letter (B Bellevue Flyer) or a combination of letters (AVN Allegheny Valley North Flyer). Most Flyer routes operate only during peak hours on weekdays, but there are exceptions such as the 28X Airport Flyer and LP Lincoln Park Flyer, both of which operate 7 days a week.

Numbers ending in 4 or 9 are crosstown routes that serve the city of Pittsburgh while numbers ending in 5 or 0 are suburban crosstown or feeder routes that do not enter the city of Pittsburgh. Buses that carry a U next to the number are routes that serve a university (typically the University of Pittsburgh) and are known as "U buses".

Three digits are used for routes that cross downtown, such as 100 West Busway - All Stops via Downtown & Oakland and 500 Highland Park - Bellevue.

A few route designations violate the convention in some way. For example, the 56U does not go downtown.

Fare structure

Port Authority uses a fare structure based on 4 zones (1, 1A, 2, and 3). When passing from one zone to another, your fare is increased. The 1A Zone is an exception, it is a "transition zone" from Zone 1 to Zone 2. If traveling from Zone 1 to 1A or from 2 to 1A, there is no increase in fare. See [http://www.ridegold.com/ride/pgZones.asp] for zone boundaries.

Port Authority uses an "outbound" pay system for daytime transit. Fare is paid when boarding on the "outbound" part of the route, if your bus is headed INTO downtown, you pay when boarding, if your bus is headed OUT of downtown, you pay when exiting. During the evening, this method changes on many routes to "pay when boarding" due to the possibility of riders trying to skip paying the fare.

The Port Authority also sells undiscounted one-use tickets and discounted unlimited weekly, monthly and annual passes. (each carry a small discount over the previous time based pass but for an unlimited number of trips/transfers in the set zone for that time period, example for a zone 1 pass: weekly is paying for an equivalent of 9.5 one way trips, monthly is equal to paying for 34 one way trips and yearly is 377 one way trips.)

Light Rail (the \"T\")

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In October 1981 Port Authority began construction on its first "modern" light rail/subway service, the "T", which used an old trolley route to connect downtown Pittsburgh to the South Hills Village area. The "T" began operating in 1987. In June 2004, another "T" route began service on the Overbrook Line. The "T" is most widely used in 4 stations downtown (3 of which are underground), where service is free of charge.

The South Hills Village Rail Center (SHVRC) is located at the end of 42S and 47S service at South Hills Village Mall. All of the revenue LRVs and some Maintenance of Way vehicles are stored there. Until 1999, all the old PCC cars were stored there. All but 4 were scrapped.

Fleet

Port Authority operates a fleet of 110 LRVs as of October 2005:

The T runs on two lines north of Washington Junction, the Beechview and Overbrook Lines:

42S South Hills Village (\"Via Beechview\")

This line begins at South Hills Village in Bethel Park Shannon, with 5 minor stops before arriving at Washington Junction, providing a transfer to the 47L Library line. The 42S continues for 3 more minor stops before reaching Overbrook Junction. Here, the track splits between the Beechview and the Overbrook line. The 42S continues on the Beechview line for 2 minor stops before reaching Mount Lebanon. The line runs through the Mount Lebanon Rail Tunnel underneath US 19 (Truck) before arriving at Dormont Junction. The line proceeds through the Dormont neighborhood, crossing many streets via grade crossings. The line then arrives at Potomac, where it begins travelling through street trackage about a quarter mile down the tracks, crossing into the neighborhood of Beechview and officially into Pittsburgh near the Neeld Avenue stop. It eventually merges back up with the Overbrook line and provides access to the 52 Allentown line at South Hills Junction. Proceeding through the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel, the 42S stops at Station Square before crossing the Monongahela River on the Panhandle Bridge (officially known as the Monongahela River Bridge). Reaching downtown at First Avenue, the 42S proceeds underground to Steel Plaza and Wood Street. At the end of the line, the tracks circle back before arriving at the single platform Gateway Center station, preparing to travel outbound.

Twice daily during afternoon rush hour, the 42S takes a different set of tracks from Steel Plaza to Penn Station to provide a connection to the East Busway.

47L Library (\"Via Overbrook\")

Service begins very far south of downtown in Library, Pennsylvania. Fifteen stops serve Library, Bethel Park, and South Park before merging with the South Hills Village line at Washington Junction. The line splits again immediately before the Castle Shannon station on the Beechview line, as the 47L instead follows the Overbrook line. The line then makes eight well-spaced stops on its arc through the Overbrook and Bon Air neighborhoods of southern Pittsburgh. The line merges with the Beechview line at South Hills Junction before entering the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel. The remaining stations are at Station Square, First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street, and Gateway Center.

47S South Hills Village (\"Via Overbrook\")

In 2005, the Port Authority opened a new parking garage at the South Hills Village station. The 47S line was established in an effort to relieve congestion on the Beechview line for the additional traffic that the parking garage created. The 47S route follows the 42S service until Overbrook Junction where it switches to the Overbrook line. It follows the Overbrook line to South Hills Junction where it reunites with the Beechview line before entering downtown.

This route is not used on weekday evenings and Saturdays.

52 Allentown

This line is much smaller and runs less frequently than the 42 or 47, providing service to the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where dense housing and the hilly terrain make automobile transportation very limited -- some area streets cannot be used at all during the winter. Service begins at South Hills Junction, heading for Warrington Avenue. The 52 parallels Warrington in an easterly direction until Arlington Avenue, where it follows the sharply bending street until it is running northwesterly. It uses the same bridge into downtown as the 42 and 47, stopping at First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street, and Gateway Center, but it does not stop at Station Square because it approaches the bridge from the southeast, while Station Square is southwest of the bridge.

In recent years, due to budget pressures, the 52 service was severely reduced, and now runs only during the weekday rush; substitute service is provided by the 46K bus. The Port Authority considered ending all 52 service, but this would have provided only limited savings unless the tracks and overhead wires were also decommissioned. The 52's tracks provide a backup route when a stalled vehicle or planned maintenance closes the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel, allowing 42 and 47 service to continue operating, albeit with delays since the Allentown route takes much longer than the tunnel.

North Shore Connector Project

Since January of 1999, Port Authority of Allegheny County has undertaken environmental analysis, planning, design and engineering of a light rail line to connect Pittsburgh's Downtown and North Shore. The main project involves twin bored tunnels below the Allegheny River to connect a refurbished Gateway Station, the current Downtown terminus, to a North Side stadium, located on the side of PNC Park closest to Heinz Field and the National Aviary. Unexpectedly high bids from construction companies have stalled construction, originally scheduled to begin in Fall 2005. Currently, The Port Authority is expected to begin construction in mid 2006. The North Shore Connector could be complete and operational in 2010.

Buses

Busways

In December 1977 Port Authority unveiled its first dedicated busway, the 4.3-mile South Busway, which combined bus and LRVs routes into an efficient and quicker connection between downtown Pittsburgh and the South Hills area. The Martin Luther King, Jr East Busway, which used express routes to connect downtown with nearby east side communities like Swissvale, Wilkinsburg and Monroeville followed in February 1983. On September 8 2000 it opened another busway, The West Busway, which provides bus service from downtown Pittsburgh to Carnegie. In 2003, the East Busway was expanded by a few miles to its current termination in Swissvale and Rankin.

Bus fleet

A 1996 NovaBus "Classic" operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County, seen at the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Craig Street.
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A 1996 NovaBus "Classic" operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County, seen at the intersection of Forbes Avenue and South Craig Street.

As of January 2006 there were 1,207 buses in its lineup:

416 Regular high-floor transit buses (40ft versions)

2300-2449 1993
2450-2459 1994
2460-2496 1995
2505-2515 1994
2516-2524 1995
2541-2550 1994
2551-2560 1995
2575-2584 1994
2585-2594 1995

Differences between Flxible orders at Port Authority:

• Original order had the Luminator ODK installed in front of operator, mounted in the bulkhead. Option order had Luminator ODK relocated and was mounted to the left of operator on the electrical access door.

• Original order had vinyal blue seats installed and had single, forward facing seats on the right side of the bus. These Flxibles mark the end of an era as no other bus afterwards would be ordered with the vinyal seats or with single, forward facing seats. Option order marked the beginning of cloth seats and double, forward facing seats being standard throughout the bus at Port Authority.

• Original order had a Voith 3-speed transmission while the option order had an Allison 3-speed.

• Various minor differences; option order makes a whinning sound that isn't present in original order, option order has transparent rear doors while the original order only has glass on the top, interior coach number font different, box behind operator seat on option order is smaller, thus allowing operator seat to slide back further.

60 Regular high-floor transit buses (35ft versions)
Bus 1516, a 2003 Gillig "Phantom" with the "Connect" design picking up passengers at 7th Avenue and William Penn Place
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Bus 1516, a 2003 Gillig "Phantom" with the "Connect" design picking up passengers at 7th Avenue and William Penn Place

483 Regular low-floor transit buses (40ft versions)

88 Rush hour/commuter high-floor transit buses With Neoplan Metroliner #1910 being a Repainted Coach. With Neoplan Articulated #3059 being Repainted and #3060 in Manchester shops currently undergoing a total and complete Rehab. 160 Mid Bus Shuttle Transit Vehicles(STV)(Mostly used on crosstown or feeder routes)

Bus Routes

See List of Port Authority of Allegheny County bus routes

Inclines

In addition to buses and LRVs, the system oversees the operations of two incline cablecars. The Monongahela Incline (the oldest "incline" in the U.S.) is operated by the Port Authority while the Duquesne Incline is operated by a non-profit group. Both inclines have undergone major renovations over the years.

Other services

Port Authority also operates more than 60 park & rides in Allegheny County.

Under the Port Authority-sponsored ACCESS program, a private contractor provides door-to-door service to the elderly and disabled throughout the county, seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight. All reservations are placed one day in advance.

Between 2001 and 2004, the Authority operated a "party bus": the "Ultraviolet Loop" operated on Friday and Saturday nights, serving city nightlife and university centers. [link] as of 2006 The UV Ultra Violet Route is now Discontinued, no longer In Service.

Trivia

References

See also

  • List of rapid transit systems

External links

 

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