Service Adjustments Go Into Effect on October 1, Meeting Scheduled to Discuss Changes

Four bus routes that currently travel through the city’s Oakland neighborhood will no longer serve downtown Pittsburgh and Uptown beginning October 1 to help facilitate the flow of traffic during construction of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s University Line bus rapid transit project.

Beginning on Sunday, October 1, bus routes 61D-Murray, 71A-Negley, 71C-Point Breeze, and 71D-Hamilton will end their inbound trips in Oakland and will no longer serve Uptown and downtown Pittsburgh. These routes will have the word “Short” added to their route names and head signs.

Construction on the first phase of the University Line will begin in downtown Pittsburgh this fall. Shortening the routes to end in Oakland will prevent them from getting caught in traffic congestion caused by construction. The second phase of construction in Oakland and Uptown is expected to begin next year.

Riders who currently take the 61D, 71A, 71C or 71D to Uptown or downtown Pittsburgh can instead take the 61A-North Braddock, 61B-Braddock-Swissvale, 61C-McKeesport-Homestead or 71B-Highland Park bus routes or transfer to these routes in Oakland. Transfers are free for three hours for riders who use a ConnectCard or a mobile ticket.

To support these changes, PRT will add service on routes 82-Lincoln, 87-Friendship, and the P7-McKeesport Flyer, each of which share portions of their service areas with the shortened routes.

PRT will host an online meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12 to answer any questions riders may have on the changes. Registration is required. Please visit https://rideprt.org/october-2023-service-adjustments-meeting to sign up to attend online or by calling PRT Customer Service at 412-442-2000 to sign up to join by phone.

The meeting follows several rounds of public engagement related to these changes, including a formal public meeting in January.

PRT is working to make sure riders are aware of the changes ahead of time. In addition to placing signs at every inbound and some outbound bus stops that will be impacted by these changes, signs will be posted inside buses and audio messages will play on buses that travel the corridor.

Additionally, employees will be riding buses to remind riders of the changes the week before they go into effect and the week after the changes are implemented.

In addition to the adjustments described above, additional changes to service will be as follows:

Service frequency on the P1-East Busway will increase to minimize crowding during rush hours. Along with this change, the P2-East Busway Short variant of the P1 will be eliminated and all P2 trips will become P1 trips.

Some morning and evening 79-East Hills trips will be converted into P17-Lincoln Flyer trips that will serve Wilkinsburg Station. The 79 will operate an extension between Lincoln Avenue at Verona Boulevard and Wilkinsburg Station.

The detour for the weight-restricted Grant Avenue Bridge in Millvale will be built into the schedule for the 2-Mount Royal.

The detours for the city’s Charles Anderson Bridge rehabilitation project in Oakland will be built into the schedules for the 58-Greenfield, 65-Squirrel Hill, and 93-Lawrenceville-Hazelwood.

The 59-Mon Valley will terminate at Mountain View Drive at Home Depot due to the closure of Century III Mall Drive.

Service to Larimer via East Liberty Boulevard on the 89-Garfield Commons will be discontinued and replaced with service through Bakery Square and North Point Breeze.

Several other bus routes will experience minor trip time adjustments and some frequency changes to improve reliability. Many of these changes were made in consultation with operators and rider requests.

For a complete list of changes, visit www.ridePRT.org/ServiceUpdates.

Please contact Customer Service with any questions at 412-442-2000, on Twitter @PghTransitCare or on live chat at www.ridePRT.org.

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