Pittsburgh Regional Transit seeks feedback on final proposed bus route updates

Pittsburgh Regional Transit's final proposed Bus Line Refresh is here, and the mass transit agency wants to hear what you think about it.

The refresh aims to update a bus network that, according to PRT's Adam Brandolph, hasn't significantly changed in the better part of 15 years. 

"Travel patterns have changed over that time," Brandolph, the deputy chief communications officer of PRT, said in an interview with KDKA-TV News. "Communities have grown, communities have unfortunately, in some cases, collapsed. And so we want to make sure that we have a modern system that people can rely on."

PRT asks for rider feedback

Public comment on the proposal opens Monday and runs through Sept. 30. The final proposed refresh incorporates more than 20,000 comments received over the past three years of the process. 

"It's shorter routes, more frequent service, if I had to sum it up in as few words as possible," said Brandolph. 

He said the challenge was tackling all these changes without increasing service hours for drivers. 

"We got to a point where we're still serving 99.4% of our current riders, and then we're able to expand service with the same resources that we have today," Brandolph said. 

People can take a look at the final proposed Bus Line Refresh on the PRT's website.

There are multiple opportunities for public comment over the next 45 days. The public can submit their thoughts through the PRT's comment form. There is a virtual information session happening Tuesday, Aug. 18, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Formal public comment will not be accepted during this session.

There are two public hearings where comments will be accepted: Aug. 25 and Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to noon and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Heinz 57 Building on Sixth Avenue. Riders can also send an email, leave a comment via voicemail, or send a comment form via U.S. Mail. 

After the public comment period ends on Sept. 30, the board will formally review the plan and public feedback, with a vote anticipated in November 2026. If the plan is approved, service changes will take place in the second half of 2027.

"The point of mass transit is to serve as many people as possible," Brandolph said. "We made sure that we were going to the places where people live, where people are going, and providing that reliability in terms of more frequent service."

Advocates worry some communities may be left behind

While the PRT said this would increase service for buses, rider advocates worried some communities could be left behind and lose their service. Out of the gate, 20 routes would be discontinued, 14 would be added, and dozens would be modified. The goal is to be smarter with limited resources.

Pittsburghers for Public Transit said its fear is some areas may see some better connection at the risk of other neighborhoods losing service. 

"It has to have vision and show that service can really improve for riders, for communities, for our businesses, for our region as a whole," Pittsburghers for Public Transit executive director Laura Chu Wiens said.

The group wants a plan that can be for everyone and help push the state to give PRT the money it needs to sustain and expand service.

"We know these are very vulnerable riders that really rely on this service to get to where they need to go," Chu Wiens said.

According to PRT, more than 99% of riders would have routes within a quarter mile of their existing stop. Weekend service would increase, and more routes would run 30 minutes or quicker.

Some major routes seeing changes would include those on the East Busway.

"If you're waiting at an East Busway station, the bus will stop and you'll be able to get on," Brandolph said over Zoom.

Riders said they are becoming fatigued with possible impacts, as this is the fourth time in the past couple of years they are seeing possible route changes.

"That's not to say we shouldn't overcome that to make sure that PRT gets this right," Chu Wiens said.