Latest news with #PittsburghRegionalTransit
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Emergency closure planned for Herron Avenue Bridge in Pittsburgh
An emergency closure of a bridge in Pittsburgh is planned for Wednesday. The Herron Avenue Bridge, which falls in Polish hill and Lawrenceville, has been deemed 'deficient,' according to Pittsburgh Regional Transit. PRT stated that the City of Pittsburgh's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure notified them that the bridge will be closed entirely from Ruthven Street to Liberty Avenue and will remain closed indefinitely. A time for the closure was not provided. For PRT riders, this impacts the North Side, Oakland and South Side routes. The stops at the Herron busway station will be discontinued. For more information on the PRT stops impacted, click here. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Part of Spring Garden Road to close starting June 2; PRT announces temporary route changes
Part of Spring Garden Road in Reserve Township will close starting on June 2, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit has announced temporary route changes to accommodate the closure. The road will close between Ramage Road and Beech Street at 9 a.m., the Department of Public Works says. The closure will last through September. The DPW says the closure is needed for constructing a roadway support, roadway repairs and curb and pavement marking replacement. PRT says its 7-Spring Garden route will be detoured using Mt. Troy Road, Ivory Avenue, Evergreen Road, East Street, Mt. Pleasant Road and Beech Street. Five stops on the route will be temporarily discontinued: INBOUND Spring Garden Road opposite No. 3851 (Stop No. 2863) Spring Garden Road opposite No. 3681 (Stop No. 2864) Spring Garden Road at Beech Street (Stop # 2865) OUTBOUND Spring Garden Road at No. 3681 (Stop No. 2915) Spring Garden Road at No. 3851 (Stop No. 2916) Riders at these stops can use a temporary stop on Beech Street at Spring Garden Road, PRT says. Riders at the affected outbound stops can use a temporary stop on Spring Garden Road opposite Beech Street (Stop No. 2914). If you have any questions, you can contact PRT Customer Service at 412-442-2000, on X at @pghtransitcare, or via live chat at Regular vehicle traffic will follow the same detour, using Spring Garden Avenue, Vinial Street, Troy Hill Road, Lowrie Street, Ley Street, Rialto Street, Pittview Avenue and Mt. Troy Road. People who live in the closure area will have access to their homes at all times, PRT says. Spring Garden Road is used by an average of 1,960 drivers daily, according to PRT. The $409,838 project's primary construction contractor is A. Merante Contracting of West Mifflin. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
PRT to adjust more than 2 dozen bus routes starting in June
More than two dozen Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus routes will see updated routing, new stop locations and schedule changes starting in late June. PRT says the changes will begin June 22. Improvements include launching permanent service along the University Line's Downtown portion. Routes 61A, 61B, 61C and 71B will follow their permanent Bus Rapid Transit alignment Downtown using Fifth Avenue, Liberty Avenue, Sixth Avenue and Forbes Avenue. The routes will serve five new BRT stations at Ross Street, William Penn, Market Square, Wood Street and Steel Plaza. You can learn more about the University Line at PRT highlighted changes to 20 other downtown routes: Route 8: Will follow the same Downtown path as Routes 13, 16, and 17, looping via Liberty Avenue, Stanwix Street, and Fort Duquesne Boulevard. Route 51L, Y1, Y45: Will now use the new route via Wood Street and Forbes Avenue, with a new stop at the southeast corner of Wood Street and Forbes Avenue. Route 77: Updated loop Downtown via Bigelow Boulevard, Liberty Avenue, and Gateway Center with new outbound stops. Routes 81, 82, 83: New inbound route through Washington Place and Diamond Street, with new stops near Grant Street and PNC Tower. Route G2: Will serve all five new University Line BRT stations. Route P1: Updated loop via Grant Street, Liberty Avenue, and Sixth Avenue, with a new stop at Grant Street and Strawberry Way, and service to Smithfield, Market Square, and Wood Street BRT stations. Routes P7, P17, P69, P76, P78: Continue using Liberty Avenue through Downtown with new and relocated stops. Routes P12, P16, P67, P68, P71: Maintain current routes through Downtown but may have stop changes. You can find route-by-route maps and updates by going to PRT says nearly 40 other routes will see Downtown bus stop changes, and service frequency and trip times are also being updated systemwide. Details can be found at Riders with questions should contact customer service by calling (412) 442-2000, on X @PghTransitCare or through live chat at Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Technical.ly
15-05-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Proposed PRT service cuts threaten talent retention and economic growth, leaders say
Proposed cuts to Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) will affect commuters across the city – including local tech workers. The cuts will impact over 90% of bus routes, fully eliminating 40 of them, cutting service by at least 30% to 33 others and making smaller reductions to 20 more. The effects will be felt in neighborhoods important to Pittsburgh's innovation ecosystem, including 'Robotics Row' and 'AI Avenue' in areas like Oakland, Lawrenceville and Bakery Square. A significant percentage of employees working for new economy companies rely on PRT to get to their jobs, Sean Luther, executive director of InnovatePGH, told Proposed cuts would make it harder and more expensive, due to a proposed 25-cent fare increase, to get to work, possibly impacting the city's ability to attract young talent and going against the quality of life improvements local startups have been calling for. 'We've talked with growth-stage companies in the region and their desires aren't tax cuts or complicated policy meant to favor them,' said Charles Mansfield, who works closely with founders as InnovatePGH's startup ecosystem manager, 'but quality of life improvements for their employees. They want better main streets, transit, walkability and bike infrastructure.' At Duolingo, for example, potential transit cuts are a topic of significant concern among the workforce, said Kendra Ross, head of social impact at the popular East Liberty-based edtech company. The transit options are 'a key factor for us in attracting top tech talent to Pittsburgh,' she said at an April 15 hearing on the future of mass transit in Pennsylvania. 'The proposed service cuts will directly impact us as well as many other businesses in our community.' As public hearings continue and lawmakers debate solutions, local stakeholders are saying the cuts would have a greater ripple effect on Pittsburgh's economy, too. A hit to individual wallets — and the city's finances at large For many, simply buying a car instead isn't an option. Between upfront costs for insurance, gas and maintenance, the average cost of owning a car is over $12,000 a year, according to an analysis done by AAA. Not everyone can afford, or is interested in, that financial hit. It's especially true for the young people startups are looking to attract, according to Luther. 'I can point you to any number of founders at our Avenu locations in Oakland and Uptown who are in our coworking spaces explicitly because they are on the PRT's most robust transit lines,' Luther said. 'PRT service is particularly important for startups working with interns and recent graduates who are less likely to have or want a car.' Red represents route elimination, orange represents a major route reduction and yellow represents a minor route reduction. Unaffected routes are in black. Bright green neighborhoods are considered tech worker hubs, where offices and labs are congregated. More hurdles and higher costs to get to work can even keep some people out of the field. Accessibility to public transportation creates equal opportunity in the economy, said Chris Sandvig, founder and executive director of Mobilify, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the region's public transit systems. '[Local companies are] trying to hire folks from the community to help them get stable footing, Sandvig said, 'and people turn down jobs or actually rescind acceptance of jobs because they find out they can't get there.' All of these factors could add up to broader economic impacts for the city. For every dollar invested in public transit, $5 is generated in economic returns, according to research from the American Public Transportation Association. In Allegheny County, public transit employs over 2,500 workers who supply over 115,000 trips each weekday. These services add more than $3.2 billion in housing value to the region and more than $100 million in additional tax revenue statewide, according to data from PRT. Public transit is good for the culture, too Beyond impacts to work commutes, cuts to PRT services could diminish options for traveling to other major transit hubs and make it harder to connect with other parts of the city. 'When I chose to live in Pittsburgh, I did so because of its great first impression,' founder Armin Samii wrote in Pittsburgh Slack group. 'I landed at the airport, got on a bus, went to a hotel on Smallman Street, where I saw people biking and walking and frequent bus service. It felt like a modern, multi-modal, first-class city.' But an experience last year proved to be the opposite. Samii shared a story of waiting in freezing temperatures at the airport for a 'ghost bus' that never showed up. He finally got home around 1 a.m., two hours later than he would've if he had opted to call an Uber instead, according to a 2024 X thread. With the proposed service cuts, travelers wouldn't even have the option to bus home from the airport after 11 p.m., instead having to rely on owning a car, ride-share services or a helpful friend with a vehicle. Samii still uses PRT services to get around, like when he goes to shows in Pittsburgh's cultural district, he said, but service cuts threaten that experience, too. It is incredibly common for younger founders like Samii to rely on transit, according to Mansfield. Pittsburgh's transit system is one of the biggest talent retention tools the city has, as young people want a 'car-light lifestyle,' he said. 'Public transit creates density in our ecosystem by making it functionally easier to travel to the different specialized neighborhoods,' Mansfield said. 'Instead of creating separated silos of resources, transit is what turns it into a collective machine.' Years of flat funding leave PRT no choice but to cut to 'the bone' State funding for PRT has remained flat since 2013, forcing PRT to make cuts, like reducing services by 40%, over the last few years. PRT's budget deficit, which will be $100 million in July, was temporarily relieved by pandemic-era funding in 2021. Since that's run out, though, it now needs $117 million in new state funding, plus compounding annual increases, to maintain current service levels over the next decade, according to the agency. '[PRT] has tightened its ship in a lot of ways,' Sandvig said. 'There's no fat left to cut. There's practically no muscle left to cut. We're going into the bone here.' PRT gets about half of its revenue from the commonwealth, which is also cutting funds for services in Philadelphia. Philadelphia's public transportation system, SEPTA, will be forced to cut services by 45%, reduce its workforce and increase fares in 2026 if it cannot secure additional state funding. PRT service cuts are not set in stone yet. PRT is collecting public comments and holding public hearings as Harrisburg finalizes the budget. Republicans have been reluctant to approve additional funding for public transit, with some calling for the transit agencies in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to consider privatizing some services, but there is some movement. A bill to increase the share of state sales tax revenue for transit by 1.75% was recently approved by the Transportation Committee and now awaits a full House vote. Beyond budget lines and legislative debates, transit cuts threaten to disrupt daily life for some commuters relying on certain routes or schedules, according to Sandvig of Mobilify. Late-night services allow people to enjoy the cultural aspects of a city without daring them to drink and drive, he said. Those buses are also the force behind getting many crucial night-shift workers to their jobs. 'I would like to come to work at a clean office in the morning,' Sandvig said, 'but how can we expect folks to do that if we don't have [public transit].'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Devastating:' Public officials, commuters attend first hearing regarding potential PRT cuts
Pittsburgh Regional Transit hosted its first public hearing to talk about proposed service cuts and fare increases. It was an opportunity for transit riders to share their concerns about the impact those cuts will have. The outcome will directly impact the lives of thousands of people who depend on public transportation in three counties. The hearing was held inside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and was scheduled to be the first of several. PRT is proposing to make mass service cuts and increase fares due to a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. 'The proposed service cuts and rate hikes would be nothing short of devastating,' said Dormont Borough Councilor Chris Riegner. 'Devastating' is how community leaders described the proposed cuts during the hearing. PRT said it will be forced to cut service by 35%, eliminating 40 bus routes across 19 municipalities in three counties and the City of Pittsburgh. Access service, which is door-to-door transportation for the elderly and people with disabilities, would be cut by more than 60%. The T's silver line would be eliminated and all transit would stop at 11 p.m. Riders would see a 25-cent fare increase, bringing the base fare to $3 for a one-way trip. That's $6 a round trip and $30 for one week. Outside of the hearing, transit riders and local leaders expressed their frustrations. 'This is because of decades of chronic underfunding the state, rising costs, and the expiration of Act 89,' said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, 'Now we need Harrisburg to step up.' Governor Josh Shapiro has offered a 1.75% increase in transit funding but PRT leadership and union leaders said that would only account for $42 million, not nearly what is needed. PRT said they have already made cuts. 'We have cut all that is left of service and we need to keep every mile of that out on the streets, not just for the people who drive, but for the people who ride us, and for these kids that want us to stay here,' said PRT CEO Katherine Eagan Kelleman. Riders who rely on transit are running out of time and the state budget is due on June 30. 'Today, we gather as a rally to send a message to Harrisburg. Don't take our lifeline,' said Mayor Ed Gainey. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
