Pittsburgh.. Public Transportation?

Question

Is it possible to get around Pittsburgh for a visit without renting a car? I just want to visit a few areas? Is the bus system ok??

Answer 1

YES that's why college students love it here. We have a subway('The T') that runs from downtown to Station Square and the South Hills. And the PAT Bus(City Bus) takes you pretty much anywhere. You can go downtown to the Wood Street Subway Station and pick up bus schedules to anywhere in Allegheny County and some neighboring counties. I would recommend you get weekly bus-pass which cost about $20-35 dollars so you won't break the bank catching the bus every where you can get bus passes at just about any grocery store like Giant Eagle which are everywhere and public transportation is very dependable here because thousands of people rely on it everyday.

And if you plan on going to the any of the boroughs outside the city you should get a zone 2 or zone 3 bus-pass just so you have to worry about paying extra fair that can add up.

Answer 2

Yes. The Port Authority of Allegheny County has an extensive bus system as well as a light rail system that serves downtown and the South Hills. They have a "free fare zone" in downtown too. You can check out their website for info.

In case you were wondering...the 10-county region of Southwestern PA actually has 10 different transit authorities, which when you look at it is a pretty disfunctional way to operate. Of those 10 operators, Port Authority makes up about 94-96% of the picture (in terms of operating dollars) and all of the other operators put together make up the other 5% or so. Kind of crazy.