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Port Authority Makes Changes to Schedule and Routes

While waiting for the bus that takes you to work Monday morning, you might be surprised when it zips right past you.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAT) is eliminating nearly 430 stops along 36 bus routes beginning Sunday as the first of several phases of bus stop consolidations.

Spokeswoman Heather Pharo said PAT is only eliminating stops that receive little to no use.

“When I say little to no use, most of these stops were actually used by zero people, and we monitored them in fall of 2012,” Pharo said.

Pharo said PAT took distance between stops into consideration before the elimination.

The transit authority is also making changes to the routes around Swissvale’s Kenmawr Bridge.

In January, the bridge’s weight was restricted to six tons after being deemed unsafe. Pharo said PAT buses weigh between 15 and 22 tons, so the bridge was no longer usable.

The restriction resulted in four bus route detours and created 10- to 15-minute delays for riders in the area.

“Since this weight restriction is ongoing and indefinite, we are making some of the re-routing permanent and also changing the schedules accordingly, so that way our riders have a better sense of when the bus might actually come so the performance better matches the schedule,” Pharo said.

Pharo said one of the changes will be with bus way stop restrictions on the P7 McKeesport Flyer so the riders who have a lengthy detour will have a faster trip into town.

She said the agency is responding to complaints from Hill District residents by changing the route leading to Bedford Avenue.

“We have worked with the community there who had requested better service to Bedford Avenue, so what we’re doing is rerouting the route," Pharo said. "It’s currently called the 83 Webster, and it’s going to be rerouted to serve Bedford Avenue. We’ll be now calling it 83 Bedford Hill."

Pharo said bus riders can find these changes along with the quarterly scheduling and route tweaks on Port Authority’s website.

Jess is from Elizabeth Borough, PA and is a junior at Duquesne University with a double major in journalism and public relations. She was named as a fellow in the WESA newsroom in May 2013.