Port Authority of Allegheny County provides public transportation services throughout Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
The Authority's 2,500 employees operate, maintain and support bus, light rail, incline and paratransit services for nearly 230,000 daily riders.
CEO Steve Bland, who joined Port Authority in June 2006, has guided a series of changes aimed at making Port Authority more efficient, transparent, accountable and reliable. Some of the changes are based on recommendations of the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission, which was created by former Gov. Ed Rendell. Port Authority has relied on the commission’s findings.
These changes include the Authority's first top-to-bottom restructuring of its routes, implementation of modern fare collection equipment and significant revision of staff levels and benefit packages.
More changes are either underway or in the planning stages, including implementation of smart card technology and on-street bus rapid transit.
Port Authority is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors – unpaid volunteers who are appointed by the Allegheny County Executive and approved by the Allegheny County Council. The Board conducts a monthly public meeting.
Port Authority's budget is funded by fare revenue, along with money from county, state and federal sources. The Authority's finances and operations are audited on a regular basis, both internally and by external agencies.
Fleet
Port Authority’s fleet includes about 700 buses and 83 light rail vehicles (LRVs). The Authority also owns two inclines. Port Authority operates the Monongahela Incline, which not only serves daily commuters but is a popular tourist attraction. The Authority leases the Duquesne Incline to the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline.
Port Authority also sponsors ACCESS, a door-to-door, advance reservation, shared-ride transportation program that primarily serves seniors and persons with disabilities.
Port Authority has made great strides in modernizing its bus fleet, with the goal of reducing the average vehicle age to 6 years. The Authority also operates 32 hybrid diesel-electric buses..
Port Authority started serving the community in March 1964. The Authority was created by the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1959, which authorized the consolidation of 33 private transit carriers because many were failing financially. The consolidation included the Pittsburgh Railways Company along with 32 independent bus and inclined plane companies.
By combining fare structures and centralizing operations, Port Authority established the first unified transit system in Allegheny County.
Riders
In 2011, Port Authority served more than 214,000 riders on an average weekday. Total passengers for the 2011 calendar year totaled more than 63 million. A closer look at the ridership data for 2011:
- Average weekday ridership systemwide: 214,160
- Average weekday bus riders: 182,573
- Average weekday T riders: 23,927
- Average weekday ACCESS riders: 6,045
- Average weekday Mon Incline riders: 1,615
- Average Saturday ridership systemwide: 98,071
- Average Sunday ridership systemwide: 57,340
Service backbone
Port Authority owns and maintains an extensive network of transit properties and facilities throughout 
Allegheny County. This includes:
- Three busways: The 4.3-mile South Busway, the 9.1-mile Martin Luther King, Jr. East Busway and the 5-mile West Busway.
- Park and Ride: Lots are located throughout Allegheny County with many locations along busways and T lines. We offer 53 lots with nearly 13,000 spaces.
- Light Rail: The T is a 26.2-mile light rail system that runs from the North Shore and Downtown Pittsburgh through Pittsburgh's southern neighborhoods and many South Hills suburbs.
- HOV: The Wabash HOV provides a quick connection for motorists traveling between the Downtown/South Side area and the Route 51 corridor.
- Monongahela Incline: The incline is a popular tourist attraction that also serves daily commuters. The upper station is in the city's Mt. Washington neighborhood and the lower station is located at Station Square, where riders may transfer to the T.
Economic development support
Construction has been completed to expand the T into the developing North Shore, with service beginning on March 25, 2012. The rapidly developing North Shore is home to the Carnegie Science Center, the Community College of Allegheny County, Del Monte Foods, Equitable Resources, PNC Park, Heinz Field, Rivers Casino and several other existing and proposed cultural, business and residential destinations. Read more about the North Shore Connector.
Port Authority plays an increasingly significant role in economic development efforts and community vitality within Pittsburgh and throughout Allegheny County's communities. Our Downtown subway stations have benefited major employers seeking direct access to commuter transportation on weekdays and weekends. The areas surrounding Negley and East Liberty busway stations have also seen growth and revitalization. More development proposals are emerging at locations along our T lines.
As the community relies on Port Authority to make improvements, we continue to seek ways to improve how we serve riders and the community.
Growth and improvement
In 2010, Port Authority began instituting route changes under its Transit Development Plan (TDP), the result of more than two years of planning and feedback from thousands of riders, all with the aim to make transit smarter and more efficient.
Allegheny County has changed dramatically over the last 50 years, but prior to the TDP, Port Authority did not mirror that transformation. The TDP has helped bring the system into the 21st Century by consolidating underused services, adding new routes in growth areas and adopting a new route naming system to make our service easier to understand.
More improvements are in the works, including bus stop consolidation and streamlined Downtown circulation. Additionally, a coalition of city and county government, community organizations and major institutions has partnered with Port Authority to begin exploring the possibility of on-street bus rapid transit for the Downtown-Oakland corridor, where revitalization of the Uptown area has become a regional focus.
Port Authority also recently installed new fareboxes on its entire vehicle fleet in preparation for a new smart card system – called ConnectCard – that will be introduced in 2012. This system promises to make fare payment easier and more convenient for riders.
Recent challenges
Pennsylvania is currently experiencing a transportation funding crisis that affects anyone who uses or relies on adequate public transit and safe, well-maintained roads, highways and bridges. That includes Port Authority riders and all employers, businesses and other institutions that have come to depend on a robust public transportation system.
The primary cause of the crisis was the collapse of the state’s Act 44 due to the federal government’s decision not to allow tolling of Interstate 80. This in turn decreased state funding to Port Authority, leading to a $47 million operating deficit in the Authority’s budget for fiscal year 2011.
As Port Authority is required by law to balance its budget, the agency was forced raise fares and reduce service in early 2011 as well as close its Harmar bus division and eliminate about 270 jobs, including 180 through layoffs. A one-time emergency funding infusion from former Gov. Ed Rendell enabled us to scale back the magnitude of service cuts from 35 percent to 15 percent, but the impact was still felt throughout the system and many areas lost service.
By spending most of our remaining reserve money – as well as the remaining emergency funds from Gov. Rendell – Port Authority has been able to keep service, fares and staffing levels stable through the end of fiscal year 2012 (ending June 30, 2012).
This provides a window of opportunity for state leaders to resolve the transportation funding crisis. However, without predictable, sustainable transit funding, the future of transportation in Allegheny County and around Pennsylvania will remain in jeopardy, and Port Authority faces an operating budget deficit for fiscal year 2013. Without action, this will result in a 35-percent service cut. Learn more about the financial challenges Port Authority is currently facing.
Mission Statement
To deliver outstanding transportation services that connect people to life
Vision Statement
To become America's premier public transportation company