Public Transit in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is the public transit agency for the greater Pittsburgh area, providing bus, light rail/subway system (known as the “T”, and two cable-powered inclines in Pittsburgh.

To make planning even easier, download the Ready2Ride app (Apple/Google Play) to manage ticket purchases digitally.

The Transit app (Apple/Google Play) is also helpful for planning and navigating to your route and seeing when the next bus is due to arrive.

Pay or show your ticket as you enter the bus or the "T" - Pittsburgh's light rail system. Exact change is required when paying with cash as bus drivers do not carry change.

Port Authority Bus System

A fleet of 700 buses operates daily, all year, making nearly 7,000 stops around Allegheny County. For information about routes, stops, park-and-ride options, and fare vending machines, use their interactive online map.

  • Fares: You'll pay $2.50 one-way with a ConnectCard or $2.75 with cash. Discount fares (about half-price) are available for people with disabilities, Medicare recipients, and children ages 6-11. Seniors 65 and older ride for free, as do children 5 and under who are with an adult. Frequent riders can buy daily, weekly, or monthly passes, or ConnecTix—limited use smart cards—at ConnectCard machines.
  • Routes and Hours: There are 97 bus routes, searchable through the online schedule-finder or on paper schedules found around town. These schedules are confusing to decipher, especially for visitors. A navigation app like Google Maps will help you time your trip but if you want to do it yourself, Port Authority recommends finding your destination and then working backward from the arrival time you want, to determine when to board. You may have to transfer to another bus for some destinations. Many routes operate 7 days a week. Most run on a 60-minute schedule after 7 p.m EST. and on Sundays and holidays.
  • Service Alerts: Port Authority lists rider alerts on its website, or you can sign up for the TrueTime-to-Text service to find out when a bus should arrive at a stop.
  • Transfers: If you’ve bought a bus or T ticket within three hours using a ConnectCard, you can transfer to another vehicle for $1. This doesn’t apply to cash-paying customers.

The T Light-Rail System

The 26.2-mile T light-rail system runs from the south suburbs and becomes a subway Downtown, then tunnels under the Allegheny River to the North Shore, where it stops at the baseball and football stadiums and Rivers Casino. You can ride around Downtown and the North Shore for free.

  • Routes: The T has 53 stations along the Red Line and the Blue Line. Overhead signs at the tracks and on trains indicate destinations. After a stop, you can signal to the driver that you want to disembark at the next one. Some stations have stairs and are not ADA-accessible.
  • Hours: The T operates from around 5 a.m. EST until midnight EST. Hours can vary between the two lines.
  • Fares: Fares are the same as for buses ($2.50 one-way with a ConnectCard, with $1 transfers, or $2.75 cash). Free or discounted fares are available, and everyone rides for free in the free-fare zone within Downtown Pittsburgh. The zone includes the following stations: First Avenue Station, Steel Plaza, Wood Street Station, and Gateway; North Side Station and Allegheny Station.

The Inclines

The Monongahela Incline (Mon Incline to locals) and the Duquesne Incline cable cars run every 15 minutes between Mt. Washington and Station Square. The Monongahela runs from 5:30 a.m. EST to 12:45 a.m. EST Mondays through Saturdays and from 8:45 a.m. EST to midnight EST on Sundays. The Duquesne runs from 6:30 a.m. EST to 12:30 a.m EST 7 days a week.

Buy tickets at the upper or lower stations. One-way fare is $2.50 with a ConnectCard, $2.75 cash; round-trip is $3.50 with a ConnectCard or $5.25 cash. Be sure to look out the window during your journey, you'll have a great view of the city!

Bike Share

To get from one side of town to the other via bike, register for POGOH (download on Apple/Google Play), Pittsburgh's bike share program, and rent a bicycle from any of the conveniently located stations throughout the city using the PBSC App. Rides start at $4.00 for 30-minute rides on standard bikes and $5.50 for 30-minute rides on e-pedal assist bikes.

Accessibility

All buses, light-rail vehicles, and the Monongahela Incline are equipped with wheelchair ramps or lifts that drivers test daily. If a ramp or lift malfunctions, a wheelchair or scooter user may have to wait for another bus. But if that bus won’t arrive for 30 minutes or more, Port Authority will send an ACCESS vehicle. All stations along the West Busway and Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway, and some South Busway stations, are ADA-accessible with ramps, curb cuts, guide rails, and Braille information. Priority seating is at the front of the bus or train.