• Home
  • 2024-12-28
  • From Ransomware attacks and smartphone apps for the visually impaired to bus route redesign and upcoming construction impacts, here's some of what's been happening at Pittsburgh Regional Transit
From Ransomware attacks and smartphone apps for the visually impaired to bus route redesign and upcoming construction impacts, here's some of what's been happening at Pittsburgh Regional Transit

From Ed Blazina at Pittsburgh Union Progress, here's a look at a few of the latest stories from Pittsburgh Regional Transit:
  • Ransomware Attack: What Pittsburgh Regional Transit thought last week was a computer glitch that affected rail service has turned out to be a ransomware attack on the transit service. The agency activiated its Cyber Incident Response Team and launched an investigation, notifying law enforcement, and engaging nationally recognized third-party cybersecurity and data forensics experts. Spokesman Adam Brandolph said the agency is limited in what it can say about the incident due to the ongoing investigation, but diddn't believe that personal rider information had been compromised at the time. The incident was first noticed around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 19, before service started for the day, and the problem was cleared by about 7:00 a.m. the same day. Transit services have since been operating normally and customers continued to be able to use services that add money to their ConnectCard or provide up-to-date transit vehicle location data, though customer service employees were experiencing difficulties with the customer support computer system. As of December 24, the attack is still an active investigation, but agency officials shared that they are "hopeful that changes in the next few days or weeks so we can be more forthcoming."
  • BRT Progress Downtown: Traffic patterns utilized by PRT buses were changed along Fifth and Sixth Avenues for a two-week period in November as crews worked to expand sidewalks to align with some of the 35 new traffic signals the agency is installing along the loop of exclusive bus lanes that will be used as part of the region's first Bus Rapid Transit project. Deemed the University Line, the new BRT system is designed to ease congestion for buses between Oakland and Downtown. This work was part of the first phase of the University Line which will include five new stations at Fifth/Ross, Fifth/William Penn, Fifth/Market Square, the Wood Street T Station on Liberty, and Steel Plaza at Sixth/Grant—all expected to be finished and operating next spring. Meanwhile, work on the second phase of the project should begin early next year, with a $99.8 million contract awarded to Independence for the remainder of the project between Uptown and Oakland. That segment will include 18 new stations for buses traveling inbound on Fifth Avenue and outbound on Forbes Avenue, as well as bicycle lanes on Forbes, new sidewalks, traffic signals, and other amenities. Five bus routes—61A, 61B, 61C, 71B, and P3—will make up the University Line when the system is fully operational some time in 2027. Eventually, traffic signals will give buses priority at intersections. The system will also include 15 electric buses aimed at reducing air pollution.
  • Bus Route Redesign: Released in mid-September, PRT's first draft of its bus route redesign would reduce the overal number of routes, add 19 routes including some new service areas, and substantially increase the job sites and neighborhoods the system serves. A series of public meetings have been held through Q4 this year to receive feedback from the public, and now updates will be made as-needed through 2025, with another chance for public review before implementation begins in 2026.
    • Overall, the draft recommends reducing the system's number of bus routes from 95 to 77, and includes frequency or path changes to about 60% of routes—some minor like moving one block, others more substantial, like reducing daily trips or extending/shrinking service area. A major goal is to change the current system that routes many buses through Downtown Pittsburgh, often requiring a long trip for riders connecting from one neighboring community to another. The revised system would nearyl double the number of crosstown routes from 10 to 19, and establish 20 transit hubs in outlying areas to allow for suburban transfers. Areas like Wexford would get PRT service for the first time, and crosstown routes from places like West Mifflin to Carnegie and Millvale to the East End would be established. Planners have worked on the proposed changes for the past year and devised a way to expand daily and weekend service while adding service areas and without increasing operating costs.
  • Planners say the redesign will provide the following benefits including:
    • Nearly twice as many routes now providing service every 30 minutes or less
    • More than 400,000 residents with access to 30-minute or better service, a 27% increase
    • The number of 20-mile or longer routes would be cut in half
    • Over 143,000 residents in low-income communities would have access to service every 30 minutes or less, a 32% increase
    • More than 605,000 residents would have access to transit (+35,000)
    • More than 230,000 residents could have a direct ride to Oakland (+21,000)
  • Mount Washington Transit Tunnel Closure in 2025. Plans are in place for a project that will close the tunnel between South Hills Junction and Station Square for five months beginning March 1, 2025, in order to replace concrete deck and embed new tracks, replace electrical catenary wire and support components, and repair the tunnel lighting.

    • Buses that use the tunnel will be rerouted, but will continue using Smithfield Street Bridge to enter Downtown.
    • Light rail trains will be rerouted to use the normally dormant Allentown Line and enter Downtown via the Panhandle Bridge without stopping at Station Square, adding an estimated 7-8 minutes to normal trip times from the South Hills.
    • The tunnel work is part of a series of light rail projects scheduled over the next four year period at an estimated cost of $150 million—the most expensive of which will be the planned rehabilitation of the Panhandle Bridge that carries light rail trains across the Monongahela River into Downtown. That project is expected to last two years and cost $68 million—with the majority of work not requiring the bridge to be closed.

 


Multimodal Resources Map

Commuter Resources



© 2025. All rights reserved | Oakland Transportation Management Association