PRT’s Final Bus Line Refresh Draft is Here

Bus Line Refresh final draft announced

PRT has released its final draft of the Bus Line Refresh. Your voice is critical in making sure the Bus Line Refresh really benefits PRT riders. 

After over 20,000 comments from riders, the public’s last chance to provide input on this major change will be between August 17th and September 30th of this year.

A network redesign like the Bus Line Refresh could be used as an opportunity to win the funding and service PRT riders deserve. With this final draft, PRT has a choice: set riders up for success in the future, or lock Allegheny County transit into managed decline. 

Read on to learn more about the final draft, then take action using our tools.

How the Bus Line Refresh impacts Pittsburgh

The Bus Line Refresh could be a tool to win the state funding we need—if it puts forth a visionary proposal for the service that PRT riders deserve.

The Bus Line Refresh draft, as currently proposed, is a cost-neutral plan: it assumes the same level of funding and overall service as the system currently has. Unfortunately, PRT has been continuously cutting service since 2019, leaving Allegheny County transit riders with 20% less service than they did before the pandemic. In the context of such reduced service, a cost-neutral redesign can only lock in a state of disinvestment.

This year, the need for transit investment is particularly acute. The state funding for every transit system in the state of Pennsylvania has run out—and without new money from the state, PRT will face drastic service cuts and fare increases in 2027. PRT has the opportunity to use the Bus Line Refresh to show Harrisburg what transit riders really need in Allegheny County—not just what they could make do with.

Here’s how PRT could maximize the benefits of the Bus Line Refresh: 

  • Name and plan for a specific, visionary growth possibility, so that PRT can win the money it urgently needs. Decades of disinvestment and rider organizing have made it clear that current service levels are not meeting riders’ needs; if PRT designs under the assumption of no new service, Harrisburg will have no reason to fund it.
  • Minimize harm for existing riders. With a cost-neutral redesign, any service improvement in one community will come at the expense of another community. PRT must minimize cuts to communities who have no other option (stay tuned for our analysis of which communities could be harmed the most under this final draft).
  • Name clear, specific goals and metrics to demonstrate that the Bus Line Refresh increases ridership, reliability, and rider satisfaction. PRT aims to increase all these metrics under the refresh, and riders agree! By clearly naming and regularly reporting on success metrics like rider satisfaction, ridership increase, and service reliability, PRT can ensure this major change actually accomplishes what it sets out to. 

How to influence the Bus Line Refresh final draft

Here’s the good news: transit riders like you still have the chance to make sure the Bus Line Refresh maximizes benefit, while minimizing harms. Here’s how:

  • Learn more about the draft! The Bus Line Refresh is a big, complex plan—but you don’t need to piece through it alone:
  • Comment on the draft! The Bus Line Refresh is a massive, confusing proposal, and it can be hard to draft comments. That’s why we made a Mad-Libs-style comment template, to help you craft a comment for PRT. Check out our tool, make a copy, and customize it to show how the Refresh impacts you, alongside the things our system needs as a whole.
  • Attend the public hearing! PRT needs to hear from you about how the final Bus Line Refresh impacts your community. Save the date: join transit riders at the public hearing Downtown on September 10th to give your testimony.