Pittsburgh Regional Transit awarded $9 million for University Line extension
PITTSBURGH —
Pittsburgh Regional Transit has received $9 million from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission to fund a new bus route for the PRTX University Line extension, connecting Squirrel Hill to Homestead Grays Bridge.
Riders shared their excitement about the new route.
“A lot of people use buses like me, a lot of students, immigrants and old people, they don’t drive so we need a lot of buses,” said Zahir Hussain, a rider.
The extension could include six station pairs, extended sidewalks, next bus arrival screens, fare vending machines, bike racks, and security cameras, among other upgrades.
PRT plans to spend the next 12 to 18 months planning and designing the Murray and Forbes Avenue portions of the project. This funding adds to a previous award of $7.4 million in 2023 to extend the university line from Oakland to Squirrel Hill.
“Everyday I use the bus to commute to work because parking is a whole mess, especially in Oakland,” said Sanni Koganti, another rider.
“Just more convenient, especially in the winter time, like having to walk like 20 minutes to get to the bus stop, so I think it’s really going to be helpful for people,” Koganti added.
The new funding will partially cover the cost to extend the line to the Pittsburgh side of the Homestead Grays Bridge, where it will continue across the bridge to Homestead and McKeesport as part of a separate PRT project.
Crews are currently in phase two of the project. Phase two is expected to be completed by next year.