The most recent data from Pittsburgh Regional Transit show rides on public transportation are up, but they still fall below pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n
PRT reports weekday ridership grew more than 8% from May 2025 to May 2026. It credits the increase to higher usage of several bus routes, including the P1-East Busway with 778 additional rides, and 54-North Side-Oakland-South Side, which had 671 more rides.<\/p>\n
Bus ridership for May 2026 was 113,615 \u2014 a 9% increase from May 2025, according to PRT. Rides on the T averaged 11,450 in May \u2014 a 1% increase \u2014 while rides on the Monongahela Incline were in decline by 30% compared to May 2025.<\/p>\n
May numbers came in below April of this year, which got a bump of 485,000 rides during the three days of the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. April weekday rides averaged 120,434.<\/p>\n
PRT said the draft also gave the agency a financial boost, generating more than $1.2 million in new revenue from advertising, sponsorships, and strategic partnerships.<\/p>\n
Monthly ridership has been trending up each month this year compared to 2025, but it is still tens of thousands of rides below what PRT saw in 2019.<\/p>\n
PRT will soon unveil a proposed final draft and collect comments on its Bus Line Refresh<\/a>, an effort to improve and streamline transit service in the county and attract more riders.<\/p>\n The refresh is designed to be cost-neutral, meaning it won\u2019t cost more or less to operate than the current system.<\/p>\n PRT is facing an uncertain budget future. Last year, in the face of a $100 million budget shortfall, the authority got permission from the state legislature to use capital funds for operations over two years.<\/p>\n