Pittsburgh Regional Transit will offer free rides for customers in the South Hills whose light rail trips will be interrupted during an 11-week closure for construction that begins June 16.
The agency will create temporary bus routes and operate rail shuttles while the light rail’s Red Line is closed between Overbrook Junction and South Hills Junction. As a result of the inconvenience, the agency’s board on Friday approved free rides for customers who use the shuttles.
The agency will have bus routes that operate from the Potomac Station and the Castle Shannon Station, where light rail trips won’t be available during the closure, via Route 19 to Station Square on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The 41 Potomac will operate every 20 minutes during rush hours (6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.) and every 30 minutes at other times, and the 37 Castle Shannon will run every 30 minutes.
In addition, a rail shuttle will operate between Dormont Junction and Overbrook Junction. At Overbrook, riders can get on the active part of the system known as the Blue Line to either go outbound to South Hills Village or inbound to Downtown Pittsburgh.
Once the bus or rail shuttle reaches their transfer point, riders will pay a full fare if they get on another transit vehicle to reach their final destination.
“It’s a good idea, and we definitely heard about it from our riders,” CEO Katharine Eagan Kelleman told the board in recommending the free fares. After the approval, several members of the public thanked the board for the move during public comments.
The work on the Red Line will include track replacement at several areas where light rail cars cross public streets or other rail lines and overhead electrical line work replacement of what’s called a guarded rail to keep trains on the track during curves.
Overall, the agency last month began a series of light rail projects over five years that will cost about $150 million. The work will include the rehabilitation of the Panhandle Bridge, the 1.2-mile structure that carries the system from Station Square across the Monongahela River into Downtown Pittsburgh.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.