Pittsburgh Transportation

Pittsburgh's Airport is huge for a city of its size. At the center of the airport's terminal is a shopping mall, with plenty of shops and restaurants to occupy your time if you get stuck with a multi-hour layover. We actually have done some of our Christmas shopping their when we have flown to Pittsburgh to visit Mike's family.

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In Pittsburgh, buses are free downtown within the Golden Triangle as far as Ross Street or 11th Street until 7 pm, then the fares range from $1.50 to $3.25 depending on how far you go. During special events the max fare goes up to over $5.

On Pittsburgh buses, you pay as you board when you're going toward downtown and pay as you depart the bus on your way away from Downtown.

The 28X bus runs an express route between the airport and downtown. The cost is just $2.75 and takes maybe 25 minutes to get downtown from the airport.

WEEKLY PASS
One Zone $20.00
Two Zone $24.00
Three Zone $30.00

MONTHLY PASS
One Zone $75.00
Two Zone $90.00
Three Zone $110.00

ANNUAL PASS
One Zone $825.00
Two Zone $990.00
Three Zone $1,210.00

Pittsburgh is well served by mass transit but we were on the tail end of a six month trip traveling around the US National Park system and to get all our gear from place to place, our car was the best option.

D was her ever sweet self driving from Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland to our friends' place in Pittsburgh which took 2 hours and was about 125 miles.

Our friend drove us to The Church Beer Works in town so D got a night off as the designated driver.

I drove the leg from Pittsburgh to my brother's house in Delaware which was 350 miles and 5.5 hours. It was the end of the drive "back east" though we would explore the NE for a couple weeks, visiting friends and of course, visiting a few brewpubs.

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With a plethora of one-way streets, bridges, exits ramps, steep roads, rivers, tunnels, hills, and drivers making Pittsburgh lefts, the city can be difficult to drive around. To make matters worse, my Garmin Nuvi can't hardly talk fast enough to tell me when and where to turn when taking the bridges and parkways around downtown. Add sporting events at the downtown stadiums and arenas and soon casino traffic, and rush hours get interesting. What happens when there's a sports championship parade blocking all streets downtown?

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The general rule when parking downtown is the closer to the US Steel Tower you get, the more expensive parking will be. For example, the Mon Wharf costs just $8 per day while the Mellon Square Garage will run you $14 per day. If you park in the private lot under the Steel Tower, expect to pay closer to $22 per day. Some downtown hotels charge upwards and above $26 for valet parking. The Omni for example, charges $26 for valet parking, but they park your car in the Mellon Square garage across the street, where you'd pay just $14 to park on your own.

The Pittsburgh Parking Authority runs the public garages, lots, and on-street parking while various private companies also offer parking to the general public.

Some of the best parking bargains in the Burgh are at Station Square, the Strip and Mellon Arena where parking is under $8 per day.

Lots of cab companies, but be sure to find which you want and have the number on hand, because taxi's don't drive around Pittsburgh looking for people, you have to call them.

Also, be aware that the taxi drivers are essentially contractors. When you call, the taxi company will tell the taxi drivers that they have contact with that there is someone looking for a ride. A taxi driver MAY OR MAY NOT EVER SHOW UP since each of them can decide whether or not they are interested.

The trolley or "T" is Pittsburgh's Subway system moving around downtown and the south hills.

It is priced the same as the buses.

http://www.portauthority.org/PAAC/CustomerInfo/BuswaysandT/LightRailTransitSystem/TQuickFacts/tabid/187/Default.aspx

Parking in Pittsburgh was relatively easy. Our hotel had valet parking as well as a parking garage for public use. Around the city there was plenty of street parking and metered parking available. We were quite surprised at how easy it was to find parking and how cheap it was.