Pittsburgh Transportation

The "T" is what we call our light rail transit. Unfortunately, it only runs from the South Hills into the city and back out again. It is important to note, however, that you can hop on it within the city triangle (between the rivers) for free. Once you cross the river, you pay! This includes the buses!

There are typically two ways to get to Pittsburgh from the airport. One is to travel around the outskirts Moon township and Sewickly. It's offers less traffic and a scenic trip down a road along the river. But if this is your first time to town, drive your rental car, convince your taxi driver or get whoever is driving you to take you through the Fort Pitt Tunnel. It may be bumper-bumper, it's not much to look at on your way to the tunnel, but it is WELL worth it on the way out. Coming out of the city side of the tunnel is like being blasted into a picture frame. From claustrophobic tunnel walls to a view of downtown and the point, it is a site to behold. Obviously better at night, it is still a striking introduction to the city.

Visitors to the city often complain about the difficulty of getting around because of the odd shape of the city (a triangle!). There is a great color-coded sign system in place that lets you know where you are within the city. Each sign consists of a small color code, the area inside and outside the blue rivers. Below it is another color-coded sign to let you know where you are in the city, and any landmarks or points of interest nearby (marked with a "star"). This photo tells you you are at the Allegheny County Courthouse, and the sign is magenta because it is in the center of the city. They are very easy and informative to deal with.

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The T is a great way to get into, out of, and around Pittsburgh. If you need to enter or leave Pittsburgh from one of its suburbs, The T is definitely your best bet. A two zone trip costs $2.60 on normal fare rates, $3.10 on peak fare rates. The best part is, The T is free if you ride it within the city (the "Free Zone").

People with disabilities, people with children, and senior citizen get special fares on the T. Children (ages 6-11) and people with disabilities get Half Fare trips. Senior citizens always ride free.

Im my experience, I find that the T is rarely crowded, and often a fun way to travel. Living in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, sometimes driving into town is the LAST thing I want to do. On the T, there aren't any traffic jams, road rage, construction detours, or potholes. I've never traveled on the T alone, but I've always felt safe.

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The Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers converge in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River. The Allegheny River begins in northern Pennsylvania, enters New York and returns to Pennsylvania to drain almost 12,000 square miles of the Allegheny Plateau. The Monongahela River watershed covers over 7,000 miles of Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania and is one of the most industrialized areas of the US. The Ohio River begins in Pittsburgh and runs 981 miles to Cairo, Illinois.

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With three major rivers and numerous other creeks, streams, and brooks, Pittsburgh truly is a city of bridges. Research by the Carnegie Library counted 2,139 bridges (not including those under 8 feet long) in Allegheny County, covering almost every possible variety of construction types. This same study shows that the city of Pittsburgh maintains 130 bridges. Pittsburgh's oldest bridge is the Smithfield Street Bridge built in 1881, while some of its most famous are along the North Shore such as the Clemente Bridge (1928), the Warhol Bridge (1926), and the Rachel Carson Bridge (1926).

When George Washington traveled this area with the British army, he noted "instead of pushing on with vigor...they were halting to level every mole-hill and to erect bridges over every brook, by which means we were four days in getting twelve miles."

A quick bit of research shows that numerous cities claim the title "City of Bridges" including New York City with 2,027 bridges; Amsterdam with 72 historic bridges and over 400 total spans; Erfurt, Germany with 216 bridges; Chicago with 180 bridges; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada even has rights to www.cityofbridges.ca but can claim only about 26 bridges; Cleveland which claims 22; Porto, Portugal whose website lists 6 bridges; Ottumwa, Iowa claims the title despite officially having just 3 bridges; Portland, Oregon; Lucerne, Switzerland; Brugge, Belgium; Oulu, Finland; Lisbon, Portugal; Glendale, CA; Berlin, Germany; Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and others.

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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On Pirates game days, the Clemente Bridge (6th Street) just north of the stadium is closed to cars and reserved for pedestrians only. This is a great way to get from downtown to the stadium after a nice pre-game dinner in town.