Wikipedia

Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway

(Redirected from Purple Line (Pittsburgh))

"Purple Line (Pittsburgh)" redirects here. For the belt road designation in Pittsburgh, see Purple Belt (Pennsylvania).

The Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway is a two-lane bus-only highway serving the city of Pittsburgh and many of its eastern neighborhoods and suburbs. It was named after Martin Luther King Jr. in recognition of the eastern portion of the route's serving many predominantly African-American neighborhoods, such as Wilkinsburg and East Liberty. It is owned and maintained by Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

Martin Luther King Jr.
East Busway
Three buses on the busway near UPMC Shadyside
Overview
LocalePittsburgh
Termini
Stations10
Service
TypeBus rapid transit
SystemPittsburgh Regional Transit
History
OpenedFebruary 1983
Technical
Line length9.1 mi (14.6 km)
Operating speed55 mph (89 km/h) (top)
Route map
Map Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway highlighted in purple
Legend
Swissvale
Roslyn
Hamnett
Hay Street
Wilkinsburg
Homewood
East Liberty
Negley
ramp to Neville Street
 Herron
Penn Station
Amtrak
ramp to Downtown
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible
Detailed diagram
NS Pittsburgh Line
 
ramp to Braddock Avenue
 
 Swissvale
serving Rankin
Swissvale Terminal
 Roslyn
serving Swissvale
Washington Avenue
Braddock Avenue
I-376.svg I-376
 Edgewood
Hamnett
Kelly Avenue
Rowland Connector
South Avenue
 Hay Street
(
former Wilkinsburg
PRR station
)
Penn Avenue
Wallace Avenue
 Wilkinsburg
Brushton Avenue
Brushton Terminal
Braddock Avenue
Homewood Avenue
 Homewood
Dallas Avenue
AVR Brilliant Branch
5th Avenue
Rainbow Street
East Liberty Garage
Dahlem Place
Liberty Boulevard
Penn Avenue
 East Liberty
Highland Avenue
pedestrian bridge
 Negley
Negley Avenue
Aiken Avenue
Centre Avenue
Baum Avenue
Millvale Avenue
ramp to Neville Street
CSX Schenley Tunnel
Bloomfield Bridge
Herron Avenue
 Herron
CSX to 33rd St Bridge
28th Street
ramp to 26th Street
 Penn Station AmtrakPittsburgh Light Rail
NS to Ft. Wayne Bridge
Pittsburgh Light Rail to Steel Plaza
ramp to Liberty Ave & Grant St
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible
This diagram:

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has given the East Busway corridor a Bronze ranking.[1]

History

edit
 
Plaque at Penn Station dedicating the Busway

Originally occupied by a railroad line, planning for the East Busway began shortly after the Port Authority of Allegheny County purchased the Pittsburgh Railways Company in 1964.[2] The original segment of the busway opened in February 1983, running between Downtown Pittsburgh and Edgewood, a length of 6.8 miles.

In 2003, the busway was extended into Swissvale by 2.3 miles (3.7 km), making its current length 9.1 miles (14.6 km).

In July 2013, the East Busway was discussed in the context of the Mon Fayette Expressway.[clarification needed][3]

Routes

edit
 
Bus at Herron station

Following the naming convention of each busway being designated by a color, bus routes that use the East Busway begin with a "P" for purple. However, the P13 (Mount Royal Flyer) is colored purple and uses a "P" designation, but does not use the busway; instead, it travels via Route 28. The P1 ("East Busway All Stops") is the main route, operating seven days a week and running the full length of the Busway between Swissvale and Downtown Pittsburgh, making all stops, before running a short loop through the central business district. It is the busiest Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus route by ridership.

All busway routes travel to downtown Pittsburgh, making a loop around before returning via the busway. The one exception to this is the P3 (East Busway-Oakland), which starts in Swissvale, but leaves the busway via the Neville Street Ramp, serving the business district of Oakland and terminating at Robinson Street.

Many of Pittsburgh Regional Transit's express and suburban Flyer routes also use the busway, but with stop restrictions, not picking up passengers at some busway stations in the inbound direction or dropping off passengers at some busway stations in the outbound direction. These routes operate primarily during weekday rush hours allowing buses to bypass the heavily congested Parkway East (Interstate 376), making for faster trip times. The East Busway is also used by some Westmoreland Transit routes, which run further into the Pittsburgh suburbs, ending in the cities of Greensburg and Latrobe in Westmoreland County.

As of February 2024, the Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus routes that use the East Busway are as follows:[4]

Route Route Name Destination Roads Traveled Notes
 P1  East Busway All Stops Swissvale station East Busway Daily, all-day service
 P3  East Busway-Oakland 5th Av & Robinson St Neville St/5th Av Weekdays only
 P7  McKeesport Flyer McKeesport Transportation Center Edgewood Av/Rankin Bl/Kennywood Bl Weekday peak hours only, stop restrictions
 P10  Allegheny Valley Flyer Harrison Route 28/Freeport Rd
 P12  Holiday Park Flyer Holiday Park Penn Av/Parkway East/Golden Mile Hwy
 P16  Penn Hills Flyer Alpha Ice Complex, Harmar Leechburg Rd or Universal Rd
 P17  Lincoln Park Flyer Nadine Lincoln Av/Mt Carmel Rd
 P67  Monroeville Flyer Monroeville Mall William Penn Hwy
 P68  Braddock Hills Flyer Forbes Hospital Brinton Rd/Braddock Av/James St Daily, all-day service, stop restrictions
 P69  Trafford Flyer Viaduct Way, Trafford Ardmore Bl/Airbrake Av/Broadway Bl Weekday peak hours only, stop restrictions
 P71  Swissvale Flyer Swissvale station Savannah Av/Braddock Av/Woodstock Av
 P76  Lincoln Highway Flyer Olympia Park and Ride Ardmore Bl/Lincoln Hwy/Long Run Rd
 P78  Oakmont Flyer Alpha Ice Complex, Harmar Laketon Rd/Verona Rd/Allegheny River Bl Weekdays only, stop restrictions

Stations

edit
Station Name Neighborhood/Borough Routes Notes
Penn Station Downtown  P1   P7   P10   P12   P16   P17   P67   P68   P69   P71   P76   P78    Amtrak: Floridian, Pennsylvanian
  Greyhound Lines
Herron Polish Hill  P1   P7   P10   P12   P16   P17   P67   P68   P69   P71   P76   P78 
Negley Shadyside  P1   P3   P7   P10   P12   P16   P17   P67   P68   P69   P71   P76   P78 
East Liberty East Liberty  P1   P3   P7   P10   P12   P16   P17   P67   P68   P69   P71   P76   P78 
Homewood Homewood, Point Breeze North  P1   P3   P7   P12   P16   P67   P68   P69   P71   P76   P78 
Wilkinsburg Wilkinsburg  P1   P3   P7   P12   P16   P67   P68   P69   P71   P76   P78  Park and ride: 748 spaces
Hay Street  P7   P12   P16   P67   P68   P69   P71   P76   P78  Located on spur to Hay Street
Hamnett  P1   P3  Park and ride: 128 spaces
Roslyn Swissvale  P1   P3 
Swissvale  P1   P3  Park and ride: 163 spaces

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "BRT Rankings". Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Kitsko, Jeffrey (February 17, 2010). "Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway". Pittsburgh Highways. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  3. ^ Schmitz, Jon (July 20, 2013). "Leading Mon-Fayette Expressway supporter changes lanes". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  4. ^ "All Schedules". www.rideprt.org. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
edit
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.
KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway
KML is from Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Martin_Luther_King_Jr._East_Busway&oldid=1256618447"