Improving Pittsburgh Regional Transit | PRT Expansion Concept

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  • čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
  • Many thanks to my Yinzer pals for their advice with this concept and to APTA (not affiliated with this channel) for putting together a great 2023 rail conference hosted, of course, in Pittsburgh.
    Full concept map is visible here: www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edi...
    Wanna talk with us about transit? Join our discord bellow
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    Follow our Twitter
    / houseoftransit
    Chapters:
    0:00 Introduction
    0:38 Current state of the light rail system
    1:23 Current state of the busways
    1:54 A new stadtbahn
    3:24 Branching from the current T system
    3:54 Expanding the express bus network
    4:37 Small towns + expired meme
    5:12 The S Bahn network
    6:34 Penn Station shuttle + South Side connector
    7:09 Tying up loose ends
    7:30 Aerial gondolas
    7:55 The complete vision

Komentáře • 109

  • @ClassyWhale
    @ClassyWhale Před 11 měsíci +57

    Hello! Resident Pittsburgher here, with a few comments:
    - The light rail is a bit streetcar-esque, but one could argue that that's the point of light rail - it's not trying to be commuter rail (cough, Dallas) or metro (cough, Seattle), it's genuinely a streetcar system upgraded to modern standards. So yeah, I get the bus-esque feeling that comes with it, but that's a feature, not a bug. Plus, it's way faster than buses during events such as Steelers/Pirates/Pens games (it serves all 3 stadiums/arenas), concerts, and the Fourth of July celebration recently.
    - The South Busway is not irrelevant! It's simply an access road. A lot of the routes between Pittsburgh and its southern neighbors involve tunnels through Mount Washington, and these can get clogged with traffic. Having a transit-only tunnel and a special bus-only highway south of that can help buses dodge congestion.
    - Light rail to Oakland is arguably one of the most needed transit projects in the entire state, if not the entire country. (I may be biased as it would go right past Carlow, my school!)
    - I don't think removing a chunk of the east busway would be helpful. There's a ton of ridership between downtown and the outer stations, and taking the current route would eliminate additional crowding of students and health workers in Oakland. Rather, I think these should both be separate entities. Ideally tracks would be laid into the busway to operate high-capacity rail service replacing the P1 and P2, with trains dumping into Steel Plaza; your Oakland line would replace the P3, and longer-distance routes would remain the same.
    - 376 express bus service is such a good idea! I love it! I never thought about it before.
    - Love the S Bahn idea. Not sure Norfolk Southern would...
    Overall, I LOVE this!

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 11 měsíci +11

      Excited to see you stop by (I watch your channel)!
      These are all valid critiques, particularly given you have more experience in the region. I’d argue a lot of these considerations reflect something that I noticed a lot while visiting, which is that the integration between the bus system and the rail system is quite limited, and almost no bus routes feed into rail stations.
      Calling the south busway irrelevant maybe isn’t fair in the system’s current state-I would say though that it’s rather unusual that the busway and rail route largely duplicate each other rather than buses terminating at stations and service hours instead going to running more rail service, as is done in many other regions with light rail. But if one seat rides and buses heading all the way into downtown is a priority, the South Busway is a solid solution.
      I think capacity concerns surrounding rail along the East Busway and through Oakland could be mitigated by using trains at least as long as the current two car sets and running significantly more service. Pittsburgh’s a comparatively small region and much larger metro areas squeeze massive capacity out of small trains.
      This is true about trackage rights. A regional rail system is more than feasible but the freights need to be, well, forced to play along…
      Definitely appreciate hearing your feedback and will be looking out for your next video!

    • @J-Bahn
      @J-Bahn Před 9 měsíci +9

      1. As someone who's visited Pittsbrugh many times and taken the bus as far as Coapolis and Oakmont, I think the S-Bahn system is the lowest hanging fruit proposed in this video (at least it would be in Europe) If NS continues to give middle fingers to passenger rail, I think there needs to be a federal law that requires railroads to work with regions if they want to implement regional rail, using the threat of a penalty corporate income tax and loss federal funding eligibility if they don't comply.

    • @robertlunderwood
      @robertlunderwood Před 9 měsíci +3

      The East Busway should've followed 376 from Wilkinsburg to Monroeville instead of going to Swissvale. And it should be heavy rail, not light rail.
      The South Busway gets buses off the very congested RT 51.
      Agreed to Downtown to Oakland light rail, either elevated or underground.
      How about a West Busway extension to Robinson, Moon, and the airport? It can be left as a Busway for now.

    • @thedapperdolphin1590
      @thedapperdolphin1590 Před 4 měsíci +1

      @@thehouseoftransit2719I think the South Busway could be made a lot more useful if they put in dedicated bus lanes along Route 51. The road has four lanes for cars, which is totally unnecessary. Make a couple into bus lanes for quick rides along 51, and then they can get on the South Busway at Overbrook to avoid stop lights the rest of the way. Though keep the dedicated bus lanes going to South Hills Junction to better serve Carrick and Overbrook with a route.
      This should be accompanied by lots of transit-oriented redevelopment. Transform the strip malls along 51 into a walkable, mixed-use business district, and transform the parking-lot desert in West Mifflin, in and around Century 3, into a proper, walkable community. This is all a pipe dream, as it would involve getting several suburban municipalities to work together on a transit project, but it would be a great transformation of the area, and it would offer much-needed service to places like Baldwin.
      As a final side note, I still appreciate the South Busway as a Brookline resident. It gives me a nice ten minute commute to downtown.

    • @john-ic9vj
      @john-ic9vj Před 15 dny

      ​@thedapperdolphin1590 as of right now, with route 51 sometimes backing up (particularly near route 88) it is totally necessary to have 4 lanes. This transiting to more density would need to happen first

  • @Tolya1979
    @Tolya1979 Před 8 měsíci +19

    I think the Allentown Line is kept in tact as an alternative to the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel, in case the tunnel is closed.

    • @GILLIGFAN
      @GILLIGFAN Před 8 měsíci +1

      That’s the largest reason
      Allentown is kept intact
      and even still maintained
      There’s also a hope on
      various sides the
      former 52/Brown or line
      could see eventual
      re-activation of service in some
      capacity leading to rail cars actually making stops in the neighborhood

  • @mattpopovich
    @mattpopovich Před 8 měsíci +7

    3:48 "Century III, Chevrolet, Lebanon Church Road, Pittsburgh. Minutes from the mall!" 🎵 czcams.com/video/h68G-DUBZn4/video.html

  • @nickberry5520
    @nickberry5520 Před 9 měsíci +7

    I think this is a good video to bring up that Amtrak, PennDOT, and Norfolk Southern are in the works to bring a second daily round trip between NYC and Pittsburgh.

    • @Daniel-hj8el
      @Daniel-hj8el Před 6 měsíci +1

      Why not just bring more frequency of Amtrak Pennsylvanianian to 5, 10, or even 15 trains daily and also buy out the right of way between Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, take over from Norfolk Southern, and electrified that line?

    • @nickberry5520
      @nickberry5520 Před 6 měsíci

      @@Daniel-hj8el be realistic

    • @Daniel-hj8el
      @Daniel-hj8el Před 6 měsíci

      @@nickberry5520 Virginia state bought the RIGHT of way between DC to Richmond! That's also REALISTIC.

    • @nickberry5520
      @nickberry5520 Před 6 měsíci

      @@Daniel-hj8el I don't think Norfolk Southern would be willing to sell their mainline between NYC and Chicago without federal intervention. As it is, NS demanded PennDOT pay for ROW upgrades to just get the second round trip.

  • @josephbrandtner7713
    @josephbrandtner7713 Před 7 měsíci +3

    At its peak, Pittsburgh Railways Company had over 600 miles of streetcar tracks and rights of way in the city. Interurbans connected the surrounding counties. Pittsburgh Railways ran interurbans to Washington, and Charleroi, PA. to the south. The Pittsburgh, Harmony Butler & Newcastle Railway served the north. West Penn Light Power & railways served Fayette and Westmoreland Counties to the East. Most ot these were built when and where there was NOTHING! They created their own markets. I believe that a regional light rail network has the potential to re-invigorate development in all of southwest Pennsylvania. This could include concepts like the German S-Bahn and U-Bahn. I remember "commuter rail" from when I was a child. One could take a B&O train to downtown Pittsburgh. But it was designed to discourage use. Scheduled arrival times in Downtown Pittsburgh in the AM were either 7:45 AM or after 9 AM. But on Saturdays we could get a B&O train at 8:30 AM in Hazelwood that would arrive in town at 8:45 AM. Go figure!

  • @sunrays10
    @sunrays10 Před 10 měsíci +6

    we really do need more transit up the Allegheny valley. the 28 "express"way is hardly that anymore. it's always congested as it's the only highway that connects all of the north/northeast suburbs to downtown. i think expanding the Allegheny valley transit options is included in the NEXT plan, hopefully something comes of it!

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 10 měsíci +1

      Looked like it, it was pretty vague but hopefully some solid options come from their study

  • @J-Bahn
    @J-Bahn Před 9 měsíci +5

    My only criticism is that you don't suggest reactivating the Allentown Light Rail Line. The big reason why it had low ridership before hand is that it only ran very infrequently during rush hours, so there was no reason to use it when there more frequently running bus service. I think I could be very useful if it ran at all times on a frequent schedule.
    Also if you're going to add rail to the East Busway which is pretty much grade separated, I think it would be better to go for a Skytrain like Innovia Light Metro that would run from Steel Plaza (taking over the Penn Station Spur) then continue along the existing East Busway to Swissvale or on to Braddock. Because it would be automated the trains would be able to run at very high frequencies without the cost of driver's (Pittsburgh has in the past been notorious for having operational funding cuts). I think you could still incorporate your stadbahn plans with the line through Oakland to Homestead, with a branch connecting to the new metro line at Shadyside. The transfer is offset by the super high freuqncies of the Metro.
    Otherwise, as someone who's visited Pittsburgh several times THIS SYSTEM WOULD BE AMAZING! I actually visited Oakmont and a S-Bahn train would be great!

  • @zacklightning3277
    @zacklightning3277 Před 10 měsíci +12

    Y'know having a lot of inspiration from Germany in your transit networks would make a lot of sense because Pennsylvania has a large German ancestral population! I mean even the name Pittsburgh itself is a pretty German sounding name!!

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 10 měsíci +2

      Ah, perfect!

    • @RepeatedFailure
      @RepeatedFailure Před 8 měsíci +1

      Pittsburgh has the same root ending as Edinburgh (and was perhaps intended to be pronounced the same, whoops), so it has a Scotts etymology.

  • @edwardmiessner6502
    @edwardmiessner6502 Před 11 měsíci +3

    Did not expect to see Pittsburgh but since there's an existing light rail tunnel I think the existing and suggested light rail should be respectively rebuilt and built as Skytrain automated light metros. Heck, if PRT can get the existing southern light railways out of the street the existing cars can be retrofitted for automatic operation.
    I would love to see you do Miami next! In the late 70s and early 80s they built a Metrorail at $40 million a mile cheap by today's standards but Reagan thought it so wasteful he cancelled all future rapid transit projects. Result? The notorious Miami-Dade traffic.

  • @skycutter3656
    @skycutter3656 Před 11 měsíci +5

    Awesome video! Did not expect to see Pittsburgh but it works out! I think Philadelphia or Portland should be next. Both cities have solid systems that need some work.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 11 měsíci +1

      Both would be great candidates! Philly would probably be more of a priority as it has some crazy unrealized potential, but I'd love to get around to Portland someday as well (PNW local here)

  • @djcrashzer0368
    @djcrashzer0368 Před 3 měsíci

    The west busway is missing it's most important part.... it's own bridge so the busses are forced across the Fort Pitt bridge (notoriously bad traffic during rush hour, and more) and onto East carson St to the entrance of the busway. That needs it's own dedicated route into downtown. Which means new bridge or tunnel, both being expensive. The west busway does connect to 376 which I know the airport flyer (express) uses. There is only one 'west busway route' the G2. There used to be a G1 as well, I don't remember which but one did just the west busway into downtown and one went out to robinson. Once you are on the busway, it's very quick. It's following an old railroad line, it most likely could be expanded, even converted to light rail but still have pavement for busses. There are still relics of those street car lines around, there part of one old route that was separate from road along route 60 coming out of the west end up into crafton where it most likely went back on street. I'm sure there are other abandoned old right of ways around. I know there was even parts you could still see heading up to Butler PA in the Forward Twp area along route 68.
    A major issue with Pittsburgh is that our highways, bridges and tunnels are sorely undersized and we need more bridges and tunnels, what we have backs up a lot. We are limited by steep hills and the geography of this region which can be difficult so adding bus or rail lines into the existing highways is going to require expanding those highways, bridges and tunnels. It is absolutely needed and there really isn't a lot of room to expand them.
    There are a lot of either still in use rail lines or abandoned lines in this region. There are a good amount that have been converted to rails to trails which complicates reusing some of the old rail lines for obvious reasons. There is considerable freight traffic on some of the existing lines through the region. So you'll most likely not be able to utilize those that are heavy freight lines and there are a lot of places where there simply is not room to add lines beside. Sometimes there is not enough 'air space' in places to even do elevated above the freight lines.
    There is the Wabash Tunnel behind station square, the old bridge piers are still on either side of the river but the bridge is long gone. There may be buildings in the way but getting a new bridge to downtown from that tunnel could allow light rail / busses to bypass the clogged bridges and tunnels.
    On the other side of the tunnel is the old bridge over route 51 which a business uses for a parking lot now. There is old right of way through this area including bridges across 376 right behind the fort pitt tunnels into the west end. Part of the line was removed when they renovated the west end circle.
    Now there is freight lines that run out along east carson st which is route 837. This section from southside to the Interchange 885 (mess) is in bad need of expansion to 4 lanes, there is a rails to trails old line on the river side of 837, up an embankment on the other side is active freight lines. If this whole area could be reconfigured getting the freight lines pushed further away from the river, expand route 837 and maybe even sneak in some sort of light rail. If you can get out to that interchange, there could be one that continues along the river into homestead and the waterfront and could even continue out further along the river.
    Now back to the interchange on 837. If you continue along 885 you could connect to a number of old rail lines that are either under utilized or abandoned. You could get some sort of light rail out to west Mifflin, pleasant hills, Jefferson hills among other areas.
    Coming out of downtown from 2nd ave, there is an old rail line which has been converted to rails to trails. There really isn't much space along here with 376 and 2nd ave all smushed together. But this could be another route out along the mon. There's lots of possible access to various neighborhoods along this route including oakland, greenfield, hazelwood.
    There's many, many old or current rail lines but figuring out how to use some of those and aquiring them is going to be challenging to say the least.
    There's many ideas and solutions but getting many those built is going to be very challenging. Pittsburgh need A LOT of funding to be able to build out a lot more of the transit network. There are loads of possibilities but funding is going to be quite challenging.

  • @strittypringles379
    @strittypringles379 Před 18 dny

    Nice vid glad you mentioned Monroeville

  • @ax10m__
    @ax10m__ Před 11 měsíci +3

    Idk how this ended up in my feed, all the way in India, but it's a great video. Here's to wishing all the success to you! Keep making videos!

  • @sarrahls2245
    @sarrahls2245 Před 2 měsíci

    It's my dream to one day take a train from Washington in the south, all the way to down town in a single trip. Even if they simply extended the T past south hills to peters it would be a massive improvement.

  • @ayeeeeeeee6240
    @ayeeeeeeee6240 Před 11 měsíci +3

    literally love this series

  • @user-me6qb6mh7y
    @user-me6qb6mh7y Před 11 měsíci

    great video and love the production quality

  • @danielfrancella5219
    @danielfrancella5219 Před měsícem

    Pittsburgh resident here.
    I would make a 5 lines
    Line 1 (PGH International to Monroeville) , the line would go through downtown , the growing east end , Wilkensburg and finally Monroeville. Stops in Green Tree , Carnegie , and Robinson
    Line 2 (South Hills village to Cranberry) It would extend the current line run Parallel to I-279 , I-79. Stops in West view , Ross , Wexford.
    Line 3 (Downtown to Penn Hills) Stop in Oakland , Squirrel Hill , East Liberty , Lawrenceville.
    Line 4 (North Shore to Ambridge). Runs along rt. 65. Stops in Bellevue , Avalon , Ben Avon , Sewickley.
    Line 5 (rt. 837). Station Square to Mckeesport. Help revitalize the 837 area.
    It will never happen. Area is not big enough. Just my dream.

  • @eannamcnamara9338
    @eannamcnamara9338 Před 9 měsíci +1

    Since the Oakland connection is so important i think extending the VAL there would be critical, that way a proper metro thats not a tram tunnel connects the two cores.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 9 měsíci +1

      The tram tunnel should function similarly to a metro, but if capacity were to become a concern extending the metro there seems smart

  • @johnchambers8528
    @johnchambers8528 Před 10 měsíci

    Thanks for the thoughtful improvements to the Pittsburgh transit system. I live on the other side of the state in suburban Philadelphia. But I have visited Pittsburgh several times. I have made use of both the bus and light rail system to get around. The improvements you propose look good but in many cases be expensive to implement. Pennsylvania is not known to give much money to fund transit compared to road improvements. One point I feel that could be changed to save money would be to keep the busway system and just add rails to extend some of the light rail system. Busses and the light rail already co use the existing transit tunnel so that proves busses and rail,can both use the same right of way. Since the busses use a station system you just have the light rail use some or all of the existing stations. Of course for longer routes you could build bypass tracks at some stations for express light rail service. At the end of the light rail service,bus routes could continue to leave the transit way and serve areas that build ridership to the light rail line or also use the transit way to continue to provide a one seat ride to downtown especially at rush hour. Keeping expansion plans lower cost, yet effective have a better chance of being funded, built and used.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 10 měsíci

      I like the idea in the short term, though I’m not necessarily sure it would save money given the higher operating expenses. Long term the goal should probably be to just feed all bus routes into rail (something Philadelphia does a much better job with!)

  • @thedapperdolphin1590
    @thedapperdolphin1590 Před 4 měsíci

    I’m curious about what you think of the proposed East Busway extensions. From my understanding, phase 1 will be to East Pittsburgh, phase 2 to McKeesport, and phase 3 will have a branch through Turtle Creek and then Monroeville.
    I get the allure of rail, but the East Busway already is very useful. It only takes like 15 minutes to get between downtown and Swissvale. And having a connection to a lot of those economically depressed towns in the Mon Valley is sure to be helpful for development there.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 4 měsíci

      Extending the corridor to East Pittsburgh and having some form of express transit to McKeesport and Monroeville makes sense, but the East Busway is already busy enough that it could be operated more efficiently as a rail line

  • @Lkease
    @Lkease Před 9 měsíci

    Glad you mentioned my hometown, Greensburg, in there. When I was living there, I would have loved to jump on a train to get to the city just for the day, but Amtrak is so terrible that it's impossible. I'd even settle for a connection to Murrysville right at the edge of Westmoreland county, with bus services into communities like Greensburg, Latrobe, and Jeanette. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this! Pittsburgh just feels so disconnected to it's metro area and surrounding towns and they need to capitalize on the existing infrastructure to rope these communities back in. Thanks for the video!

  • @nielspemberton59
    @nielspemberton59 Před 8 měsíci

    Convert the east and west busways to rapid transit at 1.435 mm track gauge and 750 Volt DC Third Rail and build a connecting tunnel with stations and then extend to Monroeville and the Pittsburgh Airport.

  • @csxnspittsburghdivision8580
    @csxnspittsburghdivision8580 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Thank you for talking about Pittsburgh transit.Herd about the new passenger rail on the csx line I think?

  • @layniiicakes1643
    @layniiicakes1643 Před 5 měsíci

    cool video!! i've always thought the traintracks going through the state had such wasted potential, i'd go to the city so much more if i didn't have to drive! i've lived in new ken for the past 16 years and it's so sad to hear about how nice it used to be. there's some cool shops around but i wish i coulda experienced what it was like.. or at the very least have an actual grocery shop instead of loads of dollar stores that you can only walk to if you cross the main drag 🙃

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 5 měsíci +1

      It’s certainly a shame seeing how vibrant these small towns used to be. A rail connection would be a game changer not only for reaching the activity in Pittsburgh, but also for brining some of it back to towns like New Kensington!

  • @thedapperdolphin1590
    @thedapperdolphin1590 Před 4 měsíci

    The Allentown Route wasn’t useless. It was an important connection for the south hilltop neighborhoods. It had low ridership because it was a pretty poor area, and there were affordability issues. Though the neighborhood has been getting more attention lately, and they’re considering bringing it back in some capacity. All the infrastructure is still maintained, and used whenever the Mt. Washington tunnel is underling maintenance, so it’s really just a matter of paying drivers to go through there.

  • @nielspemberton59
    @nielspemberton59 Před 8 měsíci

    With light rail to Oakland and Braddock and a 7 line regional rail system. the regional rail system would be electrified at 25KV 60 HZ AC. Hard to reach destinations would be served by gondolas.

  • @Koguma_ei
    @Koguma_ei Před 11 měsíci

    I really like this. Although if we are ok with extensive tunnelling, I think it would be best to through-run the light rail network or form a downtown loop

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 11 měsíci

      That’s an interesting idea. I think it could work to form a loop, though the complication with through running is that it probably wouldn’t make sense for new lines to use the same high floor trains as the existing system

  • @user-ui8it3bw5x
    @user-ui8it3bw5x Před 2 měsíci

    Westmoreland Transit is planning a similar expansion project, but with how service has been lately, I would focus less on expansion and more on improving the service. Quality over quantity.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 2 měsíci

      There’s definitely a balance, but there’s no getting around the fact that the current rail system is inadequate and bus trips between downtown and Oakland are slower than they should be. Service improvements are very important, but so are infrastructure upgrades on busy corridors.

    • @user-ui8it3bw5x
      @user-ui8it3bw5x Před 2 měsíci

      @thehouseoftransit2719 baby steps and it'll get there. I just started driving again, but I still use the 1 every now and again.

  • @GILLIGFAN
    @GILLIGFAN Před 8 měsíci

    Overall there’s some nice thoughts in here yet a lot overlooked.
    The reality is between age,
    Maintenance issues,
    Staffing, and gov interference in some of the worst ways
    Light Rail, has about reached its limit in the PGH region,
    If you’re going to go whole hog and suggest more tunnels,
    many spurs, Oakland to which PAAC & others basically said no,
    multiple types of rail or multiple modes
    Then response would be
    I’d rather we did 1 and multiple expansions at once that mode
    being to build a replica Metro
    Of DC with maybe some inspiration from other places which PGH Should’ve done from the start.
    Having most of the system underground would solve many of infrastructure and property impact issues, doing heavy metro rail or a heavy-light hybrid reminiscent of CLE Rapid would alleviate some maintenance issues and the inability to replace aged out stuff ( a big issue we are facing now )
    If we’re gonna go big anyway I could see a DC or NYC Style
    Metro covering some parts of the existing light rail but branching out in the following ways
    • A North Hills RT 65 Ohio Valley
    Sewickley Spur/Line
    • A North Hills RT 19
    McCandless, Cranberry, Possibly
    New Castle/Zelionople spur
    • An Allegheny Valley RT 28
    Fox Chapel Harmar New Ken spur
    • A West End, Crafton
    Kennedy , Robinson , Airport
    Spur maybe also extended to
    the various Amazon sites
    out that way and link to
    Weirton WV & Steubenville Ohio
    A small little known transit agency
    Known as SVRTA does a
    Robinson-Weirton-Steubenville route but with limited services and is in life support
    Giving them an option and links or folding them into a potential PRT Merger as PAAC adds “regional” to its moniker and would be expanding under such rail extension could work for all parties
    • An East End
    Wilkinsburg, Edgewood
    Monroeville CCAC Line
    and
    • A East End Wilkinsburg
    Edgewood, Braddock
    Versailles, McKeesport line

  • @UchihaKat
    @UchihaKat Před 7 měsíci

    Please do Atlanta!

  • @frigidlava617
    @frigidlava617 Před 10 měsíci

    can you do one of these for san francisco/bay area? these videos are great!

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 10 měsíci

      Thanks! There are some other cities we’d like to cover first but it would be fun to do eventually

  • @JBG1968
    @JBG1968 Před měsícem

    The expansion needs to focus on Allegheny county first before any thought of reaching out further . People moved out there to avoid paying taxes so let them fund their own connections

  • @danielkelly2210
    @danielkelly2210 Před 10 měsíci +1

    Do you have a link to the final map (it looks like it was done in Google Maps?). If so could you drop a link in the description? Thanks.

  • @davidkacprzyk1989
    @davidkacprzyk1989 Před 9 měsíci

    The original plan for the light rail line is to connect it to the airport going thru north side belview coraopolis robert moris college moon but it won't happen any time soon.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 9 měsíci

      Wasn’t actually aware of that. It’s a decent corridor but probably makes sense as a mainline rail branch

  • @josephschuster1494
    @josephschuster1494 Před 4 měsíci

    Grandiose ideas, to be sure, but the Silver Line/Library branch of the T STILL is an inconsistent mass transit service that needs and deserves the upgrading to similar standards long enjoyed by Red Line/ Blue Line commuters.
    We Silver Line commuters are still patiently waiting…. ☹️ 🚞 🇺🇸

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 4 měsíci

      We have to hope the Port Authority will pour the necessary investment into bringing the branch up to modern standards rather than abandoning it as they have suggested doing

    • @josephschuster1494
      @josephschuster1494 Před 4 měsíci

      @@thehouseoftransit2719 We cannot allow such a blunder to occur. Such a foolhardy decision would be a major setback to the South Hills commuters by adding MANY vehicles to already congested traffic, as well as a NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT of SHRINKING light rail rather than EXPANSION of light rail, which is occurring around the nation. 🚞

  • @MagicSwizzle
    @MagicSwizzle Před 6 měsíci +1

    You’d need like 500 billion for all this lol

  • @drosas85
    @drosas85 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Can you do this for South Florida Metro?

  • @8Oblivion_Lost8
    @8Oblivion_Lost8 Před 10 měsíci

    I have one issue with this plan. There is no light rail service directly to the airport to downtown. While BRT could provide a connection, it's still not a "premium" service like light rail.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 10 měsíci

      Buses are often seen as a second-class alternative to rail, but they can be just as comfortable and in this case might even be faster! PIT is really far from central Pittsburgh, so a light rail line would just end up following the freeway as the planned busway will (but costing a lot more in the process)

  • @beerybill
    @beerybill Před 5 měsíci

    Drivel from yet another arm chair expert.

  • @stevennnn7
    @stevennnn7 Před 11 měsíci

    While I do think lightrails are incredible, I was reading about how they use the busways for emergency vehicle transport so idk which would be more practical having a bus way or light rail system. I think initial cost for busways are cheaper, but light rail is cheaper in the long run.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 11 měsíci

      I did notice a passing ambulance or two on the East Busway, so it’s a fair point. It would be possible to continue to allow use of the right of way for emergency vehicles, and since stations are extra wide those vehicles could pass trains when they stop. Alternatively, 376 could start to take more of a role as the express thoroughfare.
      The costs often stem from how much ridership you’re getting-busways often make sense on corridors where the demand isn’t terribly high. There’s enough demand in the east of the region that I think it’s safe to say the corridor warrants rail.

  • @puh_euet9095
    @puh_euet9095 Před 9 měsíci

    as a pittsburgher i love this plan but i think the 1 thing that this is missing is a rail connection between downtown and the airport

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 9 měsíci +1

      Thanks for the feedback! PIT is really far from central Pittsburgh, so a light rail line would be pretty complicated compared to extending the West Busway there, which provides comparable speed and comfort at a much lower cost

    • @puh_euet9095
      @puh_euet9095 Před 9 měsíci

      thats true but it would be great publicity and very good media for prt@@thehouseoftransit2719

  • @GILLIGFAN
    @GILLIGFAN Před 8 měsíci +1

    1:01 there are many contributors to the “slowness” of the existing
    Light Rail ( T ) is attributable to many factors
    The largest being the age of the rail cars themselves, the overkill technology on the rail cars,
    The perpetual state of repair issues on most of the line and governments hands in that,
    among others

  • @RepeatedFailure
    @RepeatedFailure Před 8 měsíci

    So you want Pittsburgh to be Karlsruhe. I'll only go along with this if we get Spaghettieis too

  • @neighborhoodpranksters6214
    @neighborhoodpranksters6214 Před 4 měsíci

    Damn, this just makes me sad and depressed

  • @Jessie-vm6kq
    @Jessie-vm6kq Před 11 měsíci

    Allegheny County Little Dark age, but also just the entire rust belt

  • @nateobrien1522
    @nateobrien1522 Před 7 měsíci

    Please do this for Philadelphia

  • @adrieneford9228
    @adrieneford9228 Před 5 měsíci +1

    Population would increase

  • @chrispontani6059
    @chrispontani6059 Před 10 měsíci +2

    Two-car trains into the suburbs. Why are we comparing it to Germany when you’re just trying to create SEPTA West?

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 9 měsíci +2

      In fairness SEPTA was also inspired by Germany, they just didn’t follow through

    • @chrispontani7637
      @chrispontani7637 Před 9 měsíci +1

      @@thehouseoftransit2719 Please elaborate...

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 9 měsíci +3

      @@chrispontani7637 I’m not sure if you’re familiar with S Bahn systems but essentially they involve a core trunk with lots of capacity and frequent service and a lot of through running branches which usually run at 10 or 20 minute intervals. SEPTA’s Center City tunnel for Regional Rail was designed to allow for the exact same style of service, but SEPTA never ran enough trains or lowered fares to really complete the concept. Fortunately they are finally looking at infrastructure and service improvements that will make SEPTA Regional Rail much more like a true S Bahn system.

  • @SebiSuper9mil
    @SebiSuper9mil Před 11 měsíci

    Please improve the DC metro(the silver expansion wasn’t enough)

  • @Blue_spy1
    @Blue_spy1 Před 10 měsíci

    Fyi century 3 mall is shut down

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 10 měsíci +1

      True, but there is some nearby retail that is still open and lots of space for redevelopment

    • @SimonBarsinister
      @SimonBarsinister Před 8 měsíci

      ​@thehouseoftransit2719 Redevelopment will take 30 to 50 years in that area. Heck, the mill that was torn down in Braddock still isn't redeveloped. Talking about Carie Furnace location.

    • @Blue_spy1
      @Blue_spy1 Před 8 měsíci

      @@SimonBarsinister yea sometimes they would have the road that leads to it would be open

    • @thedapperdolphin1590
      @thedapperdolphin1590 Před 4 měsíci

      @@SimonBarsinisterCarrie Furnace redevelopment is just getting started. And that would be Swissvale/Rankin, not Braddock.

  • @eggballo4490
    @eggballo4490 Před 11 měsíci +1

    Rail link to the Airport.

    • @thehouseoftransit2719
      @thehouseoftransit2719  Před 11 měsíci +2

      Ehh, it’s not really a priority IMO since the airport’s so far out and the West Busway makes the airport express bus pretty speedy

    • @robertlunderwood
      @robertlunderwood Před 9 měsíci

      ​@@thehouseoftransit2719Yep. Just extend the busway there and increase the frequency.

  • @plum8633
    @plum8633 Před 11 měsíci

    omg you listen to mgmt???

  • @rhino6634
    @rhino6634 Před 3 měsíci

    Pittsburgh is a dying city that can’t even balance the budget. And please don’t say federal monies. Fed money is better spent in cities that have super growth.. Austin, Charlotte, etc. No one wants to move to Pitt why spend money on it.