Pittsburgh Regional Transit

Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT, formerly Port Authority of Allegheny County) is the second-largest public transit agency in Pennsylvania and the 20th-largest in the United States. The state-funded agency is based in Pittsburgh and is overseen by a CEO and a nine-member board of unpaid volunteer directors, five of whom are appointed by the county executive and approved by the county council; and one each by the majority and minority leaders by each political party. After operating as the Port Authority of Allegheny County for most of its history, the agency rebranded under its current name in June 2022. In , the system had a ridership of . Pittsburgh Regional Transit's bus, light rail and funicular system covers Allegheny County. On some longer-distance routes, service extends into neighboring counties such as Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland. These counties have their own transit systems, including several routes that run into downtown Pittsburgh, where riders can make connections with PRT service. History Pittsburgh Regional Transit was created as the Port Authority of Allegheny County by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1956 to allow for creation of port facilities in the Pittsburgh area. Three years later, the legislation was amended to allow the Port Authority to acquire privately owned transit companies that served the area. This included the Pittsburgh Railways Company and 32 independent bus and incline operations. On April 19, 1963, the Board of Allegheny County Commissioners authorized the acquisition of 32 transit companies, including the Pittsburgh Railways Company, which had provided bus and streetcar service to Pittsburgh since January 1902, and an incline plane company, for about $12 million. On March 1, 1964, Port Authority Transit began service.