‘End of an era:’ Retiring buses take riders on historic Downtown Pittsburgh route
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Generations of public transit enthusiasts visited Downtown Pittsburgh on Sunday to “loop the loop” in honor of two retiring Port Authority of Allegheny County buses.
The commemorative Downtown loop route, which has been out of service for the past 30 years, was reinstated Saturday and Sunday to celebrate the last two Neoplan USA articulated buses in the Port Authority’s fleet.
The buses traveled the 96A Golden Triangle loop route — which began at the East Busway and served 15 stops along Grant Street, Smithfield Street, Liberty Avenue, Stanwix Street and Fourth Avenue — from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Riders could hop on and off the route at any time for free.
“We’re never going to see this again,” said Andrew Hussein, 32, of Pittsburgh. “It’s an end of an era.”
Hussein, a public transit enthusiast and advocate, spent Sunday riding the 20 to 40 minute trip around Pittsburgh’s Downtown. He scrutinized every bump and turn with a group of new friends and fellow transit fans he met along the way.
“I just think they’re cool in general,” said Shawn Pastor, 24, of Munhall said of the retiring buses. “They get everybody where they have to go.”
Pastor grew up riding Port Authority buses with his grandpa, a bus operator who retired in 2011. The trips he took around Downtown on Sunday brought back those happy memories, he said.
Devin Mooney, 16, of Beechview, said he’s excited about the Port Authority’s future.
The high schooler discovered his fascination with the buses last year and said he’s looking forward to making a career of memories on the buses as a driver.
“It seems fun,” he said.
Others, like Richard Walter, 66, of the South Hills longed for the days when street cars ruled Pittsburgh’s roads.
“Anywhere they ran them, I was on them,” he said.
He spent Sunday snapping photos of the soon-to-be retired Neoplan USA buses on a green disposable camera.
The soon-to-be retired buses were deployed throughout the county in the early 1980s. At the time, the now defunct company was one of the biggest bus manufacturers in the country.
The buses are the last of a traditional style of high-floor buses in Pittsburgh, according to the Port Authority. Also among the bus features were the “swivel,” a plate in the middle of the bus that pivoted as the front section of the articulated bus made turns.
Rich Miller, 44, of Monroeville made the trip to Downtown to teach his daughter, Ruth, 15, and niece, Lucie, 15, about the rush hour past time of his youth, “surfing the swivel.” The trio laughed and stumbled, hands in the air, as the bus navigated turns.
The family outing also included a visit to Downtown’s Christmas trees and decorations.
“This does bring back a lot of memories,” said his wife, Cindy Miller, 50. She recalled her first bus ride at 6 years old, riding down to the city from Plum with her sister to see the window displays at Kaufman’s department store, as well as a bus ride for an eighth grade field trip to visit the Steel Tower.
Now, Miller has another memory to add to the list: A ride on the historic Neoplan USA buses along the Golden Triangle loop.