I first moved to Squirrel Hill in 2012. Having grown up in an auto-oriented Connecticut suburb I had never ridden a public transport bus in the United States. Initially I drove when visiting downtown, driving south on Murray Avenue to get on I-376. The first time I tried taking the bus I assumed the inbound buses were the ones travelling south on Murray. In fact, they travel North before reaching Forbes to go through Oakland on the way downtown. The signs at the Allegheny County bus stops never indicate which direction the buses are going. This is a problem, especially for first time riders.
Citylab had a recent article on how cities can improve their bus signs. This post is largely about how to apply this article to Pittsburgh. Improved signage is a cost effective way to meaningfully improve our bus system.
The Port Authority is working to install new signs which are a big improvement, but the signs could be made still better. Furthermore, the improved signs have only been installed at a limited number of bus stops.
Old Port Authority Bus Sign
New Port Authority Bus Sign
Every bus stop should:
- Identify the direction of the bus serving the stop. This is the most important thing missing from both the old and the new bus signs. In addition to the basic requirement of including this information, it is important to use clear terminology. On its truetime app, the Port Authority confusingly refers to buses as ‘inbound’ and ‘outbound’ even if they do not serve downtown. For example, it is not clear from the published map and schedule which side of the street on Murray avenue is ‘inbound’ or ‘outbound’ for the 74 bus. It can do better on both its signage and the app.
- Provide the name of the transit agency providing service. While most transit is provided by the Port Authority of Allegheny County, other transit agencies also provide service. Amtrak serves Pittsburgh. Westmoreland County Transit serves Allegheny County. It serves the #7647 bus stop near my house, but you couldn’t tell from the available signage. The bus stop sign only lists the routes served by the Port Authority of Allegheny County and fails to mention the #4 Westmoreland County bus. Other transit agencies such as the Butler Transit Authority also provide fixed route service within Allegheny County.
- Identify the bus routes served by the stop. Bus stops don’t always serve all of the buses that pass them. Waiting at the wrong stop only to have your bus pass you by is the type of experience that turns people away from using transit. Most of the Port Authority’s bus signs include the routes served, but this information is missing from signage at some stops.
In addition, bus stops with a large number of boardings should include a schedule and a map of the bus route. Some port authority stops contain this information, but most do not.
Example of Wayfinding Downtown
While regular riders can generally figure out how to use the system despite poor signage, every regular rider is a first time rider at some point. For Allegheny County to improve its transit mode share, it needs to be easy for new riders to learn to use the system. Improving signage is a low cost way to do this.
