Johnstown Inclined Plane - Current Operations

Current Operations

With the growing popularity of the automobile and subsequent construction of new roads, ridership on the incline diminished and it was losing $25,000 a year by 1961. However, since the 1980s, the incline has become one of the main tourist attractions in Johnstown, with people visiting the incline to "ride for fun, nostalgia and novelty." Though primarily used for tourism, the incline's use by commuters, who bike or walk to work, has also increased. CamTran's Route 18 transit bus offers connections between the incline and downtown Johnstown. As of 2012, the cost for a ride on the incline is $2.25 or $4 for a roundtrip; fares for automobiles to be transported by the incline are $6 one way. The incline takes around 90 seconds to travel from one station to the other; the same trip takes 10 minutes by automobile. In 2011, the Johnstown Inclined Plane had an annual ridership of 81,236 passengers, a decrease of 11.9 percent from the previous year.

The upper station of the incline has a gift shop that sells souvenirs and snack foods. A visitor center is adjacent to the upper station; a restaurant, the City View Bar and Grill, is located directly below the center. The mechanical room housing the incline's electric motor and hoisting mechanism can be viewed from windows in the gift shop, the restaurant and the lobby of the visitor center. An observation deck providing views of the incline, the city, and the valley is located on the opposite side of the station from the visitor center. Two hiking trails allow visitors to walk the slope. One is a sculpture trail, with works created in 1989 by local artist James Wolfe, who used remnants of the Bethlehem Steel factory in Johnstown.