Port Authority of Allegheny County - Fare Structure

Fare Structure

Port Authority currently uses a fare structure based on four main zones (1, 1A, and 2). The downtown area is an unnumbered zone, named the Free Fare Zone, which was established in 1985 to encourage transit use in downtown and reduce stop "dwell" times (the amount of time a transit vehicle must remain stopped for passengers to board or alight). All rides taken solely within the downtown zone are free, at all times on the light rail system (called the "T") and until 7 p.m. on buses, seven days a week. Originally, the free-fare zone applied only until 7 p.m. on both buses and light rail, but it was expanded to 24 hours on the latter in 1989.

Zone 1 is the zone closest to downtown Pittsburgh, and Zone 2 comprises the outer half of Allegheny County and all stops outside of Allegheny County. A few routes cross briefly into neighboring counties.

When passing from one zone to another, the fare increases. The 1A zone is an exception. Zone 1A is a "transition zone" from Zone 1 to Zone 2, and if traveling from Zone 1 to 1A or from 2 to 1A, one pays no increase in fare. See this fare structure table for specific zone boundaries and definitions.

The system usually uses an "outbound" pay system for daytime transit to and from downtown. Fare is paid when boarding on the "outbound" part of the route. For example, if the bus or light rail vehicle is headed towards downtown, the rider pays when boarding. However, if the bus or light rail vehicle is headed out of downtown, the rider pays upon exiting. However, this system only applies on buses that serve downtown; on most of the bus routes that do not serve downtown, the rider always pays upon entry. During the evening, on buses serving downtown, the method changes on many routes to "pay when boarding" (also known as "pay enter"), due to the possibility of riders trying to avoid paying the fare. In combination with the downtown Free Fare Zone, this fare collection system permits boarding to take place via all doors concurrently in downtown (except evenings), greatly reducing loading delays in the part of the system with the heaviest concentration of transit routes and passenger boarding per stop.

However, this system also creates a noticeable problem with people bunching up near the front of the bus during times when customers pay on exit. People are reluctant to move to the rear of the bus for fear they will have difficulty getting out, as only the front door is used as both entry and exit during these times. This issue is exacerbated by overcrowding and drivers who leave the stop too quickly, resulting in much yelling and pushing as people try to get off. This also leads to drivers unnecessarily skipping pickups, as they believe their bus is too full to allow further people to board, when really it is just crowded in the front.

The Port Authority also sells non-discounted single-use tickets, and discounted weekly, monthly and annual passes. Each carries a small discount over earlier time-based passes and is valid for an unlimited number of trips/transfers in the specified zone(s) for that time period. For example, for a zone 1 pass, the cost of a weekly is the equivalent of 9.5 one-way trips, a monthly is equivalent to 34 trips, and an annual is equivalent to 377 trips. An annual pass is a 12-month subscription to monthly passes, which can be either mailed or picked up at the Downtown Service Center on Smithfield Street.

Students and staff of several colleges in the area, most notably Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, ride the bus at a discounted yearly rate, via a program whereby the students pay a fee each semester to the Port Authority to provide transit.

Port Authority has installed new fareboxes on all its buses and will complete the install on its 83 "T" vehicles by May 2011 to prepare to convert to a smart card fare collection system marketed as the "ConnectCard" starting in early 2012. The University of Pittsburgh has already begun using the new farebox system by equipping its ID cards with a chip the farebox can scan and recognize. However, because individuals affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh ride for free, the system serves only to authenticate the validity of the ID card, and no fares are actually calculated or assessed.