Pittsburgh Regional Transit is preparing to spend $94.1 million on 102 new buses, a purchase that would retire some of the agency's oldest vehicles and could put new buses on the road as soon as next summer. The order, made up mostly of diesel models with a handful of electric buses mixed in, still needs a green light from PRT's full board, which is set to meet on September 25.
The proposed order includes 56 60-foot diesel buses and 6 60-foot electric buses, both manufactured by New Flyer, along with 40 35-foot diesel buses, according to WPXI. The purchase is being carried out under amendments to a July 2022 contract with New Flyer of America Inc. that allows PRT to acquire up to 270 buses at a combined cost capped at $184.8 million, as detailed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. That framework lets the agency scale up its bus orders incrementally rather than negotiating a fresh contract each time it needs new vehicles.
Money for the new buses is coming almost entirely from outside sources. The purchase will be financed through $77 million in federal transit funds, $16.6 million in Pennsylvania state funding, and just $552,754 in local public money, per the same Post-Gazette report — meaning local taxpayers are covering less than one percent of the total price tag.
Why These Buses Have to Go
The 102 incoming vehicles will replace active PRT buses that are at least 12 years old and have reached or exceeded 500,000 miles, according to the Post-Gazette. The purchase is described in terms of replacing buses with those age and mileage characteristics.
As of this month, PRT operates an active fleet of 667 buses spread across 95 routes, according to the same Post-Gazette account. The agency is simultaneously conducting public reviews of a bus line redesign that could eliminate six underperforming routes, meaning the fleet replacement is unfolding at the same time PRT is rethinking which routes those buses will even serve.
A Bumpy Recent History With Suppliers
This isn't the first time PRT's bus orders have run into complications. Back in June 2023, the agency was forced to switch a $17.78 million contract for 40 40-foot diesel buses from low bidder Gillig to New Flyer because of supply chain disruptions, an outlet the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette identifies as PRT's Post-Gazette. That swap pushed per-vehicle costs from $553,775 to $660,820 and added $4.13 million to the total order, illustrating how unpredictable bus manufacturing has become in recent years.
New Flyer's role has only grown since then. The manufacturer's 60-foot articulated electric buses are also tied to PRT's University Line Bus Rapid Transit project, which is designed to connect Downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland with dedicated red bus lanes, the outlet's June 2023 reporting notes.
Diesel Now, Electric Later
The heavily diesel makeup of this latest order sits somewhat awkwardly alongside PRT's long-term climate commitments. In September 2022, the agency formally pledged to convert its entire bus fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2045 and said it would stop purchasing traditional diesel buses altogether after 2032, according to a Pittsburgh Regional Transit announcement. Until that deadline arrives, diesel buses remain the more affordable bridge option.
The gap in cost helps explain why. PRT has estimated that shifting its bus fleet to zero-emission technology and retrofitting its four maintenance garages will cost roughly $1 billion over 20 years — a $572.2 million premium over simply maintaining a standard diesel fleet, per a 2022 Post-Gazette report. Electric buses cost more upfront, even if they're expected to save money on operations over time.
Part of a Larger Overhaul
The bus purchase is just one piece of a much bigger capital push at PRT. The agency is also pursuing $82.8 million in federal grant funding as part of a larger $750 million effort to replace its aging “T” light rail train cars, according to the Post-Gazette's September report. Together, the bus and rail investments represent a simultaneous overhaul of nearly all of PRT's rolling stock.
That modernization push extends beyond vehicles themselves. In May, PRT began shifting riders from its legacy blue ConnectCard to ReadyFare, a web-based payment system with new contactless vending machines and mobile app integration, as previously reported by Hoodline. Between the fare system rollout, the route redesign review, the University Line BRT project, and now this bus order, PRT is attempting to remake much of its rider experience at once.
If the board approves the purchase at its September 25 meeting, the new buses are expected to start servicing riders next summer, according to WPXI's reporting.
