Public Transportation in Pittsburgh (Plum, Carnegie: neighborhood, buy, school)

[Northern-Mike]

I do not have a car and thought about moving to Pittsburgh someday. How good is the public transportation? Can you survive in the city without a car? I am from Boston and you can easily get around via public transportation here. Just wondering.

[I_Like_Spam]

Depends on where you are in the city. Some locations like Shadyside, Downtown or Oakland, sure its a breeze to get by without a car. Other areas, like North Fayette, Plum or East Deer, a car is almost a necessity.

Get Your Walk Score - A Walkability Score For Any Address

This website can give you an idea about "walkability" for various addresses.

[Craziaskowboi]

Buy a $1,000 beater car just in case.

[elewis7]

I'm from Morgantown, WV currently so much of my experience in Pittsburgh is driving through. As a driver, I hate driving around all of the buses in the city. As a pedestrian, however, it's very convenient. The biking is very decent as well, save for some topography issues. Thankfully, I'll get to experience this much more as I'll be moving up this summer to start grad school at Carnegie Mellon!

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by Northern-Mike

I do not have a car and thought about moving to Pittsburgh someday. How good is the public transportation? Can you survive in the city without a car? I am from Boston and you can easily get around via public transportation here. Just wondering.

Can't really survive in any suburb of Pittsburgh without a car unfortunately. Some suburbs offer express bus routes to Downtown, but that's it (and even that might be gone too if the Port Authority doesn't get helped by the state government). The pleasant exception to this is the light rail, the T, that travels to the South Hills. It is a bit slow, but comfortable (and would ALSO be affected by Port Authority cuts).

The East End of Pittsburgh is pretty well by transit: no light rail, but the East Busway (think light rail with stations, but actually faster travel) and tons of local bus routes.

If you combine your travel with bicycle, this makes things even easier as you can now take your bike with you on ANY bus as well as the light rail and inclines (funiculars/cable cars). While the Western Pennsylvania region is indeed hilly, bike travel is wonderful along the river and creek valleys. The East End of Pittsburgh is also somewhat of a plateau--fairly flat in comparison to the rest of the region.

Another thing to consider is the rise of car-sharing services like Zipcar. If you can indeed figure out a transit/walking/cycling solution to getting to work, care-shares offer a great option for occasional suburban/rural or odd-hour traveling. Or just a great asset for a big grocery or shopping run.

Hope that helps!

[BrianTH]

Just a minor note, but the East Busway extends into the inner east suburbs, and there are at least a few places where you can be within walking distances of shopping (including grocery stores) and the East Busway that are outside of the City.

[Anonymous939630]

Buses biking, and walking (and light rail) will get you basically anywhere you need to go if you live in a fairly densely populated city neighborhood. But I second the mention about Zipcar (I'm sure you're familiar with it in Boston), it's a really terrific program and there are tons of Zipcars in Pittsburgh, especially downtown/east end, and in conjunction with the public transit system you're set.