The Port Authority is lending some of its buses to a late-night transit shuttle service that officials say will give a lift to bar-hoppers and regular commuters alike.
The UltraViolet Loop — the brainchild of Ground Zero and other Pittsburgh grass-roots groups — will shuttle riders between bars, restaurants and night clubs throughout the city from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Service begins Nov. 1.
The loop will be traveled by six Port Authority buses — three in either direction — that will hit all regular stops, as well as dropping off and picking up customers near night spots.
"We'll see how it works and how popular it is," said Paul Skoutelas, chief executive of the Port Authority.
The loop will take riders through Downtown, the Strip District, Bloomfield, East Liberty, Shadyside, Oakland, the South Side and back. A $3 fare will let riders ride all night.
"Our hope is that the entire Pittsburgh community — not just the young people — will support it by using it," said Jen Fox, a spokeswoman for the organizers supporting the loop.
The transit agency, which is struggling to hang onto riders after having raised fares and having slashed service last month, could use all the help it can get filling seats.
Average weekday bus ridership was down about 4 percent in September, compared with the same month last year, according to Operations Chief Laurie Andrews. She said the loss was evident on all the nearly three-dozen routes on which service was cut back Sept. 1.
"I think for the most part, our riders are still with us," she said.
As evidenced by park-and-ride lots serving the authority's three busways, some "discretionary" riders — those who have other means of transportation — have abandoned the bus and have gotten back behind the wheel.
Transit officials said they hope the UltraViolet Loop — which has been tried out here four times over the past couple of years — could help refill some of those seats.
"It's something we think could catch on" — both with young people looking to sample Pittsburgh's nightlife and with late-night bar employees on the South Side, hospital workers in Oakland and others toiling in the wee hours, Andrews said.
Some of those workers have been without convenient transportation for more than a year. The Port Authority was forced to cut eight routes offering 24-hour service a year and a half ago because of high operation costs and relatively low rider turnout. The UltraViolet Loop could restore service for some routes, Andrews said.
"The intent is clearly for the entertainment crowd, but it provides a special little bonus for us without incurring any extra costs," she said.
The UltraViolet Loop is being funded by contributions from local foundations and corporate sponsors.
The Port Authority will get $45 per hour to drive the UltraViolet Loop, plus all the fare-box revenues. The loop will be offered for at least six months. If the loop is successful, the Port Authority would be paid $250,000 a year to operate it, said Andrews.
The transit agency has had less revenue since its second fare increase in two years. The cash base fare for a bus ride within Pittsburgh was raised from $1.60 to $1.75, and the price of passes and tickets increased by about 25 percent. The second round of service cuts, which also took effect Sept. 1, cut back service by a total of 4.5 percent.
The fewer buses in operation, the less revenue being dropped into fare boxes — $25,000 less last month than the previous September. Fares account for about 34 percent of the Port Authority's $276.6 million annual budget, with the state providing 43 percent, the federal government 15 percent and Allegheny County the remaining 8 percent.
Port Authority officials say they were forced to raise fares and slash service by a chronic shortfall in state funding that left the transit agency limping into this fiscal year in July with a more than $5 million budget deficit — the authority's first in nearly two decades.
Skoutelas has made no secret that deeper cuts and steeper increases are in store if Port Authority's financial situation doesn't improve.
"We are cautiously concerned about the coming months," Skoutelas said, adding that transit systems nationwide are experiencing ridership declines as a result of the still-slow economy. "We're keeping a watchful eye."
