West Busway
| West Busway | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Idlewood station along the West Busway | |||
| Overview | |||
| Locale | Pittsburgh | ||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 6 | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Bus rapid transit | ||
| System | Pittsburgh Regional Transit | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | September 2000 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 5.1 mi (8.2 km) | ||
| Operating speed | 50 mph (80 km/h) (top) | ||
| |||
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The West Busway is a two-lane bus-only highway serving the western portions of the city of Pittsburgh and several western suburbs. The busway runs for 5.1 miles (8.2 km) from the southern shore of the Ohio River near Downtown Pittsburgh to Carnegie, following former railroad right-of-way on the Panhandle Route. It broke ground on October 27, 1994 and is owned and maintained by Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the public transit provider for Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh region. The transit thoroughfare was opened in September 2000. Following the naming convention of each busway being designated by a color, bus routes that use the West Busway begin with a "G" for green.
In addition to running along the abandoned railroad right of way, the West Busway also reuses the historic Cork Run Tunnel, also known as the Berry Street Tunnel, which was heavily refurbished for the busway
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has classified the West Busway as a "Basic BRT" corridor.