If there hadn’t been a convenient, free option to get into Pittsburgh for the NFL Draft, Isabel Papariella and her mother Rose might not have ventured out.

“We didn’t want to have to pay for parking and with traffic, you never know what it’s going to be like,” Isabel Papariella said.

But the pair boarded a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus at Monroeville Mall Friday morning and took a 45-minute ride to the North Shore, ready to explore. They said it was an easy way to get into the city from their home in Wilkins Township.

Plenty of others decided to forgo the drive and parking fees, opting for the Football Flyer buses from the north, south, east and west suburbs. Spaces at park-and-ride lots tied to PRT bus stations across the region filled up Thursday — the first day of the draft — and again Friday, spokesman Adam Brandolph said.

The lots have a combined capacity of between 10,000 and 12,000. Overall, they were three-quarters full by 8 p.m. Thursday, when the draft started.

“Bus ridership has been very good, very healthy,” he said, adding that official numbers won’t be available until next week.

The buses arrived about every 15 minutes Friday, and will switch to every half hour on Saturday.

Brandolph said he expected to have more ridership statistics from the draft next week.

Sandy Culligan of North Braddock jumped on a bus from Monroeville Mall around 10:45 a.m. Friday with sister-in-law Colleen Peacock of Level Green and friend Janet McCafferty of Swisshelm Park. All three women said they were thrilled to have the free option in their backyard.

“I think this is the best thing they did,” Culligan said.

The trio was excited to spend the day in the city and catch the bus back whenever they wanted, which sounded like it was would be pretty late. Buses stop running at 1 a.m.

“It’s like going to a Super Bowl,” Peacock said.

“I think it’s really cool, it’s like a once in a lifetime thing,” McCafferty said.

The bus from Monroeville Mall stopped at the following locations on the East Busway: Wilkinsburg, Homewood, East Liberty, Negley, Herron and Penn stations.

There was no one waiting at any of the stations to go to the draft Friday morning, though there were some in the afternoon. Continuing on, the bus stopped at Smithfield and Sixth streets and Market Square. Finally, the trip ended at Federal and West General Robinson streets at PNC Park.

Brandolph said employees were on hand at several of the stops handing out brochures with route information and making sure riders knew when service ended for the night. Fans could also hop on the bus to get to different locations across Downtown and the North Shore.

By 2:30 p.m., the park-and-ride at Monroeville Mall appeared full and football fans were finding other places at the mall to leave their vehicles and catch a ride. There was still space at the Wilkinsburg park-and-ride.

Other buses departed from park-and-rides at 9700 McKnight Road in McCandless, 9000 University Boulevard in Moon and 219 Peters Creek Road in Jefferson Hills. They picked up fans at other park-and-ride locations on the way into town.

Jim and Amy Soffa took the bus from the Jefferson Hills location.

“It was free so it was great,” she said.

They live in North Carolina, but are Pittsburgh natives. Amy Soffa said attending an NFL Draft was a bucket list item because her birthday — April 26 — usually coincides with it.

“We always celebrate the draft,” she said. “The draft is just huge for us.”

Brandolph said officials planned to have more organization at Federal and West General Robinson streets on the North Shore after the draft is over Friday and Saturday nights to help fans get on the appropriate bus.

With thousands of people leaving at the same time, it was chaotic Thursday night, he said. Officials anticipated crowds will stream out through the night on Friday and Saturday, rather than leaving at the same time.

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