The Westmoreland County Transit Authority will operate bus service into Pittsburgh during next month’s NFL Draft.
Executive Director Alan Blahovec said plans are being formulated to restructure the timing of commuter routes into Pittsburgh for the first two days of the draft.
“We’re hoping to finalize plans within the next two weeks. We want to provide whatever services we can,” Blahovec said.
Those plans are expected to include shifting commuter service from mornings to late afternoon and evening to coincide with the draft activities on April 23 and 24.
The authority operates five daily commuter routes to Pittsburgh, originating from Latrobe, Greensburg, Mt. Pleasant and New Kensington. Those routes run regularly starting in the early morning, with final pickups in Downtown Pittsburgh scheduled for late afternoon and early evening.
Blahovec said the schedules could be reconfigured to push back the timing of some routes to leave Westmoreland County in the afternoon and return from the city following the late-night conclusion of the draft activities. No additional routes or stops are expected to be implemented.
The authority’s lone Saturday route, which originates in Greensburg and runs through North Huntingdon and into Pittsburgh, likely will remain on its current schedule, Blahovec said.
Passengers headed to the draft from Westmoreland County will be encouraged to use the authority park-and-ride lots in Greensburg near City Hall, next to the Sheetz on Carpenter Lane in North Huntingdon, at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity and smaller lots in Delmont and Mt. Pleasant.
Authority officials are surveying their daily base of commuter riders to determine the level of morning service needed on the Thursday and Friday draft days.
Officials have estimated as many as 750,000 people could attend the three-day draft in Pittsburgh.
