PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh’s public transit has a new name.
The Port Authority of Allegheny County has rebranded itself as Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the agency announced in a Thursday press conference at its Gateway light rail station in downtown Pittsburgh. Along with the new name comes a new logo: the letters PRT in yellow circles.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the rebranding is to create uniformity in the transit system’s color scheme and signage. The new name and look had actually been prepared in 2020 under a $544,000 contract for research firm Campos and branding agency Red House Communications, but were shelved by the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effect on transit ridership.
Along with the rebranding, the agency is planning training for operators and others two deal with the public to improve customer service, a program to begin with new employees.
“This is more than just a new name and a new look,” Jeffrey W. Letwin, chairman of the agency’s board, said in a press release. “This makes the start of a new era and a new direction for our agency and our region.”
A few buses will initially be wrapped with the new logo and blue-and-yellow color scheme, but mostly, the look will be rolled out gradually to control costs.
The agency has some 2,600 employees, and operates a 26.2-mile, 27-station light rail system with 80 vehicles; a 700-vehicle bus system; and two inclines.
PRT was PHILADELPHIA Rapid Transit until 1940.
The current colors of black and gold on the Light Rail are those of the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins; in short, ALL the professional sports teams.
Pittsburgh Railways had used a reddish brown for their oldest cars, then orange for the steel cars after WWI and red for the PCC’s. PAT had used a bland grey color until Harold Geissenheimer went to a variety of bright colors.
In any event, here’s a link to see what PAT is telling people:
https://www.portauthority.org/prt
The drk color causes more extreme temperatures in the unit. Sun heats it up more and winter dreary allows heat to leave vehicle faster. US Air found that out with theirdark paint jobs unable to cool on the tarmac.