With Bus Line Redesign, PRT is proposing a new, more consistent route naming system.

How would the new system work?

This new system would define bus routes as core service, frequent/upgraded on-street service, and standard service. Each category would have its own color coding and letter/number combination that would assist riders in knowing what a route's purpose is at a glance.

• Core service includes PRT’s light rail, busways, and inclines. These routes have frequent service, dedicated rights-of-way, and operate at higher capacities, meaning they are best suited for people making connections across the transit system.
  • Each line would have a unique color and two-letter abbreviation to assist people with color-blindness. This expands on PRT’s current practice of color names for the light rail lines. The core route dedicated to the MLK Jr. East Busway would simply be known as the Purple Line (today's P1), and the core West Busway route would be known as the Green Line (today's G2).
• Frequent and upgraded service includes on-street routes that come every 20-minutes or less and have upgraded infrastructure such as stations, dedicated bus lanes, and/or signal priority (like the University Line). These routes may also use portions of the Busways or highways.
  • PRT would brand this service category as "PRTX," and each line would be identified by an “X” prefix followed by a route number. These routes would appear in yellow on maps and bus stop signs.
• Standard service includes most PRT bus routes. Many route numbers would continue to have similar numbers as today, but would have new prefixes added, depending on where they go or what their function is:
  • Routes that begin/end in Downtown would start with a “D”
    • These routes would appear in dark blue on maps and bus stop signs.
  • Routes that begin/end in Oakland would start with an “O”
    • These routes would appear in teal on maps and bus stop signs.
  • Routes that primarily connect between neighborhoods and transit hubs would start with an “N”
    • These routes would appear in light blue on maps and bus stop signs.
  • Routes that operate limited service (commuter/peak hour only) would start would an “L”
    • These routes would appear in dark blue dashed lines on maps and bus stop signs.

The new system does not propose using variants (or branches) to the extent today's does. Meaning, in nearly all instances, each number would be unique, and you would not have to memorize which version of a route you need to look for (i.e. 54C vs 54D). A few routes would have shortened versions or an alternate end point, which would be clearly marked on the bus headsign and in schedules.

Bus headsigns would include the route number, the ending point, and where the route travels to that destination (see below for additional information about this).

Many route numbers would stay the same where the route mostly follows the same path as the current route. Where routes are proposed to be consolidated, new numbers are proposed but continue to use PRT's traditional "clockface" numbering system.

Each route, in addition to an identifying number, would be named based its end points. When you see a bus approaching, it would display its route number, the end destination, and several neighborhoods or key streets it would pass on the way.

This would mean that you'd no longer have to memorize which direction is inbound vs. outbound, you wouldn't need to know which way is north or south, etc. Since Allegheny County's roads are quite often very winding, few of them stay in the same direction for long, anyway! Many routes are proposed to operate outside of Downtown, so what inbound vs. outbound means would be less important.

Below is a simple example of the information buses would display on its headsign (the screen you see above the windshield as the bus approaches you).