{"id":805,"date":"2014-04-02T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-04-02T08:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=805"},"modified":"2015-01-09T15:53:05","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T20:53:05","slug":"pittsburghs-ill-fated-skybus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/04\/02\/pittsburghs-ill-fated-skybus\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh\u2019s ill-fated Skybus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A story of Skybus, as the Transit Expressway Revenue Line became known in the 1960s, is a chapter of shattered dreams in Pittsburgh\u2019s public transit saga.<\/p>\n

It had a grand vision for superior rapid transit service that would move large crowds day and night, year in and year out. Call it a commuter\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n

The opportunities it presented promised a break-through in public transit technology. The system developed by Westinghouse used a dedicated elevated concrete track, rubber-tired cars and driverless operation \u2014 all were innovative concepts in 1960, the year it was conceived.<\/p>\n

In 1964, federal money poured in to build a demonstration track in South Park that would be 1.77 miles long. In 1965, the Transportation Systems Group unveiled the demo system for the Allegheny County Fair. According to the Post-Gazette, more than 30,000 people paid the ten-cent fair for a chance to take an air-conditioned Skybus ride around the loop during the several days of the fair. Even Walt Disney came to South Park to evaluate the Skybus system, many thought it would serve as a prototype for Disney World.<\/p>\n

“The system was originally named Skybus until it was discovered that Skybus was a trademark for one of the airlines,” according to the Post-Gazette. “The name was then changed to Transit-Expressway and later to People-Mover when it finally evolved into a special purpose transportation system.”<\/p>\n

But People-Mover never quite moved to Pittsburgh. It was too controversial and too\u00a0 ambitious, too big for the Port Authority and political factions on the city and state levels to stomach: a 92 mile long trolley line, 460+ cars at the cost of $295 million. The system was meant to connect suburbs with downtown. The Skybus route would originate in South Hills and would follow a streetcar route through Mt. Lebanon and Beechview before reaching Downtown Pittsburgh through the unused Wabash Tunnel.<\/p>\n

Evaluations were made, papers were written and the work began, the plan was revised several times in the process. In 1976, it died because of the political stalemate and a recommendation to withdraw support from the project.<\/p>\n

We may not have Skybus in Pittsburgh, but we do have internet to dream. Want to live commuter\u2019s dream for a minute and take a ride on Skybus<\/a>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A story of Skybus is a chapter of shattered dreams in Pittsburgh\u2019s public transit saga.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPittsburgh\u2019s ill-fated Skybus<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[948],"tags":[962,980,1173,1169,1049],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/tumblr_n3dibmGX5y1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C1627&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":168,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/10\/13\/anne-alpern-first-woman-on-pennsylvanias-high-court\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":0},"title":"Anne Alpern, first woman on Pennsylvania\u2019s high court","date":"October 13, 2014","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The pinnacle of her career came in 1961 when Governor David Lawrence appointed her a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/tumblr_nd3awn06lS1rr5swxo5_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C826&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4944,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/02\/04\/the-construction-of-pittsburghs-downtown-subway\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":1},"title":"The construction of Pittsburgh’s Downtown subway","date":"February 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The T was 75 years in the making, and while it still doesn't go as far as many Pittsburghers would like, it did help improve the city's 20th century Downtown traffic headaches.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Pittsburgh-subway-construction-013.jpg?fit=814%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2464,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/02\/jan-12-1967-steel-mills-exterior-in-the-1960s\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":2},"title":"Steel mill’s exterior","date":"October 2, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"An iconic image of Pittsburgh during the steel era","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_ma9h4fopAT1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C765&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1714,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/06\/07\/vic-cianca-pittsburghs-dancing-traffic-cop\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":3},"title":"Vic Cianca: Pittsburgh\u2019s Dancing Traffic Cop","date":"June 7, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"In the 1960s, Vic Cianca was more famous than the female North Korean traffic cops are today.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tumblr_mnzsexTfdG1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C882&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":493,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/07\/07\/the-t-j-keenan-building\/","url_meta":{"origin":805,"position":4},"title":"The T.J. 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