Route 54B Arlington - South Hills came into PAT's route structure in on November 14, 1971 as a shuttle bus. It was instituted after the 44 Knoxville and the 49 Beltzhoover trolley lines were discontinued. The 46K bus route also came into
existence at this time for the same reason. The 54B was routed to serve the former 48 Arlington trolley line to South Hills Junction.
Garages assigned to the 54B:
- Craft Avenue - 11/14/71 - 07/08/72
- East Liberty Division - 07/09/72 - Being researched
- Collier Division - Being researched - 02/19/77
Destination Signs:
Route ran with window cards and destination signs.
Routing:
Regular routing from South Hills Junction - South Hills Junction to Warrington Avenue to Arlington Avenue to Arlington Avenue Loop.
Regular routing from Arlington Avenue Loop - Arlington Avenue Loop via Arlington Avenue, South 18th Street, Mt. Oliver Street, Warrington Avenue to South Hills Junction.
Alternate routing from South Hills Junction - South Hills Junction to Warrington Avenue, Arlington Avenue to Devlin, Spring, Syrian to Devlin.
Alternate routing from Syrian at Devlin - Via Devlin to Arlington Avenue, South 18th Street, Mt. Oliver Street, Warrington Avenue to South Hills Junction.
This routing remained relatively constant over the years of operations.
A one way trip on the regular routing took approximately 13 minutes.
Route Highlights:
Started: 11/14/71 as a shuttle route
Ended: 02/20/77 due to combining route with the
54A Arlington Heights and duplication of service from the 46K Hilltop
Looper.
The 54B originally ran only Monday through
Saturday with no Sunday or holiday service.
The 54B utilized what were known as continue trip
or "CT" transfers which were a bit more restrictive than the regular
transfers. The "CT" transfer was a free transfer issued to riders going
to or from the 54B so they could connect . Other feeders also utilized
this type of transfer but they were more prominent at South Hills
Junction.
Initially on days and times the 54B didn't run, a
shuttle was run from
the 46K Hilltop Looper which didn't enter Downtown. On 11/24/74 the 46K
Hilltop Looper began running during the times the 54B operated and
duplicated much of the service. The 54B was a much faster and more
direct route between the Arlington Loop area and South Hills Junction
than the 46K Hilltop Looper was.
-
The route was unique in the schedule aspect as the
route had a time
table in 3 separate schedule folders from 3 different divisions at the
same time.
The route designation 54B was originally a
planned route for one half of the current 54C back in 1964. The original
54B never ran in service but made it to the destination signs. PAT
readopted the 54B reading for the Arlington - South Hills Junction
route.
The 54B was closely associated with the 46K
Knoxville and the 54A Arlington Heights route.
Schedules (Known PAT issued schedules are listed):
The 54B had 3 distinct schedule styles issued over the
years.
The schedules from Craft Avenue were folder PC-3 and were in the late 60's era styling, orange colored and a 4 panel fold out schedule. The 54B shared a schedule with the 46K Knoxville and the 49 Arlington - Warrington trolley line.
- PC-3A - 11/14/71
- PC-3B - 01/23/72
- PC-3C - 04/16/72
The schedules from Collier Division were folder C-15 and
were identical to the Craft Avenue schedules until 1974 when they changed to
a black, MOD era design. The 54B shared a schedule with the 46K Knoxville
and the 49 Arlington - Warrington trolley line.
- C-15A - 07/09/72
C-15B - 01/07/73
C-15C - 04/01/73
C-15D - 11/73 - Schedule had no day as it was effective when work
commenced on the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel.
C-15E - 05/12/74 - MOD black starts
C-15F - 11/24/74
C-15G - 10/19/75
C-15H - ?
C-15J - 07/06/76
C-15K - 09/05/76
C-15L - ?
C-15M - ?
The schedules from East Liberty Garage were folder E-1
were of both the late 60's design and the MOD design. Both were black
schedules. From 1972 through 1975 the schedules were a 3 panel fold out
schedule and starting in 1976 it became a 6 panel fold out schedule. The 54B
shared a schedule with the 54A Arlington Heights.
- E-1A - ?
E-1B - 09/03/72
E-1C - ?
E-1D - ?
E-1E - ?
E-1F - ?
E-1G - 09/02/73
E-1H - ?
E-1J - ? - MOD black starts
E-1K - 09/01/74
E-1L - 02/23/75
E-1M - 04/20/75
E-1N - 06/15/75
E-1P - 08/31/75
E-1Q - 11/23/75
E-1R - 03/01/76 - 6 panel schedule starts
E-1S - 07/06/76
E-1T -?
West Mifflin schedules were folder W-20 and included the
54B on the 51C Carrick / 53C Carrick Express schedule. They were of both the
late 60's design and the MOD design.
- W-20G - 04/01/73
W-20H - ?
W-20J - ?
W-20K - ?
W-20L - 04/21/74 - Orange MOD schedule
W-20M - 06/23/74 - Start MOD black
W-20N - 11/24/74
W-20P - 03/09/75
W-20Q - ?
W-20R - ?
W-20S - ?
W-20T - ?
W-20U - 07/06/76
Suffix letters I and O are not used.
Route Disposition:
The 54B was discontinued on 02/20/77 and the 54A was
rerouted to pick up service. The 54A, later renumbered 51A, had also been
rerouted to provide direct service into town. The 46K Hilltop Looper
continued to serve the area with no changes.
Click on images for larger view
The route map for the 54B. |
