A large metropolitan area that is surrounded by rivers and hills,Pittsburgh has an infrastructure system that has been built out over the years to include roads, tunnels, bridges, railroads, inclines, bike paths, and stairways; however, the hills and rivers still form many barriers to transportation within the city.

The high number of freeze/thaw cycles during the winter is sometimes blamed for the difficulty of maintaining local roads.

Pittsburgh is home to several notable streets.Roslyn Place is a small wooden-pavedcul-de-sac located in theShadyside neighborhood ofPittsburgh,Pennsylvania. The street was built in 1914 in theNicolson Pavement style and is home to the historicRoslyn Place district.

Canton Avenue is the steepest officially recorded public street in theUnited States.^[1][2][3]

East Carson Street has one of the largest concentrations of 19th-century homes, which has prompted outsiders to call the neighborhood the City'sGeorgetown.^[4] It includes many bars and restaurants as well as residences.

Grant Street is the main government and business corridor inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania. It is home to the global headquarters ofU.S. Steel,Koppers Chemicals,Federated Investors, andOxford Development. It also is home to the seat ofAllegheny County, City of Pittsburgh and the regional Federal Government offices. It is part of thePittsburgh Central Downtown Historic District.

The main highway connecting Pittsburgh to thePennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) on the east isI-376, known to locals as the "Parkway East." It includes the locally-notorious Squirrel Hill interchange, where unusual traffic patterns and the adjoiningtunnel often cause traffic congestion. Several accidents have involved tall trucks getting stuck against the tunnel roof. Also part of I-376 is the "Parkway West," which leads from downtown Pittsburgh to thePittsburgh International Airport's main terminal and leads into the contiguous Airport Parkway and Southern Expressway.I-279, known as the "Parkway North," runs north of the city to merge withI-79. It connects the city with the North Hills and the Cranberry area. There is no "Parkway South".

I-579, or the "Crosstown Boulevard," is a spur off of I-279 that alleviates downtown and North Shore traffic headed north or south and to events at either theconvention center or thePPG Paints Arena.

North of the city, the Parkway North and a short section of Interstate 579 over theVeterans Bridge have reversiblehigh occupancy vehicle HOV lanes for rush-hour commuting, which require a minimum of two occupants per vehicle for use; no electric/hybrid vehicle "HOV OK" program has yet been made available. On August 25, 1995, six people were killed in a head-on collision on the HOV lanes after PennDOT employee William Dean Snyder failed to follow procedures. Snyder maintained open the traffic gates for both directions simultaneously.

Unlike many other major U.S. cities, Pittsburgh lacks a dedicated contiguous beltway surrounding the city.I-76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike),I-79, andI-70 form a roughly triangular-shaped "beltway," but the distance of these roads from the city center and the need to exit and enter each leg in order to continue circling the city render them impractical as a beltway; commuters are forced to use secondary roads to go from suburb to suburb. TheAllegheny County Belt System is an attempt at dealing with this without building additional infrastructure. ThePittsburgh Wayfinder System is a similar system that aims to guide travelers to popular destinations and services in the city proper.

Pittsburgh is a city of bridges: over 2,000 bridges dot the landscape of Allegheny County. The southern entrance to Downtown is through theFort Pitt Tunnel and then over theFort Pitt Bridge.^[5]

ThePanhandle Bridge, a former railroad bridge, carries Pittsburgh Regional Transit's Blue, Silver and Red (formerly 42S/47L) light rail lines across theMonongahela River. Other notable bridges areFort Duquesne Bridge, theLiberty Bridge, and TheThree Sisters.^{[citation needed]}

Notable tunnels include two interstate highway tunnels onI-376,Fort Pitt Tunnel andSquirrel Hill Tunnel; major traffic tunnelsArmstrong Tunnel andLiberty Tunnels; the light rail tunnel,Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel, theSchenley Tunnel, theWabash Tunnel andCorliss Tunnel.^{[citation needed]}

Local public transportation is coordinated byPittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT), the 14th-largest urbanmass transit system in theUnited States. It services 730 square miles (1,900 km²), including all ofAllegheny County and portions ofArmstrong,Beaver,Washington, andWestmoreland counties.^[6] PRT maintains a network of intracitybus routes, twoinclines on Mt. Washington above Downtown (mostly a tourist attraction rather than a means of commuting), and alight rail/busway system. The transit agency discontinued itscommuter rail system, thePATrain, in 1989, However, A New Line ToArnold Has Been Proposed Since 2009.

The light rail network is a direct descendant of the originalstreetcar system, which once numbered dozens of lines and includedinterurban routes to neighboring cities such asWashington andCharleroi. The current network comprises five routes on 25 miles (40 km) of track, operated by modern articulatedlight rail vehicles. Although most is on dedicated right-of-way, including theMt. Washington Transit Tunnel, trains stillstreet run in the Beechview neighborhood. Once across theMonongahela River trains enter a subway to serveDowntown Pittsburgh. Since March 2012, theNorth Shore Connector has extended service across the Allegheny River, via tunnel, to such destinations asPNC Park,Heinz Field, andRivers Casino.

Light rail lines are designated by the following colors:

•     Red Line—former 42S South Hills Village via Beechview light rail route
•     Blue Line—former 47S South Hills Village via Overbrook light rail route
•     Silver Line — former 47L Library via Overbrook light rail route

PRT operates over 800 buses on both standard routes andbus rapid transit routes in Allegheny County. The latter use high-speedarticulated buses that run at grade and above ground on their own right-of-way with platform stations, much like a rail system. In some instances, such as the Mount Washington tunnel, these buses travel along paved sections of the light rail line. There are currently three routes: theSouth Busway, from downtown to the southern part of Allegheny County, theMartin Luther King Jr. East Busway, from theAmtrak station to the eastern suburbs, and theWest Busway, to the western suburbs. Future plans include extending the West Busway to thePittsburgh International Airport.

All light rail/busway stations outside the downtown have PRT station shuttles that serve the surrounding neighborhoods, and sections of the metropolitan area not served by the light rail/busway system, including most of the northern suburbs, have regular PRT bus routes. The mass transit systems ofBeaver,Fayette,Lawrence,Washington, andWestmoreland counties (includingMid Mon Valley Transit Authority) operate their own commuter shuttles to and from the city; the private company Myers Coach Line operates commuter service from Butler County.^[7] The mass transit system ofMonongalia County, West Virginia also provides connections to Pittsburgh. In early 2005 the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission proposed combining Pittsburgh Regional Transit, then known as Port Authority, with the nine surrounding metro counties transit agencies.^{[8][9][failed verification]}

Busways are designated by the following colors:

•      Green—bus routes using theWest Busway, designated with a 'G'
•      Purple—bus routes using theMartin Luther King Jr. East Busway, designated with a 'P'
•      Orange—bus routes using theI-279 HOV lane, designated with an 'O'
•      Yellow—bus routes using theSouth Busway, designated with a 'Y'

On July 22, 2011, the Port Authority approved spending at least $1 million, including $837,993 in federal funding and $209,498 in county money, to study developing a rapid bus line from Downtown to the Oakland section. The study was projected to take 18 months and use no money from Pittsburgh Regional Transit's operating budget. The study resulted in planning for the newUniversity Line. Rerouting existing bus routes and implementing other system changes began in October 2023.^[10] The first phase of construction began in Downtown Pittsburgh on September 13, 2023, and was completed in Summer 2025.^[11] The second phase of construction started in Uptown and Oakland in January 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2027.^[11]

Twoinclines ascendMount Washington:Duquesne Incline andMonongahela Incline. Pittsburgh had considerably more inclines and the Monongahela Incline was paralleled by a freight incline.^[12]

The city is primarily served byPittsburgh International Airport in suburbanFindlay Township, Pennsylvania, formerly a hub and key focus city forUS Airways.^[13]

Pittsburgh is also served by other area airports. General aviation is served by theAllegheny County Airport. Its terminal is of a 1920s art-deco design. It once hostedCharles Lindbergh and handles 139,000 private and corporate-jet flights a year.

A secondary reliever airport is in the eastern suburb ofLatrobe, Pennsylvania. Over the last few decades theArnold Palmer Regional Airport has been served by 2-3 daily flights fromUS Airways,Northwest Airlines/Delta Air Lines, and presentlySpirit Airlines, as well as serving as a general aviation hub for east hills communities.

Other area airports include:

Megabus,Greyhound Lines, andFullington Trailways connect Pittsburgh with distant cities by bus; Greyhound and Fullington Trailways buses stop at theGrant Street Transportation Center intercity bus terminal. Popular destinations includePhiladelphia,New York City, andWashington, D.C.^[14]

TwoAmtrak trains serve Penn Station: thePennsylvanian toNew York City viaPhiladelphia, and theCapitol Limited betweenWashington, D.C. andChicago, which uses CSX from Washington to Pittsburgh's outer perimeter, the AVR on theP&W Subdivision through thePanther Hollow Tunnel in the university district, and NS from the AVR interchange through Penn Station to Chicago.

Pittsburgh has more public staircases (737) than any other city in the United States, followed byCincinnati andSan Francisco.^[15] Many of these staircases havestreet names, and lead to hillside neighborhoods that can be difficult to access by car in winter.

The large number of steps are an engineering approach to the topography upon which the City of Pittsburgh is built. According to author Martin Aurand, Pittsburgh "lies unevenly on unruly land". The city is located at the confluence of two rivers which cut through elevated land of theAppalachian Plateau. The city is settled at elevations ranging from 710 to 1,300 feet (220 to 400 m) above sea level.^[16]

Pittsburgh has a thriving cycling community despite steep hills and variable weather. Efforts have been made to incorporate the bicycle into the transportation system. TheThree Rivers Heritage Trail encompasses all the trails in the city. The Eliza Furnace Trail, known locally as the "Jail Trail", stretches from Downtown (at the Allegheny County Jail) to the East End region, where trail access can be found along some roads. The North Shore Trail spans from theAlcosan plant along the Ohio River and continues along the Allegheny River to Millvale. The Southside Trail follows the Monongahela River and beyond Baldwin Borough connects to McKeesport via theGreat Allegheny Passage. This trail, in connection with theC&O Canal Trail, forms a continuous motorist-free route fromPoint State Park in Pittsburgh toWashington, D.C. PAT has installed bike racks on all buses and it allows bikes on its subway/busway system at all times.

Bike Pittsburgh (BikePGH) is the local bicycle advocacy group and is working to make Pittsburgh increasingly safe, accessible, and friendly to bicycle transportation. The non-profitbike collective,Free Ride, recycles bicycles and bike parts, teaches bicycle construction, and has programs to sell or earn a rebuilt bicycle. Additionally, bicycles can be borrowed at two places along the Heritage Trail through theFriends of the Riverfront/Dasani Blue Bikes program.

In 2014, the City began installing segregated bike lanes, which provide greater physical safety to the biker.^[17]On September 6, bike lanes that stretch from Downtown Pittsburgh to the 16th Street Bridge on Penn Avenue were installed. In order to accommodate these bike lanes, the Westbound lane of Penn Avenue was removed, making it one way. Other segregated bike lanes were installed on Schenley Drive in Oakland, and Saline Street in Greenfield.^[18]

The "Healthy Ride"bicycle-sharing system entered service in Spring, 2016, supplied byNextbike. Price was $2 per half-hour, or $12 or $20 per month.^[19] In 2022, the system went through a full rebrand and is now known asPOGOH. The equipment and software is acquired through PBSC, an industry leader inbikeshare.

During the heyday of the steel industry, Pittsburgh was among the largest rail centers not only in the nation, but the world. For many years, the multiple rail crossings in the suburb ofPort Perry at the mouth ofTurtle Creek on theMonongahela River and adjacent to theEdgar Thomson Works andDuquesne mills, was the highest concentration of freight traffic in the world. Even today, with river traffic included, Port Perry is often very near or at the top of the list. TheConway Yard to the west of the city along theOhio River was the largest rail yard in the world from 1956 until 1980. From the beginning of the industrial era in America through its collapse in the 1980s, Pittsburgh was a key market for the nation's largest and most important railroads (most notably thePennsylvania Railroad [the largest company in the world for much of the 20th century], and theNew York Central Railroad [via thePittsburgh & Lake Erie],Baltimore and Ohio Railroad andPittsburgh & West Virginia). Despite the near-complete collapse of heavy industry in the Northeast, Pittsburgh remains an extremely important link in the nation's rail network.Current railroads in Pittsburgh include:

Norfolk Southern operates the former assets ofConrail, composed of thePennsylvania Railroad, instrumental in the formation of modern Pittsburgh. NS operates three lines through Pittsburgh:

• the original line, thePittsburgh Line, from U.S. Steel'sEdgar Thomson Steel Mill in Braddock, PA, over the Allegheny River near Downtown Pittsburgh, into Island Ave Yard where it becomes theFort Wayne Line;
• theMon Line, along the south bank of the Monongahela River fromWest Brownsville, PA, to Island Ave Yard, formerly the Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railroad. This line is used by coal trains from southern Pennsylvania and trains withover-height cars that cannot fit under the roof of Penn Station on the Pittsburgh Line, accessing it via a branch just east of Braddock to thePort Perry bridge. The Mon Line joins the Fort Wayne Line at Island Ave Yard after crossing the Ohio River on theOhio Connecting (OC) Railroad bridge;
• theConemaugh Line, along the north shore of the Allegheny River, serving several coal branch lines and power plants. Operations are centered on a small yard inEtna, PA.

On the Mon and Pittsburgh lines over 60 trains a day pass through the city.

CSX operates the formerBaltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) and thePittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE). Many of the old B&O lines have been removed or are unused. Formerly an important part of the B&O system, Glenwood Yard is leased and operated by the Allegheny Valley Railroad for local jobs. The yard used to give access to the B&O'sGrant Street Station in Downtown Pittsburgh. The building has been rebuilt into a PNC Bank building and the old right-of-way is now a bikepath. The B&O main line, which cuts north and under across Pittsburgh by theSchenley Tunnel, is now used by the AVR. The33rd Street Railroad Bridge over the Allegheny River is still used: AVR trains connect with Norfolk Southern's Pittsburgh Line about a mile east of Penn Station. CSX freight trains use the former P&LE throughMcKeesport, PA, andBraddock, PA, before crossing the Mononghela River intoHomestead, PA. The P&LE line and the Mon Line run side by side until the Mon Line crosses the Ohio Connecting Railroad Bridge atMcKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. On an average day, the P&LE line carries about 30–35 trains.

TheWheeling & Lake Erie is a regional railroad incorporated in 1990 after theNorfolk and Western Railway sold trackage from the originalWheeling & Lake Erie Railroad.

• Wheeling and Lake Erie R.R.

TheBessemer & Lake Erie Railroad runs north from the North Bessemer Yard inPenn Hills toConneaut, Ohio. In 2004, the B&LE was purchased byCanadian National Railway.

TheAllegheny Valley Railroad runs mostly on formerPennsylvania Railroad andBaltimore and Ohio Railroad lines.

• AVR (Allegheny Valley Railroad)

ThePittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad operates formerPennsylvania Railroad trackage on theChartiers Branch and thePanhandle Route to the southwest.

Union Railroad mainly serves the last remaining steel mills in the city. It has interchanges with the B&LE at North Bessemer.

• Plug-in electric vehicles in Pennsylvania § Pittsburgh

Wikimedia Commons has media related toTransport in Pittsburgh.

• Transportation in Pittsburgh
• Transportation in the United States by city

• CS1 maint: archived copy as title
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from September 2019
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023
• All articles with failed verification
• Articles with failed verification from December 2016
• Commons category link is on Wikidata