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Skeebus meaning1/8/2024 “Instead, the city decided to invest in the transit system that was already in place and expand the bus line, things like that.” “It was seen as too expensive,” said Heinz History Center curator Emily Ruby. Ultimately, the system ran into political hurdles. “Why did it never take off? How did we end up with what we have now?” he asked. Listener Dan Lewis, an electrical engineer from the area, wondered why. This is part of our Good Question! series where we investigate what you've always wondered about Pittsburgh, its people and its culture.īut Skybus, which was also called the "People-Mover" and the "Transit-Expressway," never graduated from testing in the Pittsburgh region. Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group Director of Policy Chris Sandvig said PAT crafted a 92-mile rapid transit network plan that involved more than 460 Skybus cars. The system generated a lot of interest, including from the Port Authority of Allegheny County. Historians say Walt Disney himself was interested in the technology for one of his parks and visited during testing. Each could fit 60 people, sitting and standing, and unload in 18 seconds. It was tested year-round, and during the Allegheny County Fair every summer, visitors could pay a dime to take a whirl on the boxy blue and white tram. Skybus was a regional public transit project that, had it been implemented in Allegheny County, would have been one of the first autonomous vehicle systems in the world. “It controlled the trains, their speed and the stopping and starting and stuff, and it was all done from a central location.” ![]() By today’s standards, it would be like an abacus,” Marascalco said. The electric-powered rubber-wheeled buses could be operated remotely by engineers at a control station. “We put in a 10 percent grade section of the track,” Marascalco said, and simulated various weather conditions like heavy rain and snow.įrom 1967 to 1971, Westinghouse tested their autonomous transit system, Skybus, on a 1.77-mile raised concrete track. Westinghouse Transportation tested the system year-round, but allowed visitors to take a trip for a dime during the annual event. Heinz History Center Crowds at the Allegheny County Fair in South Park line up for a ride on the Skybus.
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