Pittsburgh, PA The Port Authority of Allegheny County has officially changed its name to Pittsburgh Regional Transit. This name change, while purely cosmetic, is not meant to affect service in the Pittsburgh Area. It is purely meant to reflect that Port Authority or rather PRT is keeping up with the modern times.
“Our new name acknowledges that we’re not just part of the community; the community is a part of us,” said PRT CEO Katharine Kelleman. “Our goal moving forward is to be a reflection of our incredible, vibrant community.”
This is not the first time a name a logo change has happened within the agency. Much like SEPTA, another Pennsylvania-based agency, that hasn’t changed its name or logo since being created in 1964, Pittsburgh Regional Transit has gone by the “Port Authority of Allegheny County” since 1956. However, unlike SEPTA, Port Authority has gone through many “Branding” changes since then. Here are some notable eras.
1980 marked the beginning of “PATransit,” Most buses during this time frame were white with a single red stripe going through the body, and a logo referring to PA Transit. This lasted until about 1996.
1998 marked the beginning of “Ride Gold” which introduced a golden hook logo. Starting with the 1998 Neoplan AN460 Order, PATransit started to decorate their buses with multiple colors, and slogans. The name Port Authority took center stage in the logo.
2003 marked the beginning of just Port Authority branding, with it spreading to the Light Rail in 2006. Starting in 2008, every bus order would just be in one of three colors, Blue, Yellow, or Red. And wear more traditional “Port Authority” text branding, instead of slogans.
Now in 2022, all new buses will wear blue branding with the “PRT” logo across the front and sides of the bus, at least according to Pittsburgh Regional Transit themselves.
Like with all the branding changes, Pittsburgh Regional Transit will reflect this change with future bus orders moving forward. The website also reflects this change as well.
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