- October 1st, 2026
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Since initially being installed last month, Port Authority Police have been issuing warning to motorists for any unauthorized use of the new, red "bus only" lanes along Fifth and Forbes Ave in Oakland between Bellefield and Craft. As of October 1, 2026, police have now officially begun issuing tickets for unauthorized use of these marked lanes. The citation and associated fees bring ticket totals to nearly $200.00 which can be issued to any private vehicles, including bicycles, seen entering, driving, stopping, or parking in these designated red bus lanes—even for brief pickups, drop-offs, or deliveries—or crossing the solid white line markings into the lane prematurely. Stopped or unattended vehicles may even be towed at the owner's expense.
Private vehicles are only authorized to enter the RED STRIPED areas of these new lanes when making right turns or when crossing the lane to reach general traffic lanes from a parking lot, for example. Only the RED STRIPED areas may be utilized by private vehicles, no solid red surfaces.
To make a right turn: Drivers can enter the bus lanes where the solid white lines become dashed white lines and the solid red surface coating becomes a striped red surface coating. These areas are also designated with a white right-turn arrow applied to the surface.
Nearly all intersections along Fifth and Forbs Ave from which vehicles can make right-hand turns are designated by the RED STRIPED turning condition—with one exception at the intersection of Forbes & Schenley Drive Extension (near the dinosaur statue at the Carnegie Museums) where the signal is split for a "Queue Jump" condition which means that the three lanes of general traffic have a set of three traffic signal heads (one hanging above each lane) and the buses in the bus lane have their own traffic signal head. These signals run on different phases, and the red/green phases of the three general traffic lanes will not be the same as the red/green phases of the red bus-only travel lane.
This alternate condition is an essential component to ensuring buses can safely travel between the new Schenley Plaza Station located near that intersection and cross multiple lanes of traffic to reach Bellefield quickly after clearing the intersection.
This "Queue Jump" condition (which operates similarly to how the Sixth Ave & Centre Ave intersection works near Steel Plaza Station downtown already) is in place to allow buses to continue moving via a dedicated bus-only green phases that is designed to allow buses to make their way across the necessary two lanes of traffic to the left in the short distance available to reach Bellefield Avenue and ultimately on to Fifth Avenue. Once the buses have cleared, the bus lane will turn red and the general traffic lanes will turn green signaling drivers to advance through the intersection and/or make a right-hand turn onto Schenley Drive Extension from the right-most general traffic lane (NOT from the bus lane, as drivers will notice there is no red-striped surface coating or white right-turn arrow in the bus-only lane at that specific intersection.)
When attempting to make a right turn from all other intersections that cross the red bus lane, vehicles must always check their mirrors first (just as they would in any lane shifting maneuver) and yield to oncoming transits vehicles which have the right-of-way and may be operating on alternate traffic signal patterns in some areas where they'll pass through the intersection that a vehicle may be intending to turn right from, so drivers are reminded to use extreme caution, use their signals, and always look to ensure the lane is completely clear before shifting lanes.
Vehicles should never pull in front of an oncoming bus and instead should always safely merge behind the bus—again remembering to only utilize the striped portion of the red bus lane, never the solid surface, even temporarily as part of the lane change maneuver as this technically violates authorized use conditions and could result in a citation.
Remember: These new dedicated bus lanes are reserved exclusively for authorized public transit vehicles and emergency vehicles only. They are clearly marked to ensure the smooth and efficient flow of public transit. Drivers are encouraged to pay close attention to street signage and lane markings to avoid violation.
Source: Pittsburgh Regional Transit
