I think there was a thread once upon a time on how people came across the board, if they weren't part of the original exodus.

Oh yeah, Off to the Races is a great tune. Hadn't heard the L'Olympia version before. It's a treat to listen to these guys live. 

The thing about Pittsburgh transit is that they didn’t/couldn't ever fund their main public transit corridor with light rail — instead opting for a protected rapid-transit busway (no other vehicular traffic) down in a valley that cuts thru the heart of the east end of the main part of the city (immediately east of downtown). Back 50+ years ago, there used to be 4 or 5 freight rail lines down in that valley. Then in the mid-70’s, they tore out all but two of those freight rail lines, and replaced them with a 3-lane road for busses only (and emergency vehicles) — and said busses can get up to 40 even 50 mph, taking commuters to and from downtown in 1/4th the time of the city streets above.  They also treat and plow the hell out of the busway in the winter (when it snows). I understand the busway actually moves a lot more people daily than Pittsburg’s light rail does (their light rail is called the “T”). And the busses on the busway run almost as frequently as some DC Metro lines (like every 10 minutes during rush hour, 15 minutes during the day, and 15-20 minutes later at night). My wife and I will be in an apartment that’s just a 10-minute walk from one of the two busiest busway stops immediately east of downtown (one of the things we wanted to be close to). Pittsburgh’s east busway was the very first bus-rapid-transit system in the entire US (built in the mid 70’s) — and its cost-per-mile to construct and operate is substantially lower than light rail or heavy rail (a bare fraction of the cost). Nowhere near as sexy as rail — but in the right circumstances, it can be incredibly efficient — especially in this formerly freight-rail-only valley that never had vehicular traffic on it before in the first place.