How to get around Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is a very walkable city, and in most places where you’re likely to be staying, walking to and from the ballpark isn’t just doable, but would be suggested. Not only will you get your steps in, but you’ll also get to walk over the Roberto Clemente Bridge, one of the prettiest bridges you might ever saunter across. 

But if you’re beyond walking distance, or walks just aren’t your thing, you’ve got other choices for getting to and from the ballpark, including rideshares, the light rail (what we call “The T”), a ferry, and, of course, driving. In this chapter, we’ll explain all of your transit options so you can get to the ballgame quickly and easily.

Walking to PNC Park

People love walking across the Roberto Clemente Bridge, and it’s no wonder why: it’s just a beautiful structure, and the views of both downtown Pittsburgh and the ballpark from the bridge are amazing. But beyond the beauty, it’s also the easiest way to get to and from the ballpark if you’re staying downtown, especially if your hotel is closer to the bridge. If you’re staying at a hotel like the Renaissance or Fairmont, it will take you less time to walk across the bridge to the stadium than to walk to the nearest light rail station and wait for the train.

And if you’re wondering, we consider the walk to be safe both during the day and after evening games as well. Yes, the farther you go into downtown, the more homelessness you might see. But this isn’t something that should be a safety concern. In terms of crime, the downtown area during the summer is safe and appropriate for you to be walking around in.

The Light Rail has three lines: Blue, Red, and Silver. All three lines follow the same route from the North Shore to South Station, so when you’re going to or from the ballpark from any of our three recommended hotel zones, it doesn’t matter which train you take – they’ll all get you there.

Transportation between North Shore and the downtown stations is free – you don’t even need to get a ticket. But riding to/from South Station costs $2.75 each way. If you do need to purchase a ticket, you can use a credit card at any fare machine located inside the station. But don’t buy your return ticket at the same time – your fare window starts when you purchase your ticket, so you’ll need to buy your return ticket after the game. 

North Shore to downtown is an 8-minute ride, and downtown to South Station is another 5 minutes. The T can get overcrowded on game days, so you may not make it onto the first one. But don’t worry… trains run every 4 to 15 minutes, so you’ll be on your way soon enough. 

The only stations you’ll need to worry about if you’re staying in TSI’s hotel zones are the following:

North Side Station is PNC Park’s underground light rail stop, and once you take the escalator up to street level you’ll find yourself equidistant from PNC Park (on the left) and Acrisure Stadium (on the right). Two blocks in front/south of you will be North Shore Drive, where all of the bars and restaurants are. From here, the gameday experience is your call! You can head to the bars to grab some refreshments, or head straight to the ballpark to start your stadium experience.

Taking rideshares to PNC Park

You rarely have to worry about getting a rideshare around the downtown or North Shore areas, especially on weekends and game days, because there are plenty of them. The average rideshare will cost anywhere from $15-25 to go from downtown to PNC Park, but can vary based on surge pricing, which will often be in effect on game days, especially closer to game time.

PNC Park has two dedicated ridesharing pick-up/drop-off locations during Pirates games. One is along Isabelle Street, which is directly east of the ballpark. The other is along the eastbound stretch of Reedsdale St about two blocks west of PNC (but before Acrisure).

Driving to PNC Park

If you’re driving in for the game, you can either park near the ballpark in North Shore, or across the bridge in downtown. The Pirates have partnered with ParkMobile for fans to reserve parking, but we find that ParkWhiz also has a good selection of parking spaces near the ballpark. SpotHero tends to not have any parking near the ballpark, so stick to the first two.

ParkWhiz

Example for Friday, 07/19/24, 5-10pm, taken two weeks in advance. 

There’s a good number of parking garages, and we don’t have a particular one that you should focus on. We suggest shopping based on price. All of the lots that ParkMobile and ParkWhiz show are within an appropriate walking radius of the ballpark, and we consider them to be safe.

The Pirates have some good parking info on their site, so take a look.

Taking the bus to PNC Park

Don’t.

We do not think the bus is an appropriate, or necessary, means of transportation for visitors. While there is a bus that will run from downtown to nearby the stadium, we find that they are not very nice, sometimes not very safe, and they do have problems with homelessness that will make your experience unenjoyable. Either stick to walking, the light rail, or taking rideshares to get to the ballpark. The bus is unlikely to save you much money over any of these other options (if you’re at least a party of two), but it will almost certainly be the least enjoyable of them.

Taking bikes to PNC Park

Pittsburgh has a bike sharing program known as POGOH, which has both standard and electric bikes for rent spread around the city. But while they’re easy and even fun to use, the problem is that there may not be any vacant bike docks for you to return your bike to at PNC Park. And even if the bike app shows availability when you check your bike out, by the time you get across the river, that could have changed. For that reason, we don’t think that the bike share option is a very good idea. With how close the stadium is to downtown, the bikes won’t save you a ton of time over walking or taking the light rail, and neither of those come with the possibility of having to spend an extra 30 minutes looking for a place to end your rental.

If you do want to give it a try, however, you’ll need to download the PBSC app and set up an account. You can scan the QR code right on a bike to get started. The price for a pedal bike is $4 for 30 minutes, while an e-bike is $5.50 for 30 minutes.

Bottom Line

Pack your walking shoes. The entire city, from North Shore to South Station, is only a 25 minute walk, so if you’re someone who enjoys getting places by foot, Pittsburgh is a great city for you, and getting to PNC will be quick and enjoyable. If not, the light rail and rideshares will be easy alternatives.