PITTSBURGH — Thousands of fans are relying on public transportation to get to and from the NFL Draft, with Pittsburgh Regional Transit encouraging riders along the way.
PRT posted on social media Friday, saying, “Thank you to the thousands upon thousands of fans who chose to take public transit today. Let’s do it again tomorrow!”
We spent much of the day riding the T with fans, starting at the Potomac stop in Dormont, where many told us getting to the North Shore was easy.
“The experience has been great so far. Getting down there was easy—we took the T… getting back, though, we didn’t take that nightmare,” said Derek Farrelo, who traveled from Maryland.
That “nightmare” he’s referring to is the large crowds late Thursday night as fans tried to leave the draft all at once. Channel 11 was there as T cars filled to capacity.
“We walked out to about 5,000 people waiting for the train… we said, yeah, we’re just going to call a Lyft,” Farrelo said.
Others described a similar scene.
“When we got down there, there was no one directing anything—just a mob of 5,000 people,” said Damon Richardson, also visiting from Maryland. “We looked at each other like… do we walk two hours? After already being out there 14 hours?”
By Friday afternoon, things had improved. We rode the T from the South Hills to the North Shore and found it much less crowded, with riders able to find seats and avoid long waits.
But by early evening, demand was climbing again.
By around 5:30 p.m. Friday, several park-and-ride lots were already full, including Idlewood Station, Bell Park, Dormont, and Mount Lebanon. Ross Park and Castle Shannon were about 90% full with very limited spots remaining, while Sheraden was about 75% full. Carnegie, Monroeville, and most other park-and-rides were hovering around 50%.
We also met Tina Gitelman from Mount Lebanon, who came back for a second day.
“Just getting through that bottleneck was a little tricky because by the end of the night people have a few too many cocktails—it was a little rowdy,” she said. “There were just so many people trying to get on… they were blocking the doors, everyone trying to get out at the same time—but all in all, it was a good experience.”
Even with the challenges, fans say the overall experience has been positive.
Rides on the T are free during the NFL Draft, and despite the crowds, many riders say people have been friendly as they make their way to and from the festivities.
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