The Port Authority's Steelers Shuttle service seemed to have made a comeback today, avoiding the staffing issues that caused fumbled routes for the Jan. 15 NFL playoff game against Baltimore.
As of early afternoon, there were no signs of the shortages and driver call-offs that left the authority unable to run half of the 28 buses devoted to shuttling about 2,000 fans to Heinz Field, authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said.
"We have no indication right now of anything going off-base," he said.
At the park-and-ride lot in Moon, buses arrived once every 15 minutes as anticipated, much to the relief of season-ticket holder Tom Warren.
"Last week we were on the first bus to arrive, and he stayed until the last run was supposed to leave because we were told they didn't have three more buses," said Warren, 61, of Valdosta, Ga.
Port Authority is investigating whether drivers intentionally called off en masse in protest of planned staffing cuts. About 40 more drivers than usual called off the day of the game against the Baltimore Ravens.
The union representing drivers denied any wrongdoing.
Brandon Lohnes, 18, of Ambridge was happy to have service back to normal for the AFC championship game. |
