Wild Card and Big Buck

Their brethren in other major cities may still suffer from the abuse of frustrated passengers, but in Pittsburgh, bus drivers are being greeted by cheers and even occasional kisses. As part of an imaginative plan to jazz up its service, the Pittsburgh transit authority has set loose in the streets a bus known as the Wild Card. Passengers climbing aboard discover that the coin box is covered by a leather bag decorated with playing cards. The ride is on the house.

The roaming Wild Card is but one of the grace notes of mass transit in Pittsburgh these days. Painted in pastels or ablaze with psychedelic designs, trolleys and buses have become sprightly delights. The bus groaning up steep Perry Highway bears the blue and white of Perry High School, and passengers rock in their seats to music provided by a cassette tape recorder. The transit authority also sells a $1 weekend pass, known as the Big Buck, that allows four people to ride wherever they like from 10 a.m. on Saturday to 4 a.m. on Monday.

With its innovations, the Pittsburgh authority reports that riders in September were up 12% over a year ago. The national average jumped 7.8%-- good, but not up to the results of the system with the Wild Card and the Big Buck.

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