Just as Heinz Ketchup is synonymous with the number 57, for over half a century transit riders from Brookline grew quite familiar with the number 39. That was the number of the local trolley route, 39-Brookline.

In 1966, Brookliners had to learn a new number, 41. That was the number given to the new Brookline PAT Bus Routes after trolley service was discontinued in September of that year.

Back in 1964, the Port Authority began buying up several competing city bus services and consolidating them as one transit system. The aging trolley lines were being gradually phased out and PAT was entering a new age in motorized public transportation. The new buses offered a great deal of flexibility to the struggling company.

In Brookline, there were several routes in operation: Brookline, East Brookline, Ebenshire Village, Pioneer Avenue and the morning rush hour fliers. The routes covered the community much more thoroughly than the trolleys, which were bound by the limitations of their tracks. Buses regularly traveled these new back street routes.

However, with convenience came traffic. The buses often became mired in rush hour snarls and their stop and go patterns only added to the frequent delays, not to mention the frustation levels of fellow motorists.

When the new light rail system was built, the Port Authority also constructed private busways that covered old trolley right-of-ways. One of these new routes, the South Busway, became part of the Brookline route. The busway runs along the old Shannon Drake rail line, beginning near Rt51 and Rt88 at Glenbury Street. It parallels Rt51 to the South Hills Junction and through the refurbished trolley tunnel. Brookline buses would enter and exit the busway via the old trolley ramp at the bottom of West Liberty Avenue.

In addition to the busways, PAT was granted right-of-ways in downtown Pittsburgh along Wood Street and Smithfield. This allowed for a quicker loop through town. Then the buses headed back across the Smithfield Bridge and through the trolley tunnel for the return trip to the South Hills.

As the years went by, the Port Authority faced numerous financial burdens. The result of these has been a series of changes in the services offered. In Brookline this meant the consolidation of the local routes into just one, and a cut in the number of buses in service. The new route still covers much of the same streets as before, however the frequency of the buses has dropped considerably.

Where a commuter could once walk to the cannon and expect a 10 to 15 minute wait for a bus to pass, today it would be best to check a schedule first to see what time the occasional bus will be at that stop. That aside, the Port Authority is still a reliable transportation alternative, and their many connecting routes can still get a person just about anywhere in the city.