New Local Celebrity: Sinkhole Bus

Pittsburgh-area residents are finding numerous ways to celebrate a bus's misfortune.

1 minute read

November 8, 2019, 9:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Port Authority of Allegheny County

daveynin / Flickr

When it comes to a talisman that unites a city in a common cause and experience, San Francisco has Karl the Fog, Los Angeles has Earthquake Weather, Pawnee has Lil Sebastian, and Pittsburgh, it seems, has Sinkhole Bus.

A Port Authority of Allegheny County bus fell into a sinkhole in October, and multiple business are capitalizing on the comedic image of the bus, rear shoved into the bottom of a sinkhole, front balanced at an angle above the street. 

"Sinkhole bus is the gift that keeps on giving, especially if you’re a Pittsburgh business," writes Joshua Axelrod.

There have been Sinkhole Bus-themed donuts, cupcakes, and more, as documented by Axelrod.

In addition to corporate efforts to capitalize on the bus's misfortune, there too is a more populist effort to celebrate sinkhole bus, with memes, Halloween costumes, and its own Twitter feed.

The whole episode raises the question of whether there is another bus in the entire country that can rival Sinkhole Bus for celebrity. Perhaps the MARTA bus that blocked the shot of one frustrated camera person's Georgia Dome implosion back in 2017.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019 in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

April 18 - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive