Youssef, you could take the #27 bus on Howard Street northward up to Mount Washington.
If you did take the #11, you would get off at Maryland/Oliver, which is only one block from the UofB light rail stop.
Yes, both options are pretty ridiculous on their face.
The Hampden Shuttle Bug is a proven failure, and is only still around due to inertia and the political power of "neighborhood pride".
To function at their best, shuttle routes need to be longer than the MTA or the City have been willing to make them, and they need to be integrated into the system, which both agencies have a fatal aversion to doing. Loops are also bad, unless they are very tight.
Youssef, Dresser says you "like" the circulator. Aren't you the one who said the city should get rid of all non-essential services to lower taxes?
But then, there is the lady who said the shuttle was a "godsend" (Is Sheila Dixon god?) to allow her to ride up to Penn Station for coffee and a donut. That donut would be expensive if she had to pay $3.20 to the MTA for that round trip.
David Clark of the the MTA was interviewed by Dresser, but seemed oblivious to any desire to serve the short distance market despite the fact that the buses are already there.
Jamie, the 4% cut of the 20% parking tax that goes to the circulator would no doubt be absorbed into the general budget if it didn't go for the buses. Hopefully, it would then go to reduce some other more onerous tax.
Businesses do have a giant loophole to avoid this tax. All they have to do is give their employees free parking.
Unfortunately, now the city knows that if they don't pay for services like swimming pools anymore. They can simply shake down the private/nonprofit sector to pay for them. This will probably lead to increased city govt spending on stuff like the circulator.