Headed to Macy's, Michael Dorish of McKees Rocks was waiting for either the Port Authority 71A or 71C bus at the popular stop on Forbes Avenue near Stanwix Street, Downtown, shortly before noon.

He hadn't been there long enough to worry that something was amiss. But had he not been told what was happening -- actually, not happening -- he would have been waiting a long, long time.

Like for eternity.

Beginning yesterday, hundreds of buses no longer will travel Forbes Avenue through the heart of Market Square. Twenty-two bus routes have been moved to nearby streets in response to a request by city officials and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership in order to make the area more pedestrian-friendly. Eventually, cars also will be prohibited as part of a Market Square makeover.

As if on cue, James Love, a member of the Port Authority Voluntary Advisory Committee, a man with a self-proclaimed encylopedic knowledge of all Port Authority schedules, showed up. He told Mr. Love what was already printed on a sign under the now defunct blue and white "Bus Stop" sign--the new stops for the affected bus routes. Mr. Love also gave him a brochure containing detailed maps and stop changes.

As for Mr. Dorish, he took the change in stride.

"It doesn't bother me," he said with a broad smile. "When you're 84 nothing seems to be bothering me. When I start the day breathing, I'm happy."

Not everyone was so philosophical. While some are not happy, others are delighted. What people think depends on whose ox is being gored, or more accurately, whose route is being changed.

Buses have been as ubiquitous in Market Square as pigeons. And just as some people see pigeons as pests while others see them as useful, so too are opinions split about the elimination of bus service through the square.

Greg Dennison, who works in maintenance at PPG Place, said he thinks eliminating bus traffic "is great. It should only be pedestrian traffic. There shouldn't even be cars.

"This is a place where people can come and eat their lunch and have a nice time. It should be a place where people are safe. It should be a nice place to relax and meet and greet other people."

Joel Mizerak of Allison Park, who works at PNC, was munching on a wrap from Subway while sitting on a wall. He said the difference in traffic and noise yesterday was noticeable.

"Honestly, I don't think any traffic should come through here."

But there are those, like Cheryl Droste of Monroeville who works at PNC and who takes the EBS Short, said "I'm furious."

Noting that she has to walk farther to a bus stop, she added, "The rerouting will get me home 15 to 20 minutes later. I don't see the purpose."

Ms. Droste was eating lunch in Cherrie's Diner at 212 Forbes near Market Square and had wanted her opinion known after hearing owner Talib Hussain tell a reporter he doesn't mind the bus ban and doesn't foresee a downturn in business. In fact, yesterday was one of his better days in the four months he's been open.

Kaitlin Aloisio, a crew member at MixStirs in Market Square, who was passing out free samples of pina colada smoothies, said she doesn't expect her employer to lose much business, if any, because their customers are generally Downtown workers who walk there.

A spokesman for Primanti Brothers, which was packed yesterday, inside and out, said business, if anything, should pick up because of the decline of noise and fumes from the buses.

To help customers if they were confused, Chris Visconti, associate senior planner for the Port Authority, manned a booth in the square, answering riders' questions and passing out the changes brochure.

What had the feedback been from riders?

"Everyone generally is not happy with it," he said. But then he recalled one guy who liked the change.

The Port Authority also pointed out that many riders are used to the changes because Forbes has been closed so often for construction, movie shoots, rallies and other activities. Some riders will benefit because the new route will take them several blocks closer to their destinations.

Hundreds of people yesterday got to experience the first permanent bus-less square. They were drawn there by a beautiful spring day, the season's first weekly "Thursdays in Market Square," which features live music performances, and the oasis-like quality of the square, a part of the city's grid since 1792.

Those eating lunch outside restaurants at tables in the square and those just hanging around enjoyed not having to deal with bus fumes and the roar of bus engines. The loudest sound that could be heard was from construction of nearby Three PNC Plaza.

Furthermore, since automobile traffic is sporadic through the square -- sometimes five minutes or so passed with nary a car -- pedestrians used the middle of Forbes as a walkway.

Performing yesterday without having to worry about competing with bus traffic was Scott Blasey of the popular Pittsburgh band "The Clarks," who performed a top-notch hour-long solo set on guitar. His songs ranged from Tom Petty's "Breakdown," to Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" to The Clarks' own "Cigarette."

On this day, all that seemed to be missing from his set -- and literally from Forbes near Market Square -- was "Bus Stop," a '60s hit for the Hollies and a decades-long hit for many Port Authority riders.