Recently, a number of the candidates for the office of Allegheny County Executive office took up Pittsburghers for Public Transit’s offer to ride a bus route and hear about the issues that transit riders experience daily. PPT invited every candidate for the county executive office to join in the bus ride-along. Four of them, Attorney David Fawcett, State Representative Sara Innamorato, Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb and Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein, were able to participate.

On their trips, they were able to speak with PPT members and partners, along with several people enrolled in the low-income fares pilot currently underway in the county. Each candidate was able to hear personal stories from different perspectives. The rides were long enough – an hour or more – to give PPT Organizer Cheryl Stephens time to touch on all the transit issues facing Pittsburgh riders.

This was a great opportunity for riders to connect with the candidates and for those candidates that participated to learn first-hand about the challenges our transit system faces. The incoming county executive, whoever he or she will be, will make the decisions, appoint the Pittsburgh Regional Transit board members, and set the policies that determine the future of public transportation here in Pittsburgh.

Candidates had the opportunity to respond to questions at the end of the ride.

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March 27 Ride-along: David Fawcett – 12 McKnight

Candidate David Fawcett and his aide, Ally Derubeis, met with PPT at the McCandless Park-and Ride.

David spoke with PPT Member Sherai Richardson, who is participating in the reduced fare pilot program. Ms. Richardson outlined how this program has changed her day-to-day life – allowing her to save money, have far easier access to healthcare for herself and her family, see new opportunities and experiences available to her children, and enjoy significantly more independence. Sherai made a powerful case for having the program become permanent at the end of the pilot.

Sue Scanlon, Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus operator and PPT Board Member spoke to David in detail about the worker shortage and scheduling issues affecting the transit system. Sue has a unique perspective on how these issues hamper drivers like herself and riders as they navigate the transit system. She made it clear that these concerns are among the most serious to faced by transit workers and riders alike that need to be addressed quickly.

PPT Member Alisa Grishman, regular transit rider and head of Access Mob Pittsburgh, a disability rights organization, highlighted the shortcomings in infrastructure and service that limit the mobility of so many in Pittsburgh’s disability community.

End of ride wrap-up

PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”

David Fawcett: “That’s a great experience…really informative, particularly the explanation of the importance of bus ridership for low income families. It’s a priority to increase ridership and users of the bus system. We really should be having free fares for people with lesser means…There’s many, many creative options that allow the funding for this sort of program.”

PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”

David Fawcett: “This experience reinvigorated me, increased my drive that I already had to improve public transportation…the critical need of public transportation and principally for people of lesser means and in communities where they might not simply need to get to town, but need to get to a job site or get to a doctor’s appointment.”

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March 28 Ride-along: Sara Innamorato – 82 Lincoln

Candidate Rep. Sara Innamorato along with aide Olivia Settle met up with the delegation from Pittsburghers for Public Transit at the Lincoln Loop for the ride downtown.

Rep. Innamorato also had the opportunity to hear from Sherai Richardson about the life improvements she and her family have seen from the low-income fare pilot. Ms. Richardson underscored the importance of making the program permanent and how it would improve the lives of so many of her neighbors.

PPT members and long-time transit riders Ms. Verna Johnson and Ms. Teaira Collins were both able to give their perspectives on how the transit system has changed. Ms. Johnson, who lives in Larimer, described how transit functions as a lifeline to her entire community.

Transit Supervising Instructor Sasha Craig filled Rep. Innamorato in on the difficulties and limitations presented by the worker shortage as well as how drivers are stretched to the limit by scheduling.

End of ride wrap-up

PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”

Rep. Sara Innamorato: “You really see the difference from neighborhood to neighborhood in terms of availability of shelters, quality of sidewalks…We need to make sure that we’re investing in this really great public asset…That’s not only an economic development tool, but it is a lifeline for people. This is a valuable resource we need to prioritize investing in.”

PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”

Rep. Sara Innamorato: “I really appreciated hearing directly from one of the bus drivers on how to get more people into the workforce. The next county executive [needs to work] creatively on how they can partner.”

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March 29 Ride-along: Michael Lamb – 61C Homestead-McKeesport

Candidate Michael Lamb met part of the PPT delegation at the McKeesport transportation center. The other members were delayed when ripple effects from an accident on the parkway east snarled traffic throughout the east end. We met the 61C en route at one of the more dangerous bus stops in the county. A lesson about our car-centric transportation system in itself.

Ms. Teaira Collins and Ms. Clara Weibel, riders and PPT members, gave Mr. Lamb a thorough understanding of how bus service has declined over the years in that area. Ms. Teaira also demonstrated the strong community nature of transit when she greeted so many friends who happened to be on that bus.

The bus operator who was part of the PPT delegation was able to inform Candidate Lamb about the difficulties in addressing the driver shortage.

As the bus rode through Homestead, which has the largest percentage of transit dependent riders in the state of PA, Candidate Lamb got to see how the bus filled to overcrowding.

End of ride wrap-up:

PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”

Michael Lamb: “We saw today bus overcrowding…through all these river towns from McKeesport all the way up to Oakland and the critical need that it (transit) serves. Also just the discussion we had around infrastructure, around access and even just basic sidewalks. I think was a great conversation.”

PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”

Michael Lamb: “Obviously we knew there was a manpower need. What I didn’t realize was the lack of communication and marketing around hiring…getting out there and recruiting new drivers, new operators, new employees”

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April 4 Ride-Along John Weinstein – 61C Homestead-McKeesport

Candidate John Weinstein along with his aide, Amanda Horn, met with the group from PPT at the McKeesport Transportation Center.

The candidate had an opportunity to hear from rider Antonia Guzman about the positive effects the low-income fares pilot has had in the life of her and her daughter. She was also able to make candidate aware of the multi-language translation shortcomings in the transit system has.

Operator Instructor Supervisor, Sasha Craig, made the case for better worker recruitment to address the driver shortage.

Ms. Teaira Collins, long-time rider and PPT member, gave Mr. Weinstein the benefit of her multi-decade experience with public transportation in that specific area.

End of ride wrap-up:

PPT: “What was your impression of today’s ride-along?”

John Weinstein: “This was a fantastic experience. I’m 100% committed to our infrastructure and public transit. It takes understanding the plight of people and being able to help them. Everyone should be safe first and foremost. The bus stop should be safe. The sidewalks, the infrastructure.

PPT: “Was there anything new that you learned on today’s ride?”

John Weinstein: “I learned about the main lines and how accessible they need to be for people. We need more drivers. We need more maintenance people. We need more people to take care of the bus shelters and the sidewalks and the infrastructure. This was a very enlightening opportunity”

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The City of Pittsburgh is holding a Public Hearing about the SPIN scooter program and whether they are (or are not) meeting residents’ mobility needs.

Since the summer of 2021, Pittsburghers have had to learn to navigate the city’s public spaces with a new neighbor on our roads, on our sidewalks, and in our public spaces: the unmistakably orange SPIN scooters. The SPIN scooters were released as part of a 2-year pilot program to test whether they could increase affordable, equitable, and environmentally-friendly access for residents of Pittsburgh. The pilot is set to expire this June, so the time is right to have a public evaluation of whether the program accomplished its goals.

On April 12th, City Councilor Barb Warwick scheduled two public meetings for the public to weigh in on this process. A post-agenda meeting will be held at 1:30pm in City Council Chambers with representatives from the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, SPIN, and other researchers to discuss the program. Afterward, at 2:30, residents will be invited to give their public comments on their experiences with the program and whether scooters have improved mobility for them and their neighbors.

Pittsburghers for Public Transit is inviting all residents to join us for this public meeting, either in person or virtually, and give public comments about your experience with the scooters if you are able. If you need a ride to the public hearing, or if you have questions about writing your public comment or if you have any accessibility needs, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@ppt-test.jimkeener.com or 551-206-3320.

The hearing will be held Wednesday, April 12th at 2:30 in City Council Chambers, 414 Grant Ave.
RSVP below to attend and/or give public comment (and PPT staff will sign you up to join. Or you can sign up directly here):

PPT is inviting all of the candidates running for Allegheny County Executive for a ride-along with transit riders and workers.

The Allegheny County Executive is the most powerful person in Southwestern PA when it comes to public transit. So it is CRITICAL that this person understands what it’s like to ride the bus and be a champion for public transit.

To ensure these candidates begin to understand the importance of public transit, PPT has invited every candidate running for Allegheny County Executive to join us for a ride-along with transit riders and transit workers (we’ll see which candidates accept the invite). During these ride-alongs we’re going to spend two hours with them on the bus speaking about the transit challenges and opportunities that we see for our system. We are also going to walk them through the list of demands that riders are making for our next ACE.

Each candidate has also received PPT’s Transit Justice Questionnaire that they need to return to us by the beginning of April. We’ll be releasing the candidates’ answers to these questionnaires and recapping what they said on the ridealongs at PPT’s April Monthly Meeting.

We want to bring your questions and stories along with us. Take a minute to share and we’ll make sure your messages make it along to all the candidates running to be the next Allegheny County Executive

 

Without transit workers, we have no transit system. Our transit system is short 220+ workers and our scheduled service is in decline. This Transit Worker Appreciation Day, join PPT in calling on our next Allegheny County Executive to build better public transit by addressing the worker crisis.

On Saturday, March 18th, we celebrate National Transit Worker Appreciation Day. While we at Pittsburghers for Public Transit love and support our Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) operators and maintenance workers every day, we know that the workforce is right now in crisis, and want to take this opportunity to lift up worker voices and ensure that politicians are hearing their demands. 

Support the demands that transit workers are making and send a tweet to tell County Executive candidates to build better public transit by addressing the worker crisis.

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PRT needs to take care of the workers they have and hire more

Without transit workers, we have no transit system. Right now, Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is short more than 220 transit operators, and 40-60 maintenance workers. That’s why riders have been seeing service cuts every few months, with no end in sight; we’ve already lost 10% of the total scheduled service that we had before the pandemic, and with the wave of retirements coming this year and next, these cuts will be irreversible. At this point, PRT cannot even train workers quickly enough to replace the number of workers leaving each month. We need PRT to make a plan and make it fast, becasue this downward trend is only getting worse without one.

President and Business Agent Ross Nicotero of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 85 just published an excellent opinion piece in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review laying out the worker hiring and retention crisis and how our County Executive and PRT can take action to fix it. 

Several weeks ago, Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) launched a public input process to overhaul the downtown bus network. This is the first portion of a system-wide transit network redesign, to ostensibly make our bus routes faster, more understandable and more effective in serving our riders’ needs. As transit workers, we’re certainly supportive of adjusting our routes to keep buses from getting stuck for ages in car traffic and to ensure that riders can reliably and quickly get to their destinations.

But it is difficult to talk about how PRT’s bus network redesign will improve the rider experience without talking about the catastrophic service cuts we’re simultaneously experiencing due to ongoing worker shortfalls and PRT’s implementation of its vaccine mandate. At this moment, the network redesign feels a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

[…]

We are losing workers to jobs that offer more flexibility and higher pay. At the same time, the job has become more difficult. Operator assaults have increased, rigid scheduling requirements make it difficult for junior operators with child or elder care responsibilities, and a lack of access to restrooms on route and break rooms at depots exacts a health toll.

Here are five key ways that PRT can address these challenges head on:

• Rehire the 80-plus experienced employees that were terminated due to the vaccine mandate. These skilled workers can promptly address more than a third of the employee shortfall gap, and policies like mask mandates and regular covid testing for unvaccinated workers can address safety concerns.

• Narrow or close the wage progression/salary scale. New front-line workers begin at a $15-$18/hour training wage, and need to work for four years before reaching operator and maintenance worker regular rates.

• Incentivize good attendance with bonuses and reward employees for their courageous service through the pandemic with hazard pay. Bus operators and maintenance workers worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. They should be compensated accordingly so we can retain our dedicated workforce.

• Work with local universities, high school and labor to expand training and apprenticeship. This can improve job pipelines and get students interested in and prepared to work for PRT.

• Ensure bathrooms with proper route scheduling are available to ensure the dignity of bus operators. Pandemic-related business closures and longer work days created new challenges to ensuring that bathrooms are available to bus operators. Resources need to be deployed to ensure they have adequate time and appropriate break facilities during their runs.

We know that PRT clearly understands that higher starting wages helps with worker recruitment, because the agency just negotiated a whopping 18% raise increase for transit police, citing a need to “get our police officers to a level in which we can attract and retain them.”

PRT needs to fix the schedules to benefit transit workers and riders

We also know that poor route scheduling by management at PRT has created huge problems for riders and transit workers alike. This past month, we published a report entitled Representing our Routes, looking at the impacts of poor scheduling on on-time performance for routes that run through the City of Pittsburgh; of the 105 routes in the whole PRT system, 38 routes experienced service reliability of 50% or less for a month or more in 2022. Unreliable and unrealistic scheduling of routes has been catastrophic for riders, resulting in missed appointments, lost jobs, and impacts to rider access to schools and childcare. 

But poor route scheduling also affects transit operators, who are unfairly targeted by riders frustrated by the late or ghost buses, and PRT operators often feel pressured into skipping lunch and bathroom breaks because their buses are chronically 20 minutes or more behind schedule. This has led to extremely low morale among workers, and high attrition rates. 

One transit operator said that he was planning to return to ICU nursing, a career he had left several years ago, because he believed that the hospital was less stressful than driving a bus.   

Support the demands that transit workers are making and send a tweet to tell County Executive candidates to build better public transit by addressing the worker crisis.

Did you get into the new discount fare pilot program? We want to hear from you so we can advocate for a permanent, fully-free program for all.

More affordable transit fares are coming to Allegheny County because transit took action – but now we need to continue our advocacy to make this a permanent program accessible for all! Late last year, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services launched the new Discount Fares Pilot Program for SNAP/EBT recipients. The pilot program will test how free and discounted transit fares impact the ability of families to access food, jobs, housing, education, healthcare and all of life’s essentials. More than 14,000 people are involved in the study!

The program is exciting, but there are still some bugs with the website and the application. Pittsburghers for Public Transit is using this form to keep track of any problems or feedback that people have with the program, the website, or the application. We also want to use this form to hear your story about how free and discounted fares is impacting your life, and whether you think this should be a permanent program accessible to all. We’ll share this feedback with the Department of Human Services, but you should also reach out to Allegheny-Discounted-Fares@alleghenycounty.us

This free and discounted fare program is big news and only happens after years of advocacy from transit riders and allied organizations. But this program will end at the end of the year – WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU SO WE CAN PUSH TO MAKE IT PERMANENT!

If you have applied to the program, or if you know anyone else who has, please fill out this form. Tell your story and let us know how we can advocate to improve the program.

Wait, what’s going on? PRT is proposing big changes to downtown bus routes, and you have until March 26th to give your feedback.

Bus routes are undergoing a serious overhaul. Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)  is proposing to redesign how buses move through Downtown Pittsburgh. This is a big deal and one that all transit riders should evaluate and give feedback on! The proposed “bus network redesign” will likely have a big impact on, among other issues:

• where the buses stop and pick up passengers, which may change how close your destination is to where your bus drops you off.
• how quickly buses are able to move through Downtown streets– for instance, buses could drive in more parts of Downtown but run the risk of being stuck behind car traffic, or drive primarily through a few dedicated bus-only lanes but cover less of Downtown.
• how easy it is to transfer between different buslines. This bus redesign will likely change how close routes are to each other that riders use for transferring, and also the timing of those transfers.
• how safe the streets and sidewalks are where transit routes are stopping, and how comfortable the bus stops are for transit riders. The network redesign might prioritize stops that have better amenities like shelters, benches and real-time arrival information, or choose to space out stops so that passenger overcrowding at the stops or on particular buses is less of an issue.

Some of these changes will yield other surprising benefits – for instance, buses taking fewer turns in a dense urban area leads to fewer collisions. And buses that drive on fewer streets downtown will move through their routes and schedules faster and more reliably, which can create labor and cost savings that could allow for more bus service. But there are trade-offs around access and walking times that riders should consider.

PRT’s Public Process Schedule and Opportunities – Give feedback before March 26th

You can help PRT decide how to prioritize their decision-making (faster buses, or buses that go more places Downtown?), and look at how your particular bus route might change under different proposals. 

Unfortunately, PRT announced a very quick public meeting schedule with very little lead time. So there aren’t any more opportunities to join live info sessions. However, you can give input through their online portal until March 26th, and review how the two top-line scenarios would impact your particular bus route. You can then select a preferred route network and give comments about concerns or opportunities that you see from this process. They also have a lot of maps and other visual information with background about how downtown works for transit on their website.

If you have any issues reading the maps or graphics, reach out to us and we can help advocate for a solution – info@ppt-test.jimkeener.com.

When we fight, we win! Riders spoke up, organized, and were successful in maintaining (and expanding the span of) service on the P3!

Riders celebrated victory this week when it was announced that the new BRT plan would maintain P3 service to Hamnett, Roslyn and Swissvale stations on the East Busway!

The beginning of 2023 saw a flurry of organizing as the public comment period for the proposed BRT Service Plan came to a close. The proposed plan would have terminated the P3 at Wilkinsburg Station and eliminated the fastest, direct connection to jobs, schools and resources in Oakland to anyone that caught the bus from Hamnett, Roslyn or Swissvale Stations.

“For myself and many other care workers who work demanding schedules and have to leave the house very early and come home very late, asking us to take two buses is both not equitable and also not very realistic,”  said PPT Member Amalia Tonsor while speaking to the Pitt News

Other riders agreed. Before long, riders made their own flyers and posted them at the East Busway stops that were to be eliminated. Flyers had information about the changes that included web links, QR codes, and information about how riders could submit their own public comments. Riders organized canvass days where they went out and spoke to their peers at stops to spread the word about the changes.

But riders didn’t stop there! By the middle of January, almost all local media outlets were covering the story. A big shout out to PPT Members Amalia, Pearl and Nicole for speaking up and using the airwaves to spread the word about the changes and how people could make their voices heard. They were able to get their story out to 6 different news outlets – TV, print, online, and radio – reaching tens of thousands of riders and residents throughout our region.

1. Chris Hoffman’s report for KDKA: Pittsburgh Regional Transit continues plans for bus rapid transit project
2. Julia Zenkovich’s report for WESA: Pittsburgh Regional Transit seeks public comments on proposed Bus Rapid Transit changes
3. Jack Troy’s report for the Pitt News: PRT preps for Bus Rapid Transit with changes to Oakland routes
4. Ed Blazina’s report for the Union Progress: Some East Busway riders worried about routing changes: The story of the P3
5. Ann Belser’s report for NextPittsburgh: Pittsburgh Regional Transit accepting comments on route changes through Feb. 1
6. Talia Kirkland’s report for WPXI: Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s plan to implement rapid transit could affect existing routes

All of this organizing worked. After the comment period closed, PRT reported that they received over 700 comments through their process – 542 of which spoke up against the proposed changes to the P3! By the time the February 16th PRT Board Planning and Stakeholders Committee came around, the head of PRT’s Planning reported that they would hold-off on the changes until they had more data on how the changes would impact service in the system.

Great job to everyone who took the time to share about the importance of how transit impacts and benefits our communities! We have the right to shape our transit system so that it serves us best.

We applaud PRT for listening to what riders have to say, and want to give credit (and a some feedback) where it’s due.

We have to give credit to PRT for creating a robust public process around this particular proposal. They put a ton of information and justification for why they were making specific proposals on their website – this was great. PRT started the public process with an info session where they gave an overview of the changes being proposed, then followed up with in-person and virtual public meetings for people to give feedback. They had their public comment period open for a full month and a half, from December 15th to Feb 1st. And thumbs up for allowing people to give comments by calling Customer Service AND for setting up a voicemail where people could just call and leave a recording of their comment. 

As far as feedback: We wish that there was a centralized place on PRT’s website where riders could see all public meetings and all opportunities to give public comment on a single page. Currently, only PRT Board-related meetings are on the “Public Meetings” page (and PRT Board meetings are notoriously inaccessible and unresponsive spaces for riders to engage in constructive feedback). It was confusing to find the BRT project from the PRT homepage, and to navigate between the sites with information about the project and proposed service changes, the website that took service-related feedback, and the sites that shared the BRT public meeting schedule and registration. Frankly, it continues to be confusing to find info on other major projects as well. Members of the public have to navigate through NEXTransit on the project page to find info about some major projects, like the Downtown Network Redesign, but others like the BRT are curiously omitted. We appreciate that there was more than a month to give feedback on the BRT service changes, but hope that PRT would consider the impact of major holiday periods on the likelihood of robust public engagement.

All that said, we want to thank PRT for listening to riders. The agency could have gotten all that feedback and still ignored it but they didn’t. We are are offering this constructive feedback because we know that more transparency from PRT yields more engagement and the education of riders, which also increases rider input and trust in our public transit system. Pittsburgh Regional Transit belongs to the system’s riders and workers who use it everyday, so let’s continue to ensure that they are empowered to shape it.

Pittsburghers for Public Transit holds a packed press conference outside City Council Chambers to release a new report and invite PGH City Council to take a more active role in advocating for improved public transit.

On Wednesday, February 8th at 1 pm, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) hosted a press conference to release our new report, “Representing Our Routes: The State of Public Transit and How the City of Pittsburgh Can Improve It”. At the press conference, researchers shared broad trends from the report around transit service reliability in the City and key transit destinations, and transit riders from different Council districts will give testimony about their experience using transit in this past year.

Lorena Pena, PPT Member who lives off the Red Line, shared her experience with what unreliable transit has meant for her:

While I enjoy taking public transit, it is not always easy. Last year when the Red Line train was not working, I struggled and my community struggled just to get around. We did not know when the shuttles were coming because they did not run on the same schedule as the train.

PPT members and the report identify ways in which City Councilmembers can support high-quality, reliable transit in their districts, and can enact policies laid out in the Pittsburgh 100 Day Transit Platform, now adopted into Mayor Gainey’s Transition Plan.

Watch the press conference that released “Representing Our Routes: The State of Public Transit and How the City Can Improve It”:

See photos of the press conference in our Flickr Album:

Check out the coverage from news outlets of the event:

• Advocates call on Pittsburgh officials to prioritize transit, invest in sidewalks and bus shelters, from Margaret J. Krauss at WESA
• Local group calling for better communication from Pittsburgh Regional Transit about routes, from Susan Koeppen at WPXI
• Advocacy group’s study illustrates Pittsburgh’s ‘unreliable transit crisis’, from Hannah Wyman at Pittsburgh Union Progress
• Public Transportation Problems, from Shelby Cassesse and Marty Griffin at KDKA Radio
• Pittsburgh activists call for better public transit, from Julia Felton at TribLIVE

Transit riders release a new report to give the state of public transit in the City of Pittsburgh and outline steps for the City to improve it

Transit moves us. In the City of PIttsburgh, tens of thousands of residents—and the businesses that they work at and patronize—rely on affordable, timely transit service. Transit should be considered as vital to the city as other public utilities. However, over the past year, transit service in the Pittsburgh region has taken a significant turn for the worse. In 2022, Pittsburgh riders experienced a dramatic increase in overcrowded, chronically late and canceled buses and trains. Service data confirms transit riders’ poor experiences: Last year, 38 out of 105 Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) routes were below 50% reliability for at least one month. And transit must be reliable for it to be useful. If riders have a 50% certainty or less than a bus or train will show up as scheduled, they will stop using the transit system. 

PPT member and transit rider Lorena Pena recounts, “Last year when the Red Line train was not working, I struggled and my community struggled just to get around. We did not know when the shuttles were coming because they did not run on the same schedule as the train. Instead of waking up at 5:15 am for work, I had to set my alarm for 4:00 am just to ensure that I would arrive at work on time.”

On Wednesday, February 8th at 1 pm, Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) hosted a press conference to release our new report, “Representing Our Routes: The State of Public Transit and How the City of Pittsburgh Can Improve It.” At the press conference, researchers shared broad trends from the report around transit service reliability in the City and key transit destinations, and transit riders from different Council districts will give testimony about their experience using transit in this past year. PPT members and the report identify ways in which City Councilmembers can support high-quality, reliable transit in their districts, and can enact policies laid out in the Pittsburgh 100 Day Transit Platform, now adopted into Mayor Gainey’s Transition Plan.

Read Representing Our Routes: The State of Public Transit and How the City Can Improve it

Representing Our Routes’ Key Takeaways

• All City Council districts were adversely affected by poor transit service reliability in 2022.
• Residents of every City Council district rely on transit, although access to jobs and other critical destinations on transit is uneven across districts.
• There is a lack of real-time, language-appropriate communication between PRT and transit riders to communicate service disruptions, service cuts, and bus stop removals—and the harm from this was particularly pronounced during the Red Line closures in the summer of 2022.
• Transit arrival times must match the published transit schedule in order to restore the trust that individuals, service providers, and employers must have in the transit system for it to retain and grow ridership.
• As in other cities, Pittsburgh City Council members can play a role in supporting and communicating with PRT about the transit service needs of their constituents. City Council can advance the Mayor’s transit-supportive infrastructure and land use policies that were adopted into his transition plan from the Pittsburgh 100 Days Transit Platform.

City Council can improve transit for city residents

As in other cities, Pittsburgh City Council can play an indispensable role in ensuring that our region’s public transit system is effective, equitable, and attractive that is often overlooked.

Given the current service reliability crisis facing constituents in every Pittsburgh City Council district, we need Council members to join us in calling on PRT to publish transit schedules that accurately reflect run times. That could include Council members testifying at PRT board meetings alongside transit riders, and asking that PRT to provide quarterly updates to Council on service reliability and frequency changes on routes within their districts.

If no improvements are made to service reliability, Council should call for a post-agenda hearing and invite riders and PRT leadership to discuss the issue, to explore the citywide impacts of the transit service issues, and to hear PRT lay out a timeline for improvements. Council staff members should also monitor service changes or bus stop removals that affect their districts on an ongoing basis, and serve as one important new avenue for communications between PRT and the community.

City Council can also play a more direct role in supporting public transit through land use and accessible infrastructure investments. PPT has laid out 18 specific policy recommendations in the Pittsburgh 100 Days Transit Platform, nearly all of which have been incorporated into Mayor Gainey’s Transition Plan. In the coming weeks and months, PPT would like to suggest Council support these four priorities for advancing equitable infrastructure and land use needs:

• Council should call on the City’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) to reconvene the quarterly Complete Streets Committee. In the past, this committee had stakeholders from the community and organizations in the pedestrian, cycling and disability justice space, and helped prioritize traffic calming and pedestrian infrastructure investments. The reconstituted Complete Streets committee should have a high-level staffer from DOMI who explains how and where the City is evaluating and prioritizing sidewalk corridors for maintenance and development, streets for traffic calming, bus shelter creation and relocation, and other critical pedestrian investments. There should be space for discussion, feedback, and clear communication of the time- lines for implementation of these baseline equitable infrastructure investments.
• City Councilmembers should ensure that street planning foregrounds the need for more accessible, safer, efficient, and dignified transit stops everytime DOMI does significant street construction or redesign within their council districts.
• City Council should ensure that City Planning’s coming Citywide Comprehensive Plan requires equi- table transit-oriented development (ETOD), which marries affordable housing, density, and mix of retail and services in the communities with existing quality public transit.
• City Councilmembers should fund the forthcoming effort to provide free transit passes for all city employees, purchased at a bulk discount rate from PRT. Right now, it is cheaper for city employees to lease a monthly parking space downtown than it is to buy a monthly transit pass—a decision that also costs the city in lost revenue for the market value of those parking spaces. Providing free transit passes would incentivize better transportation behavior, reduce congestion, and be an enticing job perk to support city employee recruitment. Also importantly, it would challenge PRT to finally establish a bulk discount fare purchase program that could be made available to housing developers, large employers, and social service providers.

PPT is enthusiastic that Pittsburgh City Councilmembers have been receptive to these ideas. A majority of City Council and the Mayor’s office joined PPT at the press conference to recognize and support the need for accessible, reliable, affordable public transit for all, some even offering quotes of support

• Councilwoman Barb Warwick notes, “Forty-four percent of residents of District 5 are transit-dependent. Public transit is a top priority for me because all residents must be able to connect to the jobs, education, healthy food, and healthcare they need. Public transit should be as dependable, accessible and safe as any other utility, like water or electricity.”
• City Councilwoman Erika Strassburger says “Equitable transit-oriented development is a key priority of mine because I view it as integral to the future success of all Pittsburghers. I look forward to working with partners in City government, PRT, advocacy groups like PPT, and residents to improve access and reliability in all of our neighborhoods.” 
• “As the Representing Our Routes Report shows, our Public Transit system is in desperate need of attention. As transit riders, we should not have to worry whether or not our bus will show up when we’re leaving for work, school, or running errands. Our region must assure that everyone has access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation so that they can navigate the city without the use of a car. In order to achieve that goal, City Government must support efforts, such as the ones included in the Mayor’s Transition Plan, that promote transit-oriented development and expanded access to public transportation,” says Councilwoman Deb Gross

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You can help PPT push for more accessible, reliable public transit.
Sign on to tell City Council: Transit Moves Us

PPT Members are meeting with City Council to talk about transit improvements.

If you can’t join them, then sign on to show support!

We’ll bring your signature and more in to these meetings to show this is an issue that City Council needs to take seriously.