Labor Day Parade Action For Public Transit!

Labor Day Parade Action For Public Transit!
Monday, Sept 2, 9-11:30 a.m.
Meet at Freedom Corner (Centre and Crawford Avenues in the Hill District)

Please join a broad-based coalition of public transit advocates to lobby for public transit before and during Pittsburgh's Labor Day Parade!

We will distribute leaflets with key information and contact information to call Governor Corbett, House Majority Leader Turzai, and House Minority Leader Dermody to urge them to support transportation legislation that includes public mass transit. We will work to have hundreds of calls completed and logged by the end of the event to demonstrate powerful evidence of mass support for all crucial transportation infrastructure in Pennsylvania to our elected officials.

PPT will meet ATU Local 85, the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network, the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, and other coalition partners on Monday, September 2 at 9:00 a.m. at Freedom Corner (Centre and Crawford Avenues in the Hill District, above the Consol Energy Center). We will spread out across the parking lots where over 30,000 marchers will be congregating before the parade to distribute flyers and invite people to call their elected officials on the spot. We will finish around 11:30 a.m.

If you can help advance this important work by volunteering, please email us, with CC: to both PIIN event organizer Carol Ballance at carol@piin.org and to PPT organizer Helen Gerhardt at helengerhardt1@gmail.com. And please invite others to join us.

Community-Wide Meeting to Plan Defense of Public Transit

Saturday, August 17 at 10am One Smithfield St, Human Services Building Downtown Pittsburgh 
You're invited to attend a community-wide meeting to plan our fall actions to defend our public transportation. 
At the meeting, we will discuss: 

• New PPT neighborhood chapters have launched this month. We'll consider how we can build wider support for their upcoming action plans, proposals and meetings with their elected officials.
• Starting new chapters in your own neighborhoods to educate your neighbors and elected officials on how transit cuts would affect your community and to mobilize for protective action. 
• PPT show of broad support for public transit at Special Port Authority Board Meeting on Friday, August 23rd at 9:30 a.m. at 345 6th Ave. We must be sure the public is included in deliberations - we will coordinate our messages and sign up to speak. 
• Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission public comment session on August 27th to discuss amendments to Transportation Improvement Program - showing wider support for PPT Hill Chapter comments and concerns.
• Transit Tales project: recording and broadcasting stories from riders, drivers and other supporters on why public transit is so important to our communities.
• Fundraising to maintain staff and launch our campaigns across the county and state.
• Building coalitions among our communities, businessess, and organizations that benefit from public transit: upcoming actions.

Neighborhood Chapters begin to launch

Because PA Senate Bill 1 to fund transportation failed to pass, and because we have little confirmed current information about public transit funding over the next two years, at our last General Membership meeting on July 20th,  Pittsburghers for Public Transit resolved to build chapters committees and networks in neighborhoods that will be impacted by potential transit cuts. This networking will allow transit advocates to more effectively mobilize our diverse communities to respond to the next round of cuts should they be announced in 2014 or 2015.

PPT will work to lay the groundwork not only to defend, but to expand public transit. We hope not only to resist cuts in service, fare hikes, and layoffs, but to become a proactive organization that is capable of advocating for increased service, fare reductions, and the practical enactment of the Transit Bill of Rights.

PPT will begin by helping to launch five community chapters of at least 15-20 active riders and drivers in neighborhoods that will be impacted by potential transit cuts. These core members will  help inform and mobilize their own fellow riders, drivers, neighbors, transit dependent businesses, churches and other community organizations.  We will help those active members recruit 100 total new supporters in the community for more powerful and effective mobilization, education campaigns, political actions and communications with elected officials.   

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·     Each community chapter will work to identify and communicate the impacts of current and potential future public transit service cuts in their neighborhoods. They will develop proposals for education and action, both within their own groups and to present to the larger membership for wider support and mobilization.

Our first neighborhood chapter in Troy Hill is holding their first meeting this Friday, August 9th, at 7pm at the Grace Lutheran Church, 1701 Hatteras St.

Please contact us if you want to start a chapter in your own community!