Image description: image focused on people’s hands holding the straps hanging down on the inside of a train car or bus. The image is from the cover of the new report, “Invest in Transit Service for Opportunity, Freedom, & Racial Justice”.
New Report from The National Campaign for Transit Justice, Just Strategy and Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) shows that if Congress fully funds transit this summer, Pennsylvania residents would see significant economic and environmental impact
A new report released today by the National Campaign for Transit Justice, Just Strategy and Pittsburghers for Public Transit shows that if Congress acts this summer to fully fund public transit — including operational funds — Pennsylvania would see significant economic and environmental benefits.
This summer, Congress has an opportunity to make an historic investment in public transit, including funding to put more buses on the road and more trains on the tracks. With $20 billion in annual transit services funding, Congress can help reduce wait times, increase bus and train frequency, expand service, promote racial justice, and tackle climate change.
Image description: image is a .gif that rotates between two maps. The first map shows Port Authority’s current frequent service lines where transit comes every 15 minutes. The second map shows the potential frequent service lines with the availability of federal operating money and has many more lines that connect the entire county.
Today’s report shows how this funding will boost transit service in 9 metropolitan regions in Pennsylvania. In Allegheny County, increased federal investment would spur service increases ranging from 25- 32% across Port Authority’s service area.
Notably, communities with limited access to transit service and high Black populations like Northview Heights could see their access to jobs within a 30 minute bus ride increase nearly 400%, from 7,093 to 33,446 jobs.
“This summer, Congress has the once-in-a-generation opportunity to make public transit work better for communities ,” said Laura Chu Wiens, Executive Director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. “This report shows clearly that such an investment would increase economic opportunity, racial equity, and help address the climate crisis. We need Washington to act, and fully fund transit. We cannot afford for them to miss this opportunity.”
For more than 40 years, federal transportation funding has been out of balance, with only a small share going to public transit. This disinvestment has deprived residents of the Commonwealth of the frequent, reliable, and accessible bus and train service they need to get to work and meet other day-to-day needs. The result is lost job opportunities, a setback in racial equity, and depressed economic activity for the state as a whole.
The disinvestment infrequent, reliable transit blocks economic opportunity for Black residents in Allegheny County in particular. Nationally, 60 percent of all public transit riders nationally are people of color, and one-quarter are Black. 41% of Port Authority bus riders are Black, according to Port Authority’s 2018 Rider Satisfaction Survey Bus Report. And people of color who take public transit to work are more likely than their white counterparts to have commutes that take 60 minutes or longer, each direction.
The City needs transparency and public input for COVID relief funding plan
Earlier this month, City Council voted 7-1 to approve Mayor Peduto’s allocation plan for the $336 million in COVID relief money. This allocation plan received zero public input before it was made public, just a few days prior to 2 public hearings on it. This was a historic amount of money that represented a once in a generation opportunity to invest in residents and our needs, but a top-down approach from Mayor Peduto and most of City Council will send hundreds of millions in public money to a spending plan that has little by way of detail or transparency.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit was proud to join hundreds of testifiers at these hearings. And organize a series of actions that were supported by dozens of organizations across the city. You can read about this campaign in these news articles:
Here is the testimony from PPT’s Director Laura Chu Wiens given at the July 13th public hearing on the ARPA spending plan:
My name is Laura Chu Wiens, and I am the Director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. Our office is located at 5119 Penn Ave in Garfield. I am, like the other speakers today, appalled by the rushed budgeting of hundreds of millions of dollars of our taxpayer relief money and the absent public process that has resulted in this budget.
These fundsdo not need to be obligated until December 31, 2024 – more than 3 years from now.By front loading all this spending and putting it towards regular capital expenses, this administration is irreversibly harming our presumptive Mayor’s ability to support a recovery. Tens of millions towards building sustainability upgrades, updating street lights and electrifying the city’s vehicle fleet? This is not the intent of this emergency federal relief money—these are the types of uses that will be funded in the federal infrastructure package, which is being negotiated as we speak, or are purchases that should be made as part of the annual city budget. Even the Irvine/2nd Ave sidewalk replacement that we have been at the forefront of advocating for should not be funded from emergency relief money. Instead, it should come from the $14 million dollars that DOMI has already received to pay for the already obsolete Mon-Oakland Connector.
This past weekend, DOMI unveiled the MovePGH initiative, and talked about universal basic mobility for all Pittsburgh residents. Of this goal, we at PPT agree with DOMI–we believe that mobility is a right, and that the City has important role to play in ensuring that to be the case. But the Administration’s idea of universal mobility isn’t that universal—scooters and zipcars are inaccessible to those that need mobility most: those with young children, people with disabilities, youth, seniors. The private companies that Pittsburgh is relying on to provide this universal mobility are out for profit, and that has resulted in the mobility hubs being clustered in white and affluent neighborhoods. As part MovePGH, the Port Authority will have a trial period of giving out just up to a 100 people transit passes.
Contrast that with what transit riders have been calling for since the outset of the pandemic, for just $4-8 million dollars emergency relief money to allow low-income riders to show their EBT cards to board transit for free, for a year. 75% of Port Authority trips begin or end in the City, and so the City would be an appropriate source of these funds. That’s universal basic mobility, to have unlimited access to transportation for all low-income residents not just in the City, but in the county, for less than the cost of the proposed streetlight upgrades. Wouldn’t that be transformative? Wouldn’t that provide desperately needed relief to City residents, and stimulate jobs and food access and fewer missed healthcare appointments for those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic?
We firmly support all the other powerful proposals that need to be funded, like robust support for renters, funding for CLTs and a $10 million food justice fund—these are the types of proposals that should be solicited from a true public process and funded from the American Rescue Plan, that would be key to a real recovery that centers and actually uplifts those most harmed. I urge Council to delay the vote and truly hold a people-centered process, that lifts up the needs and voices of Black and Brown Pittsburgh residents above all.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a grassroots, democratic, member-led organization that fights for racial justice and public transit as a human right. Each July, the organization holds elections for its membership to elect a slate of candidates to serve for two years on the Coordinating Committee. The Coordinating Committee is PPT’s equivalent to a Board of Directors, and is responsible for strategizing and executing the organization’s campaigns, outreach, governance and fundraising.
2 seats on PPT’s Coordinating Committee are reserved for transit workers connected to a local transit union, of which, one is elected each year. The remaining seats can be filled by PPT’s general membership, 6 of these seats are up for election in odd-number years and 5 of these seats are up for election in even number years.
All are welcome to join our General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, July 14th at 7pm. Each candidate will have 3 minutes to speak to their strengths and what they bring to the Coordinating Committee.
Votes for the Coordinating Committee should only be submitted by PPT Members after they read the bios below. Voting deadline is Wednesday, July 28th at midnight.
In the last year has organized with PPT to further any of our campaigns – either by attending a Monthly Meeting, joining a rally, phone banking, canvassing, testifying in front of an agency, etc.
In the last year has given a financial contribution or membership dues of at least $2.75 (the Port Authority’s single-ride fare cost) in the last year.
Nominees to fill 5 PPT General Membership Seats, 2021-2023
Below is a list of the nominees to fill PPT’s General Membership seats. They are listed in alphabetical order by first name, with a short bio and list of their campaign involvement to give background on their in past work for transit justice and other issues. Each nominee has approved and contributed to their bio and list of campaign involvement. PPT Members, please read through all of this info before casting your vote.
PPT Members can vote for up to 5 candidates to serve a 2-year term, 2021-2023.
Image description: Andrew Hussein, a middle-aged White male with a mustache and black hair reading a book on socialism and other liberal topics
My name is Andrew Hussein, and I live in Penn Hills. My primary routes are 77, 79, P17, 86, P16…. but to be truthful, you can find me on just about any route (no exaggeration) because I eat/sleep/breath/live all things public transit. Anyone who knows me knows that that is true. Transit is my sole means for transportation so I am acutely aware of the very real need for public transit to have a positive community impact.
I am a long-time member of PPT who has been working with the org since a brief few month stint in the early days, back in an earlier iteration of the org called “Save Our Transit”. Years later i reconnected with PPT on their community campaign in Baldwin. We won that campaign and restored service to that neighborhood and i never looked back.
The skills that I bring to PPT are a significant all-around and general knowledge of the Port Authority system. I have a sincere passion for transit and its improvement. When i think of better transit I think of transit that is Fair, Equitable, reliable, useable, sustainable, readily and widely available – for as many folks as possible. Transit needs to fit as diverse of a clientele and public need as possible and I think that that is what we need to fight for together.
Projects
Current Secretary of the Allegheny County Transit Council (ACTC), current Executive Committee Member, and have been involved here for 5 years
I am also the founder and COO of the Bus Info Hotline, a twitter and phone info line that is open for people to find out info and ask questions about Port Authority that I’ve been running for nearly 20 years. Check out our twitter at @PGH_BUS_INFO
Involved in many of the successful neighborhood service campaigns started in 2014 that restored service to transit deserts through our county.
I am a PPT Communications Committee Member. I lead the creation of our Blog Series on the Quarterly Service Updates.
I have a significant all-around and general knowledge of port authority system, PPT staff calls me all the time with questions about our system.
Barb Warwick
Image description: Barb Warwick, a white woman with long brown hair dressed in a winter coat, is outdoors with her three kids. Everyone is hugging in close together and smiling.
My name is Barb Warwick and I have been a member of PPT since 2019. I live in Four Mile Run and first became involved with PPT as part of the fight against the Mon-Oakland Connector. That experience really opened my eyes to the power of community activism and to what an amazing organization we have in PPT.
Professionally, I have always considered myself to be somewhat of a workhorse who is fully committed to any project I take on. Having had lots of experience in the corporate arena, I am always happy to “suit up” and meet with political leadership and transit authorities to press for policies that support equitable, affordable, and sustainable transportation systems.
My communication style is diplomatic, but persistent. And, with 20 years’ experience in marketing communications, I know how to stay on point and on message. As a writing and editing professional, I can also help ensure that content put out by PPT is always clear, concise, and engaging. The way I see it, PPT saved my community and public park from being overrun by the Mon-Oakland Connector. Whether chosen for the Coordinating Committee or not, I feel such gratitude to you all and look forward to continuing to work together for transit equity and justice for many years to come.
Mon-Oakland Connector: Extensive involvement
#FairFares: Communications, board meetings, and rallies
Equitable Transit Funding: Communications, board meetings, and rallies
Transit for All PA!: Rally in Harrisburg
Dean Mougianis
Image description: Dean Mougianis, a white man with white hair and glasses wearing a plaid shirt, holds a video camera on a bus during a past rally day in Harrisburg. Other rally attendees are seated in the background.
Dean Mougianis has been a media producer for forty years and an educator for twenty-five. Dean began his media misadventures on a gap year (well, several) in his education when he fell in with a group of people who had the audacious idea of founding a radio station. This became WYEP-FM. He later transitioned to video, worked in a variety of production facilities, then struck out on his own as a freelancer. As a producer, writer, video editor and motion graphic artist, Dean has worked with a wide range of commercial clients, had enough of that, and began working instead for non-profit, labor, and social service clients.
Somewhere in mid-life, Dean decided to pay back the legacy of many people who taught him so much and sought out teaching opportunities. As an educator for the past twenty-five years, Dean has taught courses and workshops in various aspects of video production from beginner to advanced for Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Grove City College, Laroche College, and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit. An early convert to digital media, Dean now specializes in teaching motion graphics and animation.
Dean Mougianis – Board of Directors intentions: I see my primary role in assisting and advancing PPT’s communications and media efforts. Along with this I wish to help develop membership participation and leadership and do what I can to connect PPT to broader transit advocacy coalitions at the state and national level.
Projects/campaign involvement
Started with PPT in 2012/2013 around the successful state-wide funding fight to pass Act 89.
Chair of PPT’s Communications Committee since 2018.
Handled video
Has created videos to support the Amalgamated Transit Union and other state-wide and national media projects like his Fair Districts PA video that was cited in the New York Times
Songwriter of “The 61c Song” that debiewed in the ‘80s and has since become PPT-famous!
Nickole Nesby
Image description: Mayor Nesby, a black woman with short black hair and glasses, smiles into the camera. She is wearing a black jacket over a red shirt with a plain white wall in the background.
The honorable Mayor Nickole Nesby is a dedicated public servant with 20 years’ experience in legislative government. In November 2017, Nesby successfully unseated incumbent Phillip Krivacek to become the first female and African American to head the city of Duquesne, PA. She was elected to PPT’s Coordinating Committee in 2019 and is now running for her second term.
No stranger to socioeconomic disparity, Ms. Nesby was born in McKeesport, PA. Her parents were hard working steel mill workers. One of seven siblings who she had to had to raise when her mother fell victim to the crack epidemic, she refused to allow poverty to derail her goal of attaining higher education. Nesby recently completed her fourth degree, an MBS from Northcentral University in Organizational Leadership Specializing in Nonprofit. While Mayor Nesby has no children of her own.
As a first-term mayor, Nesby is dedicated to improving the quality of life for Duquesne’s population of 5,481. Plagued by systemic poverty, illiteracy and incarceration, 80% percent of its residents are welfare recipients and of that number, half have criminal records. Deemed the worst performing school system in Pennsylvania, Duquesne was forced to close its high school in 2007.
Duquesne’s future may appear bleak, but Mayor Nesby’s aspiration is to make Duquesne a better place to live. She works so that residents to have a quality education, affordable housing, better transportation, healthcare, and parks. These are the things that all people deserve, and they can be real by working together.
Projects Involvement
Got involved with PPT during the successful campaign to expand service on the 59 to the Hilltop Parkview Apts in Duquesne and bring more Connect Card vending machines to residents.
Continued working with PPT on the 61c/BRT campaign to successfully push back against service cuts in the Mon Valley.
Took the community energy from these two campaigns to launch the Riders Vision for Public transit that layed the groundwork for the Beyond the East Busway Campaign.
Has since taken a leadership role in expanding transit access for Duqesne and the Mon Vally. Lobbied Rep. Mike Doyle for federal funding to expand the east busway to Duqesne, and successfully elevated the project to the top of Port Authority’s NextTransit priority list
Active with the Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign, and Board Member and organizer with Take Action Mon Valley
Paul W. O’Hanlon
Image Description: Paul W. O’Hanlon, white man with white hair and a plaid shirt, sits in his power wheelchair in a garden. Tomato plants and the corner of a red brick house are in the background.
My name is Paul O’Hanlon, I’m a retired lawyer. From 2001 to 2014, I worked for a disability rights law firm, and before that I was the Senior Housing Attorney and Housing Unit Chief with Neighborhood Legal Services Association in Pittsburgh.
I caught the “transit bug” in 1991. At that time Port Authority began the long process of becoming accessible to passengers in wheelchairs. Since that time I’ve been involved in advocating for the best, most accessible, area-wide and affordable public transit.
I have been involved in a number of advocacy issues in Allegheny County, particularly around housing, accessible public transportation, and voter engagement:
From 1992 to 1995 I convened the Accessible Transportation Work Group, which worked with Port Authority Transit to implement the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In 2002 I filed Washington v. Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, a class action on behalf of disabled residents. This case eventually settled with HACP building 300 fully accessible units and committing to 10% Authority-wide accessible units (double the federal minimum).
In 2003 I spearheaded an effort to enact local ordinances supporting “visitability” in the design of housing – providing a zero-step entrance, accessible first floor powder room, and other basic access features in housing design. Pittsburgh and Allegheny County now offer tax credits to promote visitable housing design.
In 2008 I started the program Ballots for Patients, which provides emergency absentee ballot assistance to hospital patients in Allegheny County on Election Day.
Stu Strickland
Image Description: Stu Strickland, a white man with brown hair, glasses, and a blue sweater, is looking at the camera while standing and holding a bicycle handle in front of a bus.
My name is Stu Strickland, and I have been associated with PPT since its inception around 2011. I’ve also been associated with predecessor groups Save Our Transit and T>R>U>E, as well as the citizens’ advisory group Allegheny County Transit Council since 1992. My personal motto is “Anything but the car,” meaning I promote any form of transportation that isn’t the single-occupant automobile. I’ve walked my talk, too, living in the suburbs with a young family, choosing to get around by bus and bike, thereby making do with only a single car, using the money saved to pay off a 30-year mortgage eight years early. How can I help others follow in my steps? By promoting transit, and working to remove obstacles to using transit and other sustainable modes of transportation, notably the funding issues we’ve faced annually for decades. My day job and my career involve information analysis, and with that 30 years of making transit work, in places where transit shouldn’t work, I think I can contribute significantly to any deep discussion of transit, going forward.
Swetha Jasti
Image description: I am an Indian-American woman with shoulder length hair. In this photo, I am wearing a green turtleneck shirt with a navy jacket, glasses, and gold hoop earrings. I am standing in front of fall scenery with colorful trees behind me.
Hello! My name is Swetha Jasti. I am very grateful to be nominated for PPT’s coordinating committee. I am a native of Kansas City and I moved to Pittsburgh five years ago to attend the University of Pittsburgh. It was in Pittsburgh that I found my roots in activism, and PPT was instrumental to this.
During my senior year of college (2019-2020) I completed a thesis project in coordination with PPT that focused on Port Authority’s Bus Stop Consolidation project. I interviewed bus riders and operators to understand the impact of bus stop removal, particularly focusing on reduced access to riders. Additionally, in the spring of 2020 I attended a Human Rights Summit in Washington, DC along with the Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance. Here, I spoke to UN ambassadors about the importance of public transit in addressing human rights issues, using experience from my thesis project and Pittsburgh’s transit system. I have also canvassed with PPT on various projects, most recently to gather signatures to pass Breonna Taylor’s law and to gather rider’s opinions on Port Authority’s recent fare changes.
As a coordinating committee member, I would dedicate my time and efforts to continue making PPT a welcoming space for all. I would work collaboratively with PPT members to reach our goals for a more equitable transit system in Allegheny County by boosting our fair fares platform, working to secure more transit funding, and holding officials to prioritize transit justice. Thank you for considering me for this position.
PPT projects that I have been involved with:
Research project entitled “Access vs Efficiency: A Closer Look at Bus Stop Consolidation in Allegheny County”
Canvassing with PPT to gather information on bus stop consolidation and Port Authority’s fare changes
Helping to create a framework for building a statewide transit coalition of various environmental, economic, and disability justice organizations.
Represented PPT in leading a Climate Strike Aciton with the PGH Sunrise Movement
Nominees to fill the Transit Worker Seat, 2021-2023
Below is a list of the nominees to fill the Transit Worker seat that is reserved for union members of local transit worker unions. They are listed in alphabetical order by first name, with a short bio and list of their campaign involvement to give background on their in past work for transit justice and other issues. Each nominee has approved and contributed to their bio and list of campaign involvement. PPT Members, please read through all of this info before casting your vote.
Kevin Joa
Photo of Kevin, white man, with short white hair and glasses. He’s wearing his Port Authority uniform and is standing under a bridge. A chainlink fence is immediatly behind him, and transit tracks are in the background.
PPT Members have until Wednesday 7/21 at midnight to submit their vote via the button below or by calling PPT’s Director, Laura Wiens at 703-424-0854.
All members are encouraged to read each bio and attend Wednesday’s Monthly Meeting to hear each nominee speak before submitting your vote.
On Tuesday, June 29th, more than 100 transit riders, transit workers and allies in the Transit for All PA! coalition convened on the Capitol steps to kick off the fight for a dedicated $1.65 billion dollars in annual funding for Pennsylvania public transit.
Residents of Johnstown, Scranton, Lancaster, Harrisburg, York, State College, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia travelled hundreds of miles to tell their stories to legislators about why fully-funded transit is essential to PA’s economic recovery, to address climate and air quality issues, and to grow equity and access for thousands of underserved residents in both rural and urban communities. 172 residents also sent more than 300 letters to their PA legislators to call on them to support the Transit for All PA platform on Tuesday as well.
If you have not yet written your letter to your reps, calling on them to support fully-funded transit, take action here.
Because of our advocacy, three more legislative supporters from key committees signed onto the Transit For All PA platform on Tuesday: Senator Kane, Senator Kearney and Representative Hohenstein! Now, more than 85 organizations, elected officials and businesses from across the state have sjgned onto this grassroots vision for transit, funded through progressive sources and with policy recommendations to ensure that this funding grows ridership and equity in all of our communities.
Last Saturday, legislators passed a budget in Harrisburg, but they didn’t make a plan for funding transit to address the pending funding cliff. PA Act 89, which provides $450 million in dedicated funding from the PA Turnpike to transit systems in all 67 counties of the state, will sunset next year, which could lead to dramatic service cuts, fare hikes and transit worker layoffs. Moreover, thousands of transit parts manufacturing workers across the state rely on dedicated state funding for PA transit agencies, and these jobs are at stake as well.
Speakers included:
*Lionel Randolph, President and Business Agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1436 in Harrisburg
*Jessica Wallo, Vice President of Programs and Services at United Neighborhood Centers of NEPA
*Cho Blaise, a Cameroonian immigrant and transit rider in Harrisburg and York
*Alisa Grishman, a Pittsburgh disability rights activist and founder of ACCESS Mob
*PA Representative Joe Hohenstein, House District 177
*Marcus McKnight, Chester transit worker and founding member of the Philly Transit Riders Union (Philly TRU)
———-
About the platform: Those with the most at stake have come together to develop a solution.Over the last six months, more than 300 transit riders and workers across Pennsylvania have collaborated on the Transit for All PA! platform for fully-funded transit to replace Act 89, calling for $1.65 billion in annual dedicated payments to public transit. This call is in line with the Pennsylvania Transportation Advisory Committee’s assessment of the cost of fully-funded transit in PA to address deferred maintenance and current economic needs.
The platform also lays out effective policies that will grow ridership and equity, and which will put state transit funding to work for all Pennsylvanians. More than 80 organizations and elected officials including the PA Budget and Policy Center, the Sierra Club of Pennsylvania, Urban Erie Community Development Corporation, the Scranton Area Community Foundation, and State Representative Austin Davis have signed onto the Transit for All PA! platform.
PRESS RELEASE: Over a Hundred PA Transit Riders and Workers Rally in Harrisburg to Launch the Transit for All PA! Platform, Calling for Fully-Funded Transit to Meet the Needs of Workers and the Economy
Media Contacts:
Laura Chu Wiens, Executive Director, Pittsburghers for Public Transit and member of Governor Wolf’s Transportation Revenue Options Commission (703) 424-0854
John Habanec, President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1241 Lancaster, (717) 201-8103
Freda Tepfer,retired Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Erie NAACP Chapter Member, and long-time transit rider, (814) 520-8201
What: Over 100 transit riders, transit workers and organizational supporters from across the Commonwealth will rally in Harrisburg on the capitol steps to launch the Transit for All PA! Platform. This grassroots transit funding platform and campaign is the culmination of more than 300 transit riders and workers from regions such as Erie, Harrisburg, Lancaster, State College, Scranton, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia developing transit funding goals, policy priorities and preferred funding mechanisms over several months. More than 80 organizations, elected officials and businesses have signed on as supporters of this platform.
When: Tuesday June 29, 1:00 pm
Where: State Capitol Steps, Harrisburg PA
Why: To sound the alarm! The legislature failed to find a replacement to the state’s major transit funding bill, Act 89, that will sunset in one-year. The clock is ticking for legislators to find a replacement funding source to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in annual dedicated payments to public transit agencies across the state. Without a replacement, this fiscal cliff will result in service cuts, layoffs, fare hikes for millions of PA transit riders and workers, and an economic crisis across the entire state. As a solution, the new Transit for All PA! Campaign puts forward a $1.65 billion platform for transit that moves all Pennsylvanians and boost the state’s economy.
Harrisburg, PA – On June 29th, transit riders and workers will rally on the Capitol to sound the alarm: The loss of Act 89’s dedicated transit funding will jeopardize PA’s pandemic recovery. Essential workers and the goods and services they provide like healthcare and groceries are reliant on fully-funded transit. PA’s economy and the progress towards better air quality and less congestion are contingent on quality affordable and abundant transit, and transit reliably improves economic mobility and public health for the Commonwealth’s older adults, people with disabilities, youth, low-income households and people of color. The sunset of Act 89 will also risk the livelihoods of thousands of good, union jobs for workers in transit service provision and transit parts manufacturing in all regions of the state.
John Habanec, Bus Operator and President of ATU Local 1241 says, “My passengers are the grocery store workers who saw us through the pandemic, the seniors and people with disabilities who rely on our buses to get around, and the restaurant and hotel workers who drive Lancaster’s tourism economy. Our region’s recovery depends on fully-funded, affordable public transit.”
Those with the most at stake have come together to develop a solution.Over the last six months, more than 300 transit riders and workers across Pennsylvania have collaborated on the Transit for All PA! platform for fully-funded transit to replace Act 89, calling for $1.65 billion in annual dedicated payments to public transit. This call is in line with the Pennsylvania Transportation Advisory Committee’s assessment of the cost of fully-funded transit in PA to address deferred maintenance and current economic needs.
“Hundreds of riders and workers, from urban and rural communities across the state have laid out a roadmap for fully-funded transit in Pennsylvania. The Transit for All PA! platform turns this transit funding crisis into an opportunity for growing PA’s economy, improving our environment and growing equity among our most vulnerable communities.”, said Laura Chu Wiens, Executive Director of Pittsburghers for Public Transit.
The platform also lays out effective policies that will grow ridership and equity, and which will put state transit funding to work for all Pennsylvanians. More than 80 organizations and elected officials including the PA Budget and Policy Center, the Sierra Club of Pennsylvania, Urban Erie Community Development Corporation, the Scranton Area Community Foundation, and State Representative Austin Davis have signed onto the Transit for All PA! platform.
Freda Tepfer, retired Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Erie NAACP Chapter member, and long-time transit user in Erie County says, “Everyone needs transit, whether they use it or rely on the people who do. I have worked with people in rural areas over 14 counties who relied on demand-based services in order to shop, use medical services, and participate in community life. If rural and urban transit service is improved, more people will use them and our state will reap all of the social, economic and environmental benefits that public transit has to offer. But for this to happen, the state needs a dedicated transit funding source and to allow localities to generate transit resources themselves. It is simple. Transit for All PA! has the vision. Now, legislators need to get it done.“
About the Transit for All PA! Platform and Coalition: Transit for All PA! is a grassroots coalition led by Pittsburghers for Public Transit, the Philly Transit Riders Union, Amalgamated Transit Union PA Joint Conference Board, 5th Square and Transit Forward Philadelphia, with the support of more than 80 other organizations, unions, businesses, and politicians. The T4APA! campaign aims to turn the sunset of Act 89, PA’s major transit funding bill, into an opportunity to improve and expand transit for all Pennsylvanians. Learn more about the campaign and the platform at transitforallpa.org.
Its time to build transit that moves all Pennsylvanians! Rally planned in Harrisburg on June 29th!
Transit can be transformational for Pennsylvania. But the clock is running out for PA’s transit riders, workers, and systems. The state’s major transit funding bill is set to expire in 2022. Without decisive action, PA will lose the transit systems that fuel our economy and connect us to life’s essentials. Don’t leave PA waiting for the bus!
Join transit riders and workers from all across PA at this Harrisburg rally to say the time is NOW for increased investment in public transit. We’re tired of layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes! We want frequent, affordable, high-quality transit that can transform our lives.
TRANSIT FOR ALL PA! RALLY & DAY OF ACTION JUNE 29TH PA STATE CAPITOL BUILDING 501 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17120 11-1 pm Gather and Legislative Visits 1pm – Speakers and Rally on the Capitol Steps 2pm – Legislative Visits
Rides to Harrisburg are being planned from – Pittsburgh – Philadelphia – Scranton – State College – Johnstown – Lancaster
Sign up here to join the Transit for All PA! rally on June 29th. Be sure to note if you need a ride from these cities, if you need to be picked up along the way, or if you want to share your ride.
How can you help with the Transit for All PA! campaign?
Sign your organization on to the Transit for All PA! platform! 65 organizations, unions, businesses and politicians have signed on from all across the state. Your organization should be the to support an ambitious vision for public transit in our state!
Image of PPT Board Member Lisa Gonzalez speaking to Secretary Buttigieg about the Fair Fares report published by PPT last Fall. Ms Lisa is wearing a yellow shirt. Secretary Buttigieg is holding the report, wearing a white shirt and blue tie. They are standing outside the USDOT office in Washington DC.
PPT Member Lisa Gonzalez speaks to Secretary Buttigieg about how building back better means investment in more transit service and affordable fares
Carrick resident and long-time PPT Board Member Ms. Lisa Gonzalez traveled to Washington DC for a recorded conversation with US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about the need to invest in increased transit service and affordable fares as part of the Build Back Better plan. The edited interview aired on Monday, 6/7, at 8pm via MoveOn.org’s facebook page and has received more than 65,000 views. A longer cut of the interview is available here.The meeting was arranged through Pennsylvania United’s involvement with the Real Recovery Now! coalition.
Take action to support Ms. Lisa in her demand for increased federal funding for transit service! Write your US Congressperson and ask them to co-sponsor Rep Hank Johnson’s (D-GA) new bill for expanded service, the “Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act”
After the video aired, Ms. Lisa echoed the points she raised during her discussion, “What can Secretary Buttigieg and other public officials do to improve public transit? The first thing they can do is ride the bus! They’ll quickly learn that riders are experts who need to be included as leaders in system improvement. The second thing they’ll realize is that increased transit service and more affordable fares will improve transit for all. More service and affordable fares need to be the cornerstones of President Biden’s plan to build back better.”
During the conversation with Secretary Buttigieg, Ms. Lisa highlighted a recent bill introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), the “Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act”. This bill would create a new formula grant program that would allow local transit agencies like the Port Authority of Allegheny County to increase service hours and coverage. She also shared the importance of affordable fares to local transit riders. And shared a recent report by Pittsburghers for Public Transit, “No Greater Need, No Greater Opportunity: The Time for COVID-19 Fare Relief for Low-Income Riders Is Now”, with the ask for federal guidance and resources for low-income fare programs as a way to help communities recover from COVID-19.
“An investment in transit will improve people’s access to housing, healthcare, food, and more. That’s why the American jobs plan is smart policy. It solves problems that have plagued Western PA for decades, while creating the jobs we need today and in the future,” said Jennifer Rafanan Kennedy, Executive Director of Pittsburgh United. “It’s clear that Senator Toomey and others like him would rather protect big corporations that avoid taxes and ship jobs overseas than deliver an equitable and sustainable economic recovery. We can’t wait. Congress should pass the American Jobs Plan through budget reconciliation if that’s what it takes to put resources back into our communities.”
Ms. Lisa is a long-time Pittsburgh community organizer who has lead many local campaigns for transit equity and affordable housing with Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Pittsburgh United and Pennsylvania United. She is also a Community Worker at the Pittsburgh Liberty K-5 public school.
The media alert from the national Real Recovery Now! coalition is below:
ICYMI: MEMBERS OF PRESIDENT BIDEN’S JOB CABINET – BUTTIGIEG, GRANHOLM, AND WALSH – JOINED JOBS WE NEED EVENT
The broadcast of conversations with people across the country about the need for the #BuildBackBetter agenda to deliver investments in jobs, infrastructure, care, and citizenship can be viewed here
Washington, D.C. – On Monday, June 7th, at 8:00pm E.T. Real Recovery Now! And Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Pennsylvania United, and Pittsburgh United aired a Facebook Live broadcast of our Jobs We Need! event featuring members of President Biden’s Jobs Cabinet – Secretaries Buttigieg, Granholm, and Walsh – in conversations with people across the country about the need for the #BuildBackBetter agenda. The conversations delved into how these workers relate to care, green jobs, immigration, transportation and more.
“For many people in cities across the country, public transportation routes decide where you can go, what you can do, and how you can provide for your family. The president’s agenda to improve public transportation and infrastructure across the country is going to improve everyday lives for so many people across the United States,” said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
“Infrastructure also includes things like human infrastructure. We need to invest in the means for companies to make solar panels and other green technologies right here in the United States. We want to make these American made industries, where we can put our own people to work,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
“The American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan are transformational. These Infrastructure bills are about making an investment in the American workforce. Our kids, our families and our people deserve better than old lead pipes and failing systems. The workers here today are a snapshot of America. Their success is important because it proves to all those who doubt these programs that investment in America’s workers works,” said Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.
National members of the Real Recovery Now! coalition are: CAP Action, SEIU, MoveOn, National Domestic Workers Alliance/Care in Action, Community Change/Action, and Working Families Party
Photo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of a woman walking off of a red Port Authority bus downtown at Wood Street Station. It is night time and the neon above the station glows red as the breeze blows the front of her long coat.
Public comment period closes on Port Authority’s new fare proposal. Dozens speak up for further change.
Last month Port Authority proposed three changes to their fare policy:
An increase in the base fare to $2.75 for those paying with CONNECT card stored value.
Free Transfers for 3 Hours for those paying with CONNECT card stored value.
A rolling timeline for weekly and monthly bus passes, so that the bus pass “week” starts when you first tap the pass, not along a Sun-Sat schedule.
…and opened a 40-day period for the public to give feedback. This public comment period closed on May 5th. One thing was made clear by dozens of testifiers, public comments, and opinion pieces: the Port Authority needs to be more aggressive with fare equity changes.
Public testifiers agree: new changes leave out riders most in need. Port Authority must extend emergency fare relief to low-income riders and increase CONNECT card access.
Across the board, the public was in support of free transfers and 7-day/31-day timeline for weekly and monthly passes. These are common-sense changes that have been uplifted by riders for years. But even Port Authority’s own report showed that these changes leave out riders most in need: low-income riders and those who cannot access CONNECT cards.
The Port Authority needs to quickly implement these newly proposed changes so that they can pursue more aggressive fare relief programs like those started with federal COVID stimulus money in Los Angeles, San Fransico and Richmond.
Access to public transit is access to food, healthcare, and economic security. It is a matter of life or death not only for residents of Allegheny County but also for the transit agency itself. Port Authority’s ridership has been stuck at 40% of pre-pandemic levels. Fare relief programs could jumpstart the agency and get people moving safely to essential needs.
Check out these news stories on the Public Comment Period and a supportive opinion from the Post-Gazette Editorial Board to learn more:
Image of the Beyond the East Busway organizing fellows laughing around a table as they plan the campaign’s next steps.
Join the core team to coordinate the direction of Pittsburghers for Public Transit.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a grassroots, democratic, member-led organization that fights for public transit as a human right. PPT’s Coordinating Committee is the equivalent of our board of directors. We are looking for people who understand the importance of our work for transit justice in Allegheny County, and are looking to get more involved in directing the course of our campaigns, communications, and actions. See the list of current Coordinating Committee Members here. Up for nomination are seats currently filled by James Hanna, Kevin Joa, Dean Mougianis, Briann Moye, and Mayor Nickole Nesby.
Nominate yourself or someone who inspires you with their leadership, vision, and commitment to transit justice.
Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ People, People with Disabilities, Immigrants, Womxn, and Youth nominations are strongly encouraged.
Each July, PPT members vote for leaders to fill seats on PPT’s 5-11 member Coordinating Committee. Coordinating Committee Members serve a 2-year term. All PPT members who have paid dues for at least 6-months can run for the Coordinating Committee.
2 seats must be filled by members of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 85 (the union that represents all of the Port Authority’s bus operators and maintenance workers) or another transportation union that represents workers in Allegheny County because strong community/labor solidarity is a central belief of the organization. The other seats are filled by members who have had previous experience with PPT’s work, and are looking to bring their involvement to the next level. One seat is reserved for the Director of the Thomas Merton Center, the organization that acts as PPT’s fiscal sponsor.
From our bylaws: “The Coordinating Committees shall have charge of the proper, normal, and usual expenditures and other business of the corporation; they shall enforce the provision of these bylaws; they shall abide by the policies and procedures set forth in the Policies and Procedures Manual, and shall enforce the rules and regulations set forth for the management, care, and governance of the property and affairs of the corporation. The Coordinating Committee may employ or appoint such person or persons, or agents, as they deem necessary to further the business of PPT and shall set and adjust the compensation of all persons or agents so employed or appointed.”
Quality candidates are active with PPT or bring experience that the membership finds important for moving the organization forward.
Members of the Coordinating Committee are expected to attend quarterly Coordinating Committee meetings – on the second Saturday of January, April, July, and October – and should also stay engaged with General Membership Meetings on the second Wednesday of each month.
Additionally, Coordinating Committee members will need to maintain active lines of communication with PPT staff and other PPT members to advise and assist with the organization’s strategy, tactics, structure, and financial sustainability. CC Members should also serve on one of PPT’s three committees (Organizing Committee, Communications Committee, and Research Committee).
Nominations and Elections
Nominations are open until July 6th. PPT staff will confirm with each nominee whether they accept the nomination to be on the ballot. Each nominee will also be invited to submit up to 250 words about their background, experience, and vision for the organization. This can be submitted through the nomination form, email, or via phone and PPT staff will transcribe.
Nominee bios will be sent to PPT members the week of June 14th and again the week of July 5th. Bios will also be included in the ballot. Nominees will have 3 minutes to speak at the July 14th PPT member meeting before votes are cast to highlight their vision for PPT and how their skills will help build the organization.
Voting in the 2021 Coordinating Committee election will open at PPT’s monthly meeting on July 14th, and run until July 21st. PPT members cast their vote via a google form that will be shared at the July meeting and emailed. PPT members are all those who support the Transit Bill of Rights, have participated in a PPT action or meeting, and have given dues of at least $2.75 cents within the last year. If PPT Members are not able to join the meeting, they can reach out to info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org to arrange for a ballot.
Transit riders and workers across PA are coming together to expand public transit in our state – Sign on to support the campaign!
Public transit operates in every single Pennsylvania county, moving millions of riders each day and employing tens of thousands of unionized workers. These PA transit riders and workers are the backbones of our economy and pillars of our community. They need to be driving the conversation about expanding public transit in Pennsylvania, so that we can ensure economic opportunity, environmental justice and full access for all Pennsylvanians.
We are Pennsylvania transit riders, transit workers and transit supporters calling for dedicated, expanded, and progressive statewide transit funding replacement for Act 89. Through the Spring of 2021 we worked with over 250 transit riders and workers from across the state to develop this platform to guide our campaign for expanded transit funding in PA. The effort was led by the Amalgamated Transit Union PA Join Conference Board, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Philly Transit Riders Union, Transit Forward Philadelphia and 5th Square, but we need you and your organizations to support us in this campaign.
Read through this platform’s Statement of Principles, Legislative Goals, and “Menu” of State Transit Funding Mechanisms, and sign on here to support us in this work. We will follow up to discuss the campaign and our next steps.
To serve Pennsylvania’s diverse needs. Pennsylvania has large transit systems in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, medium-sized systems in cities like State College, Allentown, Erie, Lancaster Scranton, and Harrisburg, and shared-ride service for seniors and people with disabilities in every county of the state. Transit is an urban and a rural issue; it is for people of all ages and abilities. Transit funding matters to the entire state.
Through progressive mechanisms. We need to end tax loopholes and favoritism so that corporations and those with higher incomes pay their fair share.
With sustainable, long-term funding sources. Transit agencies need dependable, long-term funding to make responsible decisions about preserving or expanding service so that public transit workers and riders are not faced with service cuts, fare increases, and or layoffs to address funding shortfalls. Funding should also be flexible so that local transit agencies can prioritize capital or operations funding needs.
Equitably with roads and bridges. We believe in a fix-it-first approach to our highway systems, and that highway expansion runs counter to our responsibilities around climate resiliency, congestion mitigation, mode-shift needs, and our other fiscal responsibilities.
With transit riders and transit workers at the table. People who use and run the system should be at the tablefor deciding the funding mechanisms and in evaluating how those funds should be invested in our regions. Those with the most at stake (and who know how the system works) should be given an important voice in decision-making.
Without inflicting harm or funding reductions to other essential state services and programs. Transit plays an essential role in access to employment, healthcare, housing, and education, but none of their funding sources should be cannibalized to pay for the other. All these critical state services must be fully funded – as well as transit.
To generate $1.65 billion dollars/year for a dedicated state fund for PA public transit, and to ensure that this funding grows annually to address annual cost and ridership increases. This funding should be used to explicitly support transit service expansion and a fix-it first approach to capital projects.
To pass legislation enabling local governments to implement new transit funding mechanisms, while ensuring that local funds are supplemental and not used to replace a shortfall from the state
To ensure that state transit funding is flexible around capital and operations
To ensure that public infrastructure, including public transit, roads and bridges, remain publicly-owned and operated. To ensure that construction and transit operations in PA are done by union workers.
To move towards clean, electrified public transportation fleets that retain and create union mechanic and engineering jobs in garages across PA.
To ensure that there is robust funding at the state level for bike and pedestrian infrastructure, with an emphasis on accessible and safe bike and pedestrian connections to transit
To generate funding for a dedicated low-income fare program statewide, similar to the existing senior fare free transit programs, administered by the state.
To develop state guidelines around “transit-oriented communities,” and to create a fund to support the development of affordable housing by good transit
To decriminalize fare evasion at the state level, and to enable local jurisdictions to set local civil processes to address fare evasion
To ensure that transit riders have a governing role on transit agency boards, through the creation of elected seats and transparency around board members’ transit usage.
Section III: Preferred State Transit Funding Mechanisms
We support general reforms to the tax code to make revenue streams into the PA General Fund more equitable, including implementing the Fair Share tax and closing the Delaware loophole. However, because we recognize that these mechanisms will ensure that the General Fund is able to address the Commonwealth’s education and public health needs, among other critical priorities, our focus is on the below-listed tax revenue sources for dedicated statewide funding towards public transit. We are also strongly in favor of removing the PA State Police from the Motor License Fund, which will save upwards of $800 million dollars annually to be invested in transportation.
We additionally support local revenue sources for expanding transit funding that include congestion pricing, taxing private parking lots, taxing large non-profits, and land value taxes.
After consultation with riders, workers, and advocates we would like to guide PA legislators to the following range of state funding mechanisms that we support, to provide dedicated statewide revenue stream for public transit:
Corporate and Individual Wealth Taxes:
Corporate Income Tax Increase: An increase on the tax on the profits of a PA corporation.
Implementation of a Corporate Head Tax: Implementation of a flat fee charged per employee for businesses over a certain size
Wealth Tax: Implementation of a tax on the net wealth a Pennsylvania resident holds, for those with total wealth over several million dollars.
Road User Fees:
TNC Fee: A per ride tax on any Transportation Network Company (TNC) company trip like Uber or Lyft
Interstate Tolling: A statewide toll of interstates and expressways
Mileage-Based User Fees: This new road user charge will charge 3.16 cents to 7 cents per mile
Excise Tax on Vehicle Delivery: This is a percentage of value on goods delivered from third-party delivery companies, like Amazon.
Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI): This is a cap on carbon emissions from various transportation fuels. A minimum of 35% of this revenue will be allocated to environmental justice communities that are unjustly affected by pollution and the remaining portion will go to alternative transportation solutions.
Progressive Vehicle Ownership Taxes:
Increase to Truck and Tractor Trailer Registration Fees: These fees will be tacked on heavy-duty trucks and tractor trailers registered in the state of Pennsylvania.
Increase to the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax: These fees will be tacked on heavier vehicles of 55,000 pounds or more.
Vehicle Property Tax: This is a percentage fee on the assessed value of a vehicle (or .35% of the annual value).
New Car Vehicle Sales Tax: This will increase in the current vehicle sales tax to address the Act 44/89 sunset in 2022.
Luxury Vehicle Tax: This is a tax on all of the luxury vehicles sold and registered in the state of Pennsylvania. Vehicle Rental Tax: This is an increase on a tax on all vehicle rentals made in the state of Pennsylvania.
