PPT Research Committee Launches New Community Evaluation & DIY Tools to Understand Impacts of Draft 1.0 of Bus Line Redesign

We at Pittsburghers for Public Transit are organizing for a Busline Redesign that Works for All, and to do that, we know that it is very important for transit riders to be able to understand and provide feedback on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Proposed Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0.

The Bus Line Redesign is enormously complicated, and will change almost every aspect of riders’ transit trips: PRT’s Bus Line Redesign will redraw where almost every bus route will run, how frequently buses come and how early in the morning and late at night buses will operate. Adding to the confusion, PRT is also proposing to rename all the bus routes and eliminate many bus stops across the County. That’s a lot for folks to pay attention to!

If you’re interested in evaluating your bus commute times under PRT’s proposed Busline Redesign 1.0 compared to your current transit trip, you can use our >>Bus Line Redesign DIY Commute Calculator tool here.

High-level evaluation of how some communities’ transit service will be impacted by Draft 1.0 of the Bus Line Redesign

Our Research Committee has been doing a deep dive into how the PRT’s Bus Line Redesign proposal will impact communities. Below, we have highlighted communities and corridors (not specific commutes or trips from A to B) that will see substantial transit service cuts with no proposed replacement routes under the Bus Line Redesign 1.0, and highlighted where neighborhoods will lose direct transit service to other communities or particular destinations under the PRT Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0. 

Below, where we write “losing direct service” it means just that– the listed destinations would no longer be able to be reached directly on one bus (otherwise known as a “one-seat ride”) under the proposed redesign, but it may be possible to reach those destinations with a transfer. However, it is important to recognize how adding a transfer adds uncertainty and longer commute times to transit trips, and increases wait times in the elements.

Finally, the list below is not a comprehensive list of the changes from the current bus network with the proposed Bus Line Redesign- for instance, we are not laying out proposed improvements to routes, nor are we evaluating service frequency or service span changes. In a few weeks, we will publish a route-by-route comparison of the current system that notes service improvements, accessibility and safety concerns, and service frequency and span changes.

We also are not claiming that these proposed Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0 service changes are all bad- it’s very possible that these parts of the transit routes have very low ridership, and so this service can be re-allocated to different places without much concern. However, we believe that the Bus Line Redesign must grow ridership, grow transit service in marginalized communities, and make transit trips faster and more direct, and this is a resource to evaluate whether the Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0 will do that, or not.

So take a look at how the Bus Line Redesign would affect your community below, let PRT know what you think, and sign on to support PPT’s Vision for a Bus Line Redesign for All! You can also let us know at info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org if we’ve missed other important impacts that you see with the Bus Line Redesign Draft 1.0.

Click the community to jump to the impacts:

• Baldwin Borough/Whitehall
• Beltzhoover
• Bloomfield
• Bon Air
• Brackenridge
• Braddock
• Braddock Hills
• Carnegie/Scott Township
• Chalfant
• Corliss/Crafton Heights
• Creighton
• Friendship
• Glassport
• Greenfield
• Hays/Lincoln Place
• Hazelwood & Glen Hazel
• Hill District (High Rise on Crawford/Bedford)
• Homeville Section of West Mifflin & West Mifflin west of Duquesne
• Homewood
• Knoxville
• McCandless
• Mount Lebanon/Scott Township
• Mt Oliver
• Natrona Heights
• North Oakland
• North Versailles/East McKeesport
• O’Hara Township (VA Hospital)
• Penn Hills
• Polish Hill
• Reserve Township
• Ross Township
• Shadyside
• St Clair
• Summer Hill
• Tarentum
• Turtle Creek & Wilmerding (Airbrake Ave) & Trafford

Baldwin Borough/Whitehall

• Service along the current Y45 is almost completely eliminated, with no replacement.
• Loss of Y47 service along Brownsville Rd between Provost Rd and Knoedler Drive.
• Complete loss of 44 service in Baldwin on Agnew Rd, Custer Ave, Spencer Ave and Churchview Ave, with no fixed route service replacement. 

PRT’s proposed Bus Line Redesign replacement routes of D46 and D49 are inaccessible by foot in the neighborhood. A previous 5-10 minute walk to a bus stop will now involve a harrowing half hour walk along a busy road without sidewalks, making the area highly inaccessible by transit. Furthermore the replacement bus service being offered now results in a much longer commute going through Century Square and Prospect Park.

Residents were already struggling with overcrowded buses on the Y45, because of service reductions over the past several years.

Beltzhoover

• Elimination of 44 service in Beltzhoover along Climax St, Gearing Ave and Chalfont St, with no replacement fixed route transit service in those neighborhoods.

Bloomfield

• Loses 87 service altogether.
• Loses direct 54 service to North Oakland, South Side & Slopes, Mount Oliver, Knoxville, Bon Air, Allentown & Beltzhoover.
• Loses direct 64 service to Shadyside and Chatham University.
• Loses direct 87 service to Morningside, Stanton Heights & Upper Lawrenceville. 
• Loses direct 93 service to Greenfield, Hazelwood & Glen Hazel. 
• Loss of all 54 & 71C on Centre Avenue service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor.
• Reroutes 64 service away from the entrances to West Penn Hospital & Children’s Hospital.

Bon Air

• Complete removal of 54 routing (and all bus service) from Bon Air.

Brackenridge

• Elimination of P10 service. Proposed transit service replacement is serving a different portion of the community.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s proposed Bus Line Redesign shifts bus service to the River Ave portion of the community (on the proposed N1) from the current Freeport Road and 9th Ave vicinity.

Braddock

• Loses direct connection to the Waterfront. Proposed service will require a transfer at Swissvale Station. 

The routes in this region are all being broken up and reassembled into different routes connecting to different places, so there will be substantial impacts to current riders.

Braddock Hills

• Loss of P68 service on Brinton Rd between Ardmore Blvd and Yost Blvd, with no replacement transit service.

The routes in this region are all being broken up and reassembled into different routes connecting to different places, so there will be substantial impacts to current riders.

Carnegie/Scott Township

• Loss of G31 service on 3rd Street and Caruthers Ave between Carnegie & Heidelberg, with no replacement transit service on that corridor. 

Chalfant

• Loss of P76 service on Ardmore Blvd and US 30 between Yost Blvd and State Rt 48, would be discontinued. 
• Additional loss of current 69 service and loss of 59 service leaves this community with no remaining transit service under the Bus Line Redesign proposal. 

Corliss/Crafton Heights 

• Loss of service along Middletown Road, Ladoga St, Faronia St, and Jeffers St with the elimination of the 27 bus.

Creighton

• Loss of both the 1 and the P10, which leaves the community entirely without transit service.

Friendship

• 87 service on Friendship Avenue is eliminated altogether.
• Loses direct 87 service to Morningside, Stanton Heights & Upper Lawrenceville.
• Loss of all 71C on Centre Avenue service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor.

Glassport 

• Loses the direct connection with North Versailles Walmart

Greenfield

• Loses fast, direct service to Downtown via 2nd Ave (instead routing Downtown service through a longer route via Oakland).
• Loses direct connections to Homestead, Lincoln Place, Munhall, West Mifflin, most of the Squirrel Hill business district, Duquesne and Walmart in Century Square by eliminating the current 52L, 53L, 65 & 93 service.
• Eliminates bus service on lower Greenfield Avenue between Ronald St and Irvine St, currently served by the 58.
• Eliminates bus service on Winterburn Ave and Bigelow St, without replacement.

The Busline Redesign team claims that the geography and topography of the neighborhood makes service challenging, which is the exact reason that residents are asking for accessible transit, with steep hills and roads that are not very walkable. 

Hays/Lincoln Place

• Hays will see the elimination of current 56 bus service along Mifflin Road, with no replacement transit service.

Hazelwood & Glen Hazel

• Loss of direct 56 service to Hays, Dravosburg, McKeesport and Penn State McKeesport.
• Loss of direct 93 service to Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, North Oakland, Bloomfield and Lawrenceville. 

Hill District (High Rise on Crawford/Bedford) 

• Elimination of 81 service to Bedford & Crawford senior citizen highrise. 

The proposed replacement service will be rerouted to Centre Avenue, which residents are concerned is inaccessible given the mobility limitations of many residents in that complex. 

Homeville Section of West Mifflin & West Mifflin west of Duquesne

• With the elimination of the 52L, Mifflin St and Cipher St in Whittaker, most of Homeville Rd in West Mifflin (all but 1 block), Pennsylvania Ave in the Duquesne Annex Section, and Conlin St will lose all transit service.

Homewood

• 77 and 86 service will be combined into a single route D86, reducing service on Frankstown Avenue.
• Direct service to Baum and Bigelow Boulevards will be discontinued.
• D86 will operate to Penn Hills (to Alcoma Apartments only).  It will not operate to CCAC-Boyce.
• D86 will stop running about 9 pm on Sunday with low service frequencies both Saturday & Sunday/Holiday. 

Knoxville

• Elimination of the current 44 service in Knoxville along Charles Street and Knox Ave, with no fixed route transit replacement.

McCandless

• Loss of all service on Peebles Rd between McIntyre Square and Sample Rd, with no replacement.
• Loss of all service on Sample Rd, Presidential Drive to North Park and Hemlock, with no replacement

Mount Lebanon/Scott Township

• Loses current 41 service on Bower Hill Road from Kane Blvd to Bridgeville.  
• Eliminates some substantial portions of the current 36 bus, including all of Cedar Boulevard, and elimination of all transit service south of Cochran Road at Bower Hill Rd, including Gilkeson Rd and the Galleria. 
• Loses current 38 service on Greentree Rd between Cochran Rd and Swallow Hill Rd, and 38 service between Swallow Hill Rd & Lindsay Rd, both without a proposed transit service replacement.

Mt Oliver

• Elimination of 44 service in Mount Oliver on Penn Ave and St Joseph St, with no replacement.

Natrona Heights

• Loss of commuter service to Downtown 
• Loss of direct connections to places between the Tarentum Bridge and the New Kensington Bridge
• Loss of direct connections to communities between Downtown and the Hulton Bridge, north of the Allegheny River.

North Oakland

• Loss of all 54 & 71C service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor. 

North Versailles/East McKeesport 

• There will no longer be direct service from North Versailles and East McKeesport to Downtown, which is currently provided by the P76. 
• Crestas Terrace will be further from transit service requiring a lengthier walk.

The routes in this region are all being broken up and reassembled into different routes connecting to different places, so there will be substantial impacts to current riders.

However, there are some notable improvements. There will be new service between Haymaker Village, Pitcairn, Wilmerding, North Versailles, Walmart, Braddock and Swissvale Station on the N65. There will also be new service on 5th Ave between McKeesport and East McKeesport on the N56, which will connect Penn State, McKeesport proper, Walnut St, Olympia Shopping Center and Versailles. North Versailles will get new service from Walmart on the N63 to Monroeville Mall and Forbes Hospital.

O’Hara Township (VA Hospital)

• The VA Hospital will only be served by N92 from East Liberty. For many riders 3 buses and lengthy travel times may be required to reach the VA Hospital.

Penn Hills

• Loss of all service (P16) along Universal Road, Long Road, Milltown Rd and Hulton Rd including to Hulton Arbors.

Polish Hill

• Loss of 54 service resulting in the loss of direct service to North Side, the popular part of the Strip District, Bloomfield, North Oakland, Oakland, Bon Air.
• Loss of 77 service along Bigelow Boulevard resulting in the loss of direct service to Downtown, Baum Boulevard, East Liberty, Penn Hills, Plum and CCAC-Boyce. This is an important connection to the Giant Eagle Market District.

For many in Polish Hill, walking to Herron Ave to catch the replacement service is not easily accessible because of the distance and the topography. Under this BLR Draft proposal, Polish Hill residents will have to transfer to go to the nearest grocery store, which is located only 1 mile away.

Reserve Township

• Complete loss of current Route 4 service on Mount Troy Road and loss of all of the Route 7 service, with no transit service replacement. There is only a very small sliver of Spring Garden Rd that will retain service via the proposed D15.

Ross Township

• Loss of all service between Siebert Rd and Peebles Road currently served by the 05, with no replacement.

Shadyside

• Loss of all 54 & 71C service with no proposed increase in 71A (O95) service ensures overcrowding and pass-ups in this busy transit corridor. 

St Clair

• Complete loss of 44 bus service in the St. Clair neighborhood on Mountain St, Fisher St, Schuler St and Kohne St, with no fixed route transit replacement. 

Summer Hill

• Loss of service on Colby Street currently served by the 6, 7 and 15 with no replacement. There is also no appropriate bus stop location on Mt Pleasant Rd at Colby St.

Tarentum

• Loss of fast, direct service to downtown currently served by the P10. 
• There will no longer be service in West Tarentum along Freeport Rd, which are currently serviced by the 1 and the P10. 

Turtle Creek & Wilmerding (Airbrake Ave) & Trafford 

• These communities will see the loss of bus service altogether, with no replacement. 

What a year it’s been! I’m so proud of everything Pittsburghers for Public Transit achieved in 2024, especially given the challenges we faced. And we did it all thanks to our members. That’s PPT’s special sauce: we’re not just a public service organization, we’re a grassroots union of transit riders, workers, and neighbors here in Allegheny County. 

When you become a member of PPT, you power our fight for an expanded, affordable, and accessible public transit system that serves all of us, with no communities left behind.

Here are some highlights of our wins over the past year. As you read, remember that YOU are part of the WE that made it happen. In 2024, your membership, activism, and passion have carried PPT through to the finish line.

January-February

• We brought our Representing Our Routes advocacy campaign to our legislators 
• We celebrated Transit Equity Day on Feb. 5 
• We launched our Community Audit of Bus Shelters
• We created our McKnight Road Safety Petition to demand that PennDOT restore bus stops and improve pedestrian infrastructure on McKnight Road

SHOUTOUT to Jess Benner for combining strategic planning and yoga to help PPT staff stay flexible in our work and our bodies!

March

• We celebrated Transit Worker Appreciation Day on March 18 by canvassing, handing out candy, and gathering stories about service issues 
• We won our fight to restart the City of Pittsburgh’s Complete Streets Advisory Group, which the city allowed to lapse in 2019

SHOUTOUT to Alisa Grishman for stellar work with the Complete Streets Advisory Group!

April

• We mobilized 100+ transit riders, workers, and political leaders to rally with us and our partners in the Transit for All PA! Campaign in Harrisburg
• We held a statewide Digital Day of Action on Earth Day on Apr. 22

SHOUTOUTS to Kelda Gorman for delivering an inspirational speech in Harrisburg and Erik Love for bringing 10 activists from Carlisle, PA, to Harrisburg!

May

• We held our first-ever Spring Training for Members which brought activists from around the country together for a day of workshops and skill-building
• We witnessed the rollout of the Allegheny Go low income fares program we’ve spent years advocating for

SHOUTOUTS to Miss Pearl Hughey and her grandchildren for making our Spring Training a success and Miss Sherai Richardson for making a powerful impact in expressing the value of the Allegheny Go program the media and public officials!

June

• We held our Allegheny Go Launch Party at Trace Brewing with 60 of our coalition partners there to celebrate  
• We and our partners in Transit for All PA! mobilized our communities to send hundreds of digital lobbying letters that upped the pressure on Governor Shapiro to fund transit
• We partnered with Casa San Jose to host Transit Tours for new residents and show them the routes, despite closures on the Red Line.

SHOUTOUTS to Evelyn Ulysse, Bernadette Mosey, and transit advocates in Beechview for bringing PRT to the table, getting word out to riders, and making these closures go as smoothly as possible!

July

• We held our Summer Member Drive and elected a new Board of Directors. 
• We won big when our own Bobbie Fan was appointed to the board of Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

SHOUTOUT to Bobbie Fan for his fearless advocacy for public transit!

August

• We launched our Allegheny County Campaign for Visionary Transit Service, which sets goals for a future transit system that really works for people. 
• We held our Summer Party which brought us together and brought in many new members.

SHOUTOUTS to Tayveon Kevin Smith and the incredible team from Tech for Society for help with our Visionary Transit Service Campaign and Denise Johnson for helping to make our Summer Party a success!

September

• We built up to our Week Without Driving by highlighting testimonials, gathering sign-ons, and building relationships with new partner organizations 
• We continued our Community Audit of Bus Shelters and Transit Tours for new residents. 

SHOUTOUT to Jacob Evangelista and Miss Damitra Harris-Penny for making our Week Without Driving a success and Jim Keener for keeping our website safe and secure!

October

• We held our Week Without Driving from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7
• We launched our PPT Movie Night, with a screening of the film “Union”
• We started organizing our response to PRT’s Busline Redesign

SHOUTOUTS to Seth Bush and the Tech for Society team for helping us make a splash with our Busline Redesign response!

November

• We won $153 million in state funds to save SEPTA (Philly’s public transit system) through our letter-writing and phone-banking campaigns
• We launched our worker organizing fellowship with four fellows: James Hanna, Monica Wheeler, Tom Conroy, and Vincent Brandon
• We overflowed our Zoom limit in our monthly meeting when we hosted PRT representatives to discuss the Busline Redesign

SHOUTOUT to Abishek Vaswanathan for all his work researching bus shelter placements and the Busline Redesign!

December

• We won a first ever budget for bus shelters and transit infrastructure from the City Council
• We convinced Pittsburgh to establish a partner pass program that provides bulk bus passes to municipal employees
• We stood with our partners in the housing justice community to advocate for affordable housing at city government 

SHOUTOUT to Bill McDowell for all his activism throughout the year!

These amazing wins are just the start. In 2025, we’re going to advocate for the Visionary Transit Service campaign we developed in August. We’re done with PRT cutting service and driving down ridership while claiming scarcity. It’s time to fund a community vision of what transit can and should be. It’s time to make PRT work for the people.

Join us in this fight! The minimum cost of joining is just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly!

My name is Marcus McKnight. I’m a bus driver in Philadelphia and I co-founded the Philly Transit Riders Union. Are you wondering why I’m chiming in for Pittsburghers for Public Transit? Well let me tell you!

Pittsburghers for Public Transit helps  lead the statewide Transit for All PA! Campaign, which is organizing AND WINNING resources for public transit across our state. Transit riders and transit workers know what we need and are building power by organizing together!

I love being a bus driver. I get to meet people from around the state, the country, and even the world. When tourists get on my bus, I always ask: Where are you from? If I visit, what should I see and do? I make them feel proud of their hometown and tell them what makes me proud to be from Philly. The local and the global meet each other on my bus. And it’s public transit that brings us all together. 

Last month, the Transit for All PA! campaign had a major win for public transit here in Philadelphia. Gov. Josh Shapiro directed the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to flex $153 million in federal highway funds to fill SEPTA’s budget gap. I went to Harrisburg with T4APA! activists to lobby for funds. I asked our elected officials the same question I ask my out-of-town riders: If I visit your town, what should I see and do? I said, “That sounds great! But what about folks who don’t drive? How can they get there?” I saw it click for them. And then we got our funding.

This win felt awesome! But I know it’s only a drop in the bucket. There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania, and ALL of us need good public transit. Whether we live in a city, a town, or a rural area, public transit should be our FIRST option for getting seamlessly from Point A to Point B.

This is statewide funding, and it needs to be a statewide fight. By bottomlining the T4APA! Coalition, PPT is making sure that folks from Pittsburgh to Stroudsburg and beyond have accessible, affordable, and sustainable public transit that works for everyone.

The fight for public transit takes all of us. As a bus driver, I know that the best way to make change is for us all to get on the bus and demand better. Riders, drivers, and community members across the state have important stories that need to be told. T4APA! is the vehicle that brings our stories to our elected officials and makes sure our voices are heard.

When you support PPT, you’re supporting a grassroots coalition that works statewide to make our public transit systems work. The minimum cost of joining PPT is just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly!

HUGE CITY BUDGET VICTORY! Transit rider organizing wins the first-ever city budget line item for transit amenities! Get ready for more bus shelter and benches in 2025!

The PPT Organizing Committee set its sights on expanding bus shelters this year. Members voted to include it in our annual Strategic Plan and after a year of organizing we won the first line item for transit amenities in Pittsburgh City history!

In an 11’th hr call to action, more than 100 residents emailed their City Councilmember and asked them to support Councilwoman Barb Warwick’s budget amendment to allocate $100k+ to transit amenities! But this was just the end of a long organizing story. Read the full story below, but first, send your Pittsburgh City Councilperson a thank you!

City of Pittsburgh Complete Streets Advisory Group

In late 2023 some members of PPT Organizing Committee became part of City’s Complete Streets Advisory Group. This sparked conversation about bus rider infrastructure and how we can affect change in that realm.

PPT Research Committee built our map to give us perspective.

The PPT Research Committee got to work analyzing what stops had shelters and what stops didn’t. Research Committee member Dr. Abhishek Viswanathan created an AMAZING map that shows 230 + bus stops in the city that have more than 30 rider boardings a day, but no shelter. PPT highlighted the fact that there are more than 25 “Orphaned Bus Shelters” in the city (these are shelter in locations that were once bus stops, but now stand with no purpose). We saw that with some organizing, reinstalling these shelters at high rider bus stops would be an easy win.

Bus Stop Audits & working with DOMI & PRT

As PPT members advocated at the Complete Streets Advisory Committee, PPT’s Organizing Committee began to comb through the City’s shelter agreement with the advertising company Gateway that manages the shelters. We became experts on the contract and started meeting with DOMI about what could be done to add more shelters. 

It became clear that bus rider safety and amenities were important to the City’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, but they are underfunded and understaffed. PPT’s organizing committee created a checklist and began auditing high-ridership bus stops to gather information, and audit the sidewalks and surrounding areas. This work helped DOMI determine if it would be able to install shelters at those locations without having to do any major construction.

Throughout 2024, the PPT Organizing Committee held 10 bus stop audits ALL ACROSS THE CITY & identified a long list of stops where shelters could be placed.

Advocating for transit in the City Budget

Because of this work together (and unbeknownst to PPT) DOMI put in a bus stop amenities funding request in the 2025 Pittsburgh Capital Budget. This was the first time they had ever requested funding for bus stops. It was denied, but we didn’t stop there.

PPTs Organizing Committee members of CSAG, along with allies in CSAG (like BikePGH and Access Mob), helped draft a letter to City Council and Mayor to impress upon them the importance of mobility and infrastructure in the budget. 

In a last-minute attempt to get this money back in the budget, City Councilperson (and rockstar PPT Member!) Barb Warwick proposed an amendment to include transit amenities. PPT Members leapt into action, and in just 12 hours, more than 100 people reached out to their City Councilperson and asked them to support the amendment. Our support spans across the city, and every single Councilperson received letters to support this amendment to fund new bus shelters. 

Was this final letter campaign a slam dunk that helped to pass the amendment? We’d like to think so 😉. But really, this win comes from years of organizing, to say that the City has a big role to play in improving transit. 

BIG THANKS to so many people who made this win possible. Now lets get ready to organize in 2025 to win more!

There’s a long list of PPT members and supporters who we want to give a special thanks to!

• Big thanks to PPT Members! Peter Gustafson for becoming an expert of the City’s bus shelter contract and creating a checklist to guide our shelter audits. Abhishek Viswanathan for making the map of high ridership stops without shelters. All of the PPT members who joined us on Audits and send letters to their city councilpeople~
• Big thanks to Pittsbugh City Councilor (AND PPT MEMBER!) Barb Warwick’s office – in particular Clara Weibel – for pouring through all of the legalese with us. 
• Big thanks to Seth at BikePGH for teaching Cheryl and Nicole how to host a walk audit. And to Eric for helping draft a letter from the Complete Streets Advisory Committee.
• Big thanks to DOMI and PRT. Shoutout to DOMI staff Eric and Rylan for joining us on bus stop audits. And shoutout to Darcy at PRT for helping us get a first look at their shelter map. 

My name is Kelda Gorman, and I’m an activist member of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. This year, PPT launched its Visionary Transit Service campaign, which invites riders like you and me to reimagine what our transit system should be. I’m so excited to be part of this fight. Can I count on you to fight with me?

As a disabled rider who can’t drive for safety reasons, I’m highly reliant on Pittsburgh Regional Transit. For me and so many others the bus is not a convenience—it’s a necessity. If my bus doesn’t come, the lift doesn’t work, or the driver doesn’t know how to secure the safety restraints, I’m stuck. Literally. And even when all those factors fall into place, I’m still afraid for my safety. 

I invest in PPT because I know our transit service can do better. PPT’s Visionary Transit Service campaign helps me dream big about:

• Efficiency: Buses should run frequently and on time, so we don’t have to “gamble at the bus stop” wondering when or if a bus will come
• Safety: All drivers should be fully trained in how to use wheelchair safety restraints and be empowered to safely intervene when a rider is being attacked
• Accessibility: PRT should maintain a large enough fleet of paratransit vehicles and drivers so folks like me can call for service one hour in advance, rather than the 24-48 hours required now.

I know this all takes money. But the secret is: our government HAS the money! It’s up to us to convince them to allocate it to PRT. I experienced this first hand when I joined PPT’s lobbying trip to Harrisburg this year. One of our elected representatives told us that hearing about transit troubles directly from constituents brought it home to him in a new way. We put a human face on this issue and helped him understand why we need a fully-funded, inclusive vision for public transit. 

Join us as we Visualize and Mobilize for a community vision of what transit can and should be. The minimum cost of joining PPT is  just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly!

My name is Bobbie Fan, and I’m a proud member of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. I was recently appointed to represent riders on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s Governing Board. This feels like the work I was meant to do: ensuring that PRT meets the needs of all residents in Allegheny County. To speak up for riders like you, I need to hear your voice. Can I count on you to raise your voice by joining PPT?

Membership is the anchor of PPT’s transformative activism. When you become a member, you become an integral part of our grassroots union of transit riders, workers, and neighbors. As your representative on the PRT Board, I need you to join because:

• I need to hear YOUR voice! I need to know what everyday riders want and need, so I can advocate for an expanded, affordable, accessible public transit system that serves ALL residents of Allegheny County.
• I need to make PRT hear your voice! On my own, I’m just another Board member. Every new member who joins PPT amplifies my voice and ensures that the people speak louder than special interests.
• This is how we build power! The more we stand together as a union, the more our elected officials will have to listen to us as we push back against manufactured austerity.

In 2025, we’re going to push PRT even harder with our Visionary Transit Service campaign. For decades, transit riders have called on elected leaders to provide accessible, expansive transit that meets our community’s economic, environmental and public health needs. Instead, they’ve cut routes and services, driving down ridership while claiming scarcity. Well, we’re done with PRT telling us what’s possible. It’s time to fund a community vision of what transit can and should be. Join us in this fight.

The minimum cost of joining is just $2.75, the same as one ride on PRT. And this year, the Posner Foundation has offered to match every contribution made during our Year End Member Drive up to $10,000. Turn your $100 into $200. Turn your $500 into $1,000! 

Ride with us today, and make your donation monthly! It’s time to make PRT work for the people.

City Budget decisions for 2025 are happening NOW. Contact your City Councilmember today to support Councilmember Warwick’s amendment for the expansion of dignified, sheltered transit stops in the City of PIttsburgh! 

Can you follow up your letter with a phone call?

• District 1 Bobby Wilson (Troy and Observatory Hill, Perry Hilltop, parts of Downtown, Strip District): (412) 255-2135
  
• District 2 Theresa Kail-Smith (West End, Sheraden, Crafton Heights) : (412) 255-8963
  
• District 3 Bob Charland (Allentown, Mt Washington, Mt Oliver, Southside, South Oakland): (412) 255-2130
  
• District 4 Anthony Coghill (Beechview, Brookline, Carrick): (412) 255-2131
  
• District 5 Barb Warwick (Hazelwood, Greenfield, Lincoln Place, Swisshelm Park, parts of Sq Hill and Oakland): (412) 255-8965
  
• District 6 R. Daniel Lavelle (Uptown, Hill District, Marshall-Shadeland, parts of Downtown) : (412) 255-2134
  
• District 7, Deborah Gross (Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Polish Hill, Highland Park, Morningside): (412) 255-2140
  
• District 8, Erica Strassburger (Shadyside, North Oakland, West side of Sq Hill): (412) 255-2133
  

• District 9, Khari Mosley (East Liberty, Larimer, Lincoln, Lemington, Homewood, Pt. Breeze): (412) 255-2137

Whether you are Black or white, disabled or able-bodied, an older adult or a high school student, we all deserve a safe, dignified, and comfortable way to get where we need to go.

However, Allegheny County transit riders are usually waiting for their ride out in the cold and in the rain. That is because our region has the dubious honor of having some of the fewest bus shelters installed relative to stops in the nation – only 8%, according to a recent Washington Post article. In the City of Pittsburgh alone, there are more than 230 bus stops that currently do not have any transit amenities, but which should have shelters and benches because they have over 30 riders boarding transit at these stops everyday.

The City of Pittsburgh is responsible for installing and maintaining bus shelters within the city limits, not Pittsburgh Regional Transit. Despite that, the 2025 City of Pittsburgh proposed budget has no budget line for transit amenities, just as in all the budgets prior in recent memory.

There are over 100,000 transit trips taken everyday in the City of Pittsburgh; riders deserve better! Over the past year, riders with Pittsburghers for Public Transit have done bus stop walk audits to identify stops in which shelters could be immediately deployed, done research on total ridership and rider demographics at each stop, given public testimony on the importance of transit infrastructure, and joined the Complete Streets Committee to play an active role in informing the City about transit rider needs. We have done our part. It’s long past time for the City to invest in safe, accessible, comfortable and dignified transit infrastructure.

Today, Councilwoman Barb Warwick introduced an amendment to allocate $110,000 of an  approx. $540,000 surplus of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds towards Bus Shelters/Transit Amenities. We applaud her leadership, and now want to ensure that her colleagues on Council vote to approve her amendment.

City of Pittsburgh Map of All PRT Bus Stops With Ridership >30 Riders/Day without Shelters, developed by Abhishek Vishwanathan

Closing the gap on unsheltered bus stops is a critical equity issue in every Pittsburgh City Council District.

Funding bus shelters is a quality-of-life improvement for marginalized Pittsburghers, and one that spans all Council districts. Every dot on this map of Pittsburgh reflects a bus stop where ridership justifies a bus shelter, but which currently does not have one. The red dots indicate that the communities adjacent to the stop have a high equity need, and include disproportionately low-income, minority, disabled, older adult or no-car households. That is why the City of Pittsburgh should consider prioritizing the installation of shelters at the red dot locations.

Nearly a third of Allegheny County transit riders are low-income, according to a 2014 Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) rider survey; it is very likely that the percentage of low-income riders has grown substantially since the pandemic. 38% of PRT riders are people of color, of which 28% are Black residents, which is double the total Black population in Allegheny County. Moreover, for many disabled residents, for youth, older adults, and immigrants public transit is the only means to travel to doctor’s appointments, to schools and grocery stores, jobs and childcare. 

Let’s win riders a better place to wait: Contact your City Councilmember TODAY to ask them to support Councilmember Warwick’s amendment for transit amenities!

Thank you Governor Shapiro for hearing our call to flex funding and save SEPTA! Now we’re ready to support you in winning a permanent funding solution that expands access for people across our state.

Join more than 6,500 Transit for All PA! supporters who took action. Lets thank Governor Shapiro and show that we’re ready to support him in the next stage of this fight.

On November 22, 2024, Governor Shapiro flexed $150 million to save SEPTA riders & Pennsylvania’s economy. Read Transit for All PA’s full statement on the win.

Transit for All PA! is a growing statewide movement to expand public transit access for all Pennsylvanians. Learn more about who we are and get involved here.

You’re invited! Get your ticket today to join PPT’s Year-End Transit Justice Victory Party!

PPT Year-end Transit Justice Victory Party
Thursday, December 19th, 6-10pm
East End Cooperative Ministries
6165 Harvard Street in East Liberty, 15206

Visualize & Mobilize: We win when we have a vision of a better world and commit to building community to make it real.

Transportation is opportunity and everyone deserves access. That is true whether we’re white or black or whether we live in the City of Pittsburgh or a surrounding community.

2024 was an exciting year of growth and success for the Members of Pittsburghers for Public Transit. We won huge victories for our campaigns; including a fully-permanent half-fare program for SNAP/EBT recipients, we had one of our members get appointed to the Pittsburgh Regional Transit Board of Directors, we won a bulk fare program that can give employees access to zero fares, AND we grew the community at Pittsburghers for Public Transit to 325 active dues-paying members!

Come celebrate all of this work with the love-filled community that made it all possible at the PPT Year-end Victory party.

Accessibility information

What to expect:

The celebration will be one to remember. We’ll be inside at the East End Cooperative Ministries. The entrance is at 6165 Harvard St. The party will go from 6pm-10pm. The tickets are pay what you can, $20 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away! There will be a full dinner served free to all people who RSVP. Music will be provided by our friend DJ Juan Diego and dancing will most certainly happen. PPT members from different campaigns will talk about what it takes to win and what it means for their families and our communities. Attendees should not feel obligated to attend the entire event, so feel free to arrive and leave at whatever times work best for you.

Menu:

Catering will be provided by Salem’s. Food will include:P
Veggie Samosa (Veetarian, Vegan)
Meat Samosa
Chicken Samosa
Basmati Rice (GF, Vegan, Vegetarian)
Chicken Tikka Masala (GF)
Veggie Curry (GF, Vegan, Vegetarian)
Spinach Paneer (GF, Vegetarian)
Greek Salad (GF, Vegetarian)
Walnut Baklava (contains nuts)
Please specify any dietary restrictions on the RSVP form. We’ll post our final menu as soon as we order!

Accessibility:

The East End Cooperative Ministries building is an accessible space. There is a ramp into the building from the sidewalk and there is an accessible bathroom. The space has an upper and a lower area that are very close together and connected by a slightly inclined ramp. You enter the space into the upper area where attendees can mingle. The lighting will be good and consistent in this room throughout the night. The lower area will have music, dancing, speeches, and food. Lighting may be turned down for dancing and speeches. There will be interpretation in both ASL and Spanish.

Getting there:

The party is accessible through the East End Cooperative Ministries’ Enterence B, at 6165 Harvard St. There are no stairs in any of the party spaces. There is great transit access in East Liberty. Penn Ave is just two blocks away. And the East Busway stop is .3 miles, or about a 10-minute walk. There is bike parking and car parking in the parking lot. If any of these transportation modes are cost-prohibitive for you, contact PPT to discuss options, 551-206-3320 or info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org.

COVID procedures:

The party will be held indoors. Masks will be available. We encourage everyone to take an at-home COVID rapid test before arriving. Please stay home if you are feeling sick or have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19. There is an unheated outdoor space available on the sidewalk in front of the building and in the courtyard for a breath of fresh air during the event.

Join PPT on Tuesday, 11/19 at 10am, to call for more bus shelters in the city budget.

No one wants to wait in the wind and rain for a bus. The City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure controls nearly all the bus shelter in the City. They want to do better for transit riders, but they need the budget to do it!

Join PPT this Tuesday to call for a city budget to provide more bus shelters, sidewalks, and infrastructure that supports transit. Check out this map that PPT’s research committee made that shows stops inside the city that have 30 or more boardings each day – these stops need shelters and it won’t happen unless budget money gets approved. Testify with us to make it happen:

Click the button below to sign up to testify with PPT for more funding to improve bus shelters, sidewalks, lighting and infrastructure to support transit!