THURS 11 am: Activists in Allegheny County, PA Call on Rep. Conor Lamb to “Seal the Deal” and Pass the Full Jobs and Infrastructure Package, Prioritizing Climate Solutions, Green Jobs and Transit Justice
Event in Penn Hills is One of Over 70 Around Country Urging Support for Reconciliation Bill With Climate Protections and Transit Provisions, Groups Say Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Alone Is Not Enough
Penn Hills, PA — On Thursday, August 19th, residents of Allegheny County will join dozens of activists and concerned residents of PA in a rally outside of Rep. Conor Lamb’s Penn Hills Office to demonstrate the need for improvements to and passage of the $3.5T reconciliation package that just passed the Senate. Event organizers will urge members of Congress to pass a full economic recovery plan that truly invests in climate justice, green jobs, and public transit.
The rally will call on Rep Lamb to restore the $10 billion cut from public transit in the Senate bipartisan infrastructure plan that was already agreed to by both parties, to end the subsidy for fossil fuels, and to prioritize investment in electrification infrastructure. These investments will support green, family-sustaining jobs and address critical equity and public health needs in our communities.
“Many families lack transportation to work, shopping, medical appointments and other essential services. The current cost of purchasing a car and the lack of auto repair parts is an added hurdle for many. Penn Hills lacks adequate public transportation and sidewalks. The need for resources to help our community residents is greatly needed,” says Joyce Davis, President of Just Solutions of Western PA.
The rally will call on Representative Lamb to deliver on the full $3.5 trillion of investments already authorized by the Senate—before moving the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure deal, which is far too small on its own.
Participants will carry signs that read “No cuts to climate, transit, and worker justice!”, “Invest in our communities”, and other signs that call for immediate action on climate change and transit funding.
“It is long past time for us to end the subsidies to industries that pollute our air and water, and invest in green industries that will offer good jobs, a clean environment, and a livable future,” Laura Jacko, Verona, Pa resident and Sierra Club Volunteer
Information for the #SealTheDeal event, which calls on Congress to ensure the communities most affected to receive at least half of the investment, not a penny less, is below:
WHERE: Rep Conor Lamb’s Office, 11 Duff Rd, Pittsburgh PA 15235 WHEN: Thursday, August 19th. 11 am. WHO: Members of Sierra Club, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Women for a Healthy Environment, Clean Air Council and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85. LOCAL CONTACT: Laura Chu Wiens, (703) 424-0854, laura@pittsburghforpublictransit.org MORE INFO: https://www.facebook.com/events/1275118386243836/
Thursday’s event is part of a national day of action organized by the Green New Deal Network coalition in support of passage of the full jobs and infrastructure package including climate, care, and justice priorities such as electric school buses and lead pipe replacement. 71 other events are happening in 34 states across the country.
The August congressional recess is a critical opportunity for communities to share their views and concerns with their leaders. Thursday’s “Seal the Deal” events will meet members of Congress on their home turf and ensure they hear from constituents how important it is that they urgently pass the full jobs and infrastructure deal, including the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill, passed in the Senate earlier this month, was not only too small to effectively combat the climate crisis but also fails to adequately protect the health of our communities. Because of this, the $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget passed in the Senate, is the Democrats’ last opportunity to invest in real climate infrastructure, including the greening & increased operations of public transportation, school bus electrification, electric vehicle infrastructure, and the removal of lead pipes, as well as large investments into the care economy.
Image description: collage of photos of the newly elected members of PPT’s Coordinating Committee
Congrats to the new PPT Coordinating Committee Members, elected to lead us 2021-2023!
Pittsburghers for Public Transit is a democratic, grassroots, member-led organization and we practice what we preach.
Our Coordinating Committee acts as our Board of Directors and is filled with up to 15 people who are elected to the seats by the rest of our membership. Our “election season” runs from May to July. Members are nominated to run for the board in May and June. If they accept the nomination they are put on the ballot and able to speak to the membership at the July meeting. Voting is then open for two weeks for any eligible PPT member to cast their ballot (PPT members are people who 1. agree with the transit bill of rights 2. have paid dues of at least $2.75 in the last year and 3. have helped us push our campaigns for transit justice).
This democratic, participatory leadership process is at the heart of our organizing. It keeps a core team of enthusiastic and committed members at the helm. This Coordinating Committee is responsible for guiding the direction of PPT’s campaigns and organizational development.
We’re so excited to welcome this group of new and re-elected Coordinating Committee members in 2021 who’ll be leading us until 2023!
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.
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.
Kevin Joa, ATU Local 85
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 immediately behind him, and transit tracks are in the background.
Kevin is a Port Authority bus operator and member of ATU Local 85. He was first elected to PPT’s Coordinating Committee in 2019 and just won his re-election in 2021. Kevin has taken part in PPT campaigns to encourage Port Authority board members to ride transit; push for expanded transit funding in PA; and build more affordable housing near great transit.
Before joining Local 85 as a bus operator, Kevin worked at a local public school system. Kevin also is a proud owner a beautiful dog!
Mayor 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.
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:
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.
image description: text that reads “More affordable Public Transit”
What is NEXTransit?
NEXTransit is Port Authority’s 25-year long-range plan. This is the first public planning document that Port Authority has developed in decades, and it will impact their policy and infrastructure priorities for the foreseeable future. In this final NEXTransit draft (p.38), Port Authority names fare affordability as the 2nd most highly ranked policy or program for them to pursue.
But that’s good news, right?
Well, it’s good that the Port Authority finally acknowledges that fare affordability must be a top priority, after years of advocacy and organizing by riders, social service organizations and businesses raising this demand. However, it’s deeply concerning that the Port Authority doesn’t actually propose any solutions, nor any investment to evaluate or plan to make fares more affordable. This is also coming on the heels of a decision to raise the base fare for CONNECT card users by 10% alongside the implementation of a CONNECT card free transfer policy.
It is also concerning that Port Authority’s top values stated in the Affordable Fares section reads: “Creating an affordable fare policy that is tailored to the transit agency is crucial to increasing and maintaining ridership in balance with revenue.”
We would say instead, “Creating an affordable fare policy is crucial to ensuring access to critical needs and employment for Allegheny County’s most vulnerable individuals. Port Authority is a public agency that should not be generating the bulk of their fare revenue off the backs of those who can least afford to pay.”
What is our call and the history of the fares advocacy?
In the NEXTransit draft, Port Authority says that public input around fares included “a broad, general push for continued and further efforts to support low-income riders.” (Italics added)
But the truth is that riders have actually been VERY SPECIFIC about the types of changes that they want to see. For years, thousands of riders and dozens of organizations have pushed for concrete policies to address fare affordability, yet none of these policies are reflected in the action items that the plan outlines.
We need a fare relief program pilot for low-income riders to weather the pandemic, and that this pilot should be used to evaluate the need and effectiveness of a long-term low-income fare program.
We need a more equitable fare for cash riders, who are the lowest-income users of the system, with the least access to CONNECT card machines and highest likelihood to have to transfer to get to critical destinations. As a result, cash riders are paying nearly double what other riders have to pay, and that gross disparity in costs is completely by design.
We need fare capping, to ensure that low-income riders are not paying more than the cost of a weekly, monthly, or yearly bus pass in single-use rides, simply because they never have enough money on hand at any given moment to pay for the full cost of a bus pass up front. In fact, Port Authority’s recent fare consultant report is particularly damning on this front: it finds that the projected fare revenue loss for Port Authority for implementing fare capping is $4-10 million dollars. To put it another way, this is a $4-$10 Million Dollar annual poor tax that low-income people are paying ON TOP of the cost of a bus pass, simply because they cannot afford to pay the full cost of a bus pass all at one time.
The NEXTransit plan needs to document the steps the agency can take towards making them a reality. The success of the Port Authority’s system and the wellbeing of its riders depends on it.
Why are their long-term plans for fares grossly inadequate?
There are no action items that actually increase fare affordability. They only mention increasing fare payment access and engaging in more studies.
There is no mention of cash users, who are the lowest income riders and disproportionately harmed by Port Authority’s existing fare structure.
Fare capping and low-income fares cannot be considered either/or solutions, because they are both needed, and they both address separate problems.
Of the 17 total policies and programs that have been considered under the plan, of which this ranks 2nd, Port Authority does not propose any staff or any operating costs to address the issue. By contrast, they have proposed 19 other new paid staff positions and $2,280,000 in operating costs to address other policy goals, many of which did not even rank highly enough to be named in the report.
The Port Authority is proposing to outsource a low-income fare program. We have instead been calling for low-income riders to simply be able to show their EBT cards to board for free, which would eliminate any overhead, administrative costs, or concern about difficulty accessing the program. An outsourced low-income fare program model could be good, if it were through a proven model in which another public agency like the County Human Services Department were to adopt it as part of their mandate. However, if nonprofits or businesses instead become the gatekeepers to accessing a low-income fare program, it can lead to low adoption and higher costs. And relying on philanthropic support for low-income fares rather than taxpayer funding is an inherently unstable solution.
How can you get involved in this advocacy for fare affordability?
Public feedback is being collected on this draft plan until the end of August, so there is still an opportunity to influence it.
Review the full plan here, and use the NEXTransit website to submit your personal comment or a statement from your organization. Feel free to reference the talking points outlined in this blog.
The Port Authority has one final public meeting to collect feedback on the plan coming up on August 10th. We’re asking that all advocates join this meeting to uplift these demands:
Pittsburghers for Public Transit will also be doing outreach to riders to submit feedback. If you want to get involved in helping PPT’s Organizing Committee do some of this outreach, reach out to info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org
Image description: two riders get off a blue Port Authority bus. One is using a wheelchair, the other is carrying a green backpack.
New quarterly adjustments bring an ever-so-slight increase in service levels. Overall Service remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Four times every year, the Port Authority adjusts its transit schedules and routes to account for construction, road closures, rider’s requests, ridership shifts, and/or all of the other unexpected changes that might affect Pittsburgh roads.
These quarterly adjustments were dialed back because of the pandemic, but they seem to be back on track. PPT has been publishing these blogs since 2019 with the @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline to give a rider’s perspective on what these adjustments mean for our service. Some quarters bring great changes (like Q4 2020 where we won weekend service on 95% of Local routes) some quarters are lackluster.
The @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline is a volunteer-run twitter account that gives riders updates on Port Authority’s daily happenings. The Hotline has no official connection to the Port Authority (again, it is a volunteer-run twitter account) but the updates they provide are helpful nonetheless. The Hotline is a big supporter of PPT, and an enormous advocate for public transit. We’re thankful for their support and happy to collab on these rider resources. Follow @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline on twitter for more grassroots transit updates.
The @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline commentary on these changes will be italicized like this below the Port Authority’s description of each change
Its us @PGH_Bus_Info Hotline and we’re back with some more commentary on Port Authority’s latest round of changes. Here are my top-line takeaways:
– You’ll see “service added” on many of these changes… but unfortunately that typically only translates to one or two extra runs per day. We want to be excited about these improvements, but we need to be realistic that this isn’t any large increase in service.
– Overall, our system is still down 10% from our pre-pandemic service levels
The following changes went into effect on June 20th, 2021
1-Freeport Rd – A new Saturday trip has been added to help reduce crowding.
an addition of one trip…… its a small change, but we gotta count our wins where we can.
2-Mount Royal – Weekday schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed. Weekend schedules have also been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will continue operating via 11th Street, Ft. Duquesne Blvd., 7th Street and Liberty Avenue.
4-Troy Hill – Sunday service has been added and will run approximately every 70 minutes from 10am-6pm.
The 4 was one of the few local routes that did not receive full 7-day service when Port Authority made that major change back in December of 2020 – thanks much in part to PPT”s advocacy! So its great to see that Sunday service is now being added!. That said….it would be really nice to see later service on all days.
7-Spring Garden – Schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed; schedules have been updated to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Outbound buses will continue to operate via Stanwix Street.
So the 7 was also one of the few that was ignored when 7-day service was implemented last December. We need to see this route get the 7-day service these riders deserve.
….also buses being detoured and slowed to enable an outdoor dining initiatve? Doesn’t sound like transit equity to us….
13-Bellevue – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Outbound buses will continue to operate via Stanwix Street.
15-Charles – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted, and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour routing for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Outbound buses will continue to operate via Stanwix Street.
16-Brighton – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted, and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Outbound buses will continue to operate via Stanwix Street.
17-Shadeland – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted, and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Outbound buses will continue to operate via Stanwix Street.
Routes 15-16-17-13 have been updated for the downtown re-routes however it is slightly disappointing to see no extra stops temporary or otherwise in lieu of the one that’s cut
again with detouring downtown buses so that people can dine outdoors.
29-Robinson – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to reflect new routing to accommodate the downtown dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will use Liberty Avenue in both directions and will no longer serve stops on Penn Avenue. The downtown terminus will change from Penn Avenue at Garrison Place to Penn Station.
31-Bridgeville – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted, and some trip times have changed to reflect new routing to accommodate the downtown dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will use Liberty Avenue in both directions and will no longer serve stops on Penn Avenue. The downtown terminus will change from Penn Avenue at Garrison Place to Penn Station.
G31-Bridgeville Flyer – Schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to reflect new routing to accommodate the downtown dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will use Liberty Avenue in both directions and will no longer serve stops on Penn Avenue. The downtown terminus will change from Penn Avenue at Garrison Place to Penn Station.
We like this change. Routes 31-29-G31 being rerouted to serve Penn Park Station on the bottom of the East Busway is nice in our opinion, helps with East-West or West-East connections and adds some options for movement in town which we have used and has been a small godsend.
36-Banksville – Weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed.
Nothing noteworthy here, Route still continues to end service too early
51-Carrick – Weekday and weekend trips have been added to reduce crowding.
59-Mon Valley – Weekday schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed. Weekend trips have been added to reduce crowding.
When you look at the details here, we’re really not impressed. The new adjustments actually revoke some of the trips that were added in past quarters. These were badly needed. Also, the weekend trips that are “added” are miniscule aside from 1-2 hours of boosted afternoon service. And Sunday service still ends too early.
61D-Murray – Trips have been added to Saturday schedules to reduce crowding.
Would like to see more service throuh the rest of the day on Saturday, and Sunday service additions would be great too.
67-Monroeville – Weekday schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed. Trips have been added to weekday schedules to accommodate riders of the 69-Trafford traveling between Wilkinsburg and downtown.
Changes don’t go far enough in addressing the loss of the 69 to Point Breeze and Squirrel Hill riders. Because of those changes, riders are forced to transfer. Furthermore the spacing on several trips is awkward at best and as a gesture of goodwill trips should be added on Weekends too.
69-Trafford – The layover location at Viaduct Way in Trafford Borough (Westmoreland County) has been removed. With the removal of the layover location, buses will operate between Trafford (5th St. at Cavit) and Wilkinsburg (Wilkinsburg Station) only, and will no longer serve Downtown Pittsburgh. Riders can transfer at Wilkinsburg Station on the East Busway to continue downtown, or transfer to the 67-Monroeville in Wilkinsburg. Trips have been added to the 67-Monroeville to accommodate riders.
We continues to join the very vocal and heated opposition to this blatant service cut and reduction. Especially because this change forces riders to transfer buses, and potentially pay another fare, without a system-wide free-tranfer policy for all riders.
Almost everything is wrong with the service cut save the fact that it establishes 7 day direct service into Haymaker Village Shopping Center unfortunately that is the 1 lone small positive in a mostly shameful decision.
P69-Trafford Flyer– Due to the removal of the layover location at Viaduct Way in Trafford Borough (Westmoreland County), the inbound and outbound Viaduct Way at Terminal stops, and inbound Brinton Ave at 5th St. NS stop, will be discontinued. Service will continue to operate to Downtown Pittsburgh.
With the 69 basically being told to kiss off, we remain disapointed that the P69 can’t be expanded to run 7 day all day. At this point, why not fully replace all 69 service and use Penn Park Station in town for layovers or simply be set up similar to the 77 P78 and P68 now that operator reliefs and logistics behind the scenes have shifted? It would be viable to have drivers do a full round P69 via Haymaker then go on break or lunch or what have you.
75-Ellsworth – Trips have been added to Saturday schedules to reduce crowding.
81-Oak Hill – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the recent long-term detour in Oakland. Inbound buses will continue to operate on Bellefield Avenue and will no longer operate on Bigelow Blvd.
82-Lincoln – Trips have been added to Saturday schedules to reduce crowding.
83-Bedford Hill – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the recent long-term detour in Oakland. Inbound buses will continue to operate on Bellefield Avenue and will no longer operate on Bigelow Blvd. Weekday and Saturday trips have been added to reduce crowding.
86-Liberty – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will continue operating via 11th Street, Ft. Duquesne Blvd., 7th Street and Liberty Avenue.
Not much to report. Still waiting on 24/7 service on this route.
87-Friendship – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will continue operating via 11th Street, Ft. Duquesne Blvd., 7th Street and Liberty Avenue.
88-Penn – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will continue operating via 11th Street, Ft. Duquesne Blvd., 7th Street and Liberty Avenue.
Not much to report. Still waiting on 24/7 service on this route and an extension to live up to its namesake
91-Butler Street – Weekday and weekend schedules have been adjusted and some trip times have changed to incorporate the long-term detour for the downtown outdoor dining initiative in place until further notice. Buses will continue operating via 11th Street, Ft. Duquesne Blvd., 7th Street and Liberty Avenue.
Not much to report. Still waiting for 24/7 service too.
P2-East Busway Short – To help address bus bunching in Downtown Pittsburgh, all P2 service will end at Penn Station. During this pilot, riders traveling into downtown will need to take a P1 from the start of their trip or transfer at Penn Station onto any other inbound bus route.
This P2 “Test Pilot” or “Study” is another thing that we have concerns about. We doubt that the P2 has much effect on bus bunching downtown, especially when one of the most bunched corridors is Smithfield southbound at the superstop and the P2 doesn’t use any of those lanes. In our opinion, the better solution is clearly to revert back to the old P2 route through downtown when it used to be called the EBS (the East Busway Short) – Penn Station > left on Grant > right on Fifth > right on Liberty back to Penn Station.
O5-Thompson Run Flyer – The outbound timepoint at Nelson Run Road at Nelson Run Ramp has been removed. The bus stop will be discontinued effective June 20, 2021 due to the lack of safe pedestrian access.
When a bus stop lack safe pedestrian access, the answer is to improve safety, not cut the stop. Slow cars down, build a sidewalk, add more pedestrian protection. Port Authoirty needs a program to tackle this, and the County needs to support them. It’s also still disappointing to see this route continues to have such limited service and no reverse commutes.
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!
