Bus riders in PA are building a movement for public transit that is more affordable, reliable, and dignified for everyone in our state!

Who we are and what we do

PITTSBURGHERS FOR PUBLIC TRANSIT (PPT) and the PHILLY TRANSIT RIDERS UNION (PhillyTRU) are grassroots organizations of transit riders, transit workers, and residents. We mobilize together for equitable, affordable, and sustainable public transit.

What is the PA Statewide Transit Rider & Worker Organizing Fellowship?

The PA Statewide Transit Rider & Worker Organizing Fellowship will build a united and politically powerful constituency of PA transit riders and workers that can not be ignored. We will hire 5 fellows from regions across the state that are serviced by public transit systems – both large and small, urban and rural. 

These fellows will spend April to July working with Pittsburghers for Public Transit, the Philly Transit Riders Union, and local transit workers to develop a coordinated, grassroots network of local “transit rider unions”. These transit rider unions will build local leadership among rider and worker advocates, agitate around local and statewide issues, educate elected officials, and win tangible improvements for fellow transit riders in PA.

Requirements to apply

• Applicants should live in cities like Allentown, Reading, Lancaster, York, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Williamsport, State College, Altoona, Johnstown, or Erie
• Applicants should have regular access to a computer or tablet, be familiar with putting in data in spreadsheets and reading spreadsheets, and familiar with video conferencing technology like Zoom and Google Meets.
• Applicants must already be active within their community, with some demonstrated leadership or volunteering efforts.
• Applicants should be regular transit riders or should have been regular transit riders in the past, with some familiarity with the regional transit routes. 
• Applicants must commit to the four-month timeline and fulfill the outreach and meeting attendance detailed above.

PPT and Philly TRU are strongly encouraging women, POC, LGBTQIA, disabled people, poor, and other marginalized people to apply for the fellowship. We welcome applicants who are working full-time hours or have other regular commitments – this is a flexible commitment and we can find ways to make this work for your schedule.

The organizing skills that the organizing fellows will learn

The fellows will learn how to collectively run a successful statewide organizing campaign and set and meet attainable goals around community engagement. They will learn how to power-map local transit systems, identify allied stakeholders and volunteers, build and execute effective outreach plans, and engage local transit riders and workers to develop them as leaders in local and statewide organizing. Fellows will be able to talk with confidence about the importance of transit for individual household economic opportunity as well as statewide economic development. Fellows will be able to explain the difference between rider-led grassroots planning and top-down planning efforts.

The time commitment

Fellows should be ready to work with PPT & PhillyTRU to start their organizing immediately, beginning April 10th. The work will be part-time, and can be structured around other work or family commitments, but must be planned to achieve the goals listed below. Below is a general timeline of the campaign with expected duties/hours.

April

April 10th, from 11-1pm Fellowship Orientation– all Fellows will join for an orientation and planning call with Pittsburghers for Public Transit and the Philly Transit Riders Union

April 10th to April 27th Canvassing and Turnout– Fellows will host 5 canvass days (2-3 hrs each) to distribute masks to transit riders and build relationships by identifying local transit issues. The goal will be to build a regional contact list of a minimum of 100 local transit riders and 100 transit supporters. Organizing staff from Philly or Pittsburgh will travel to be present in-person to train fellows on canvassing and organizing. Fellows should recruit/train volunteers, and follow-up with new contacts. The fellow will work to turn out all new contacts to the statewide rider/worker strategy meeting on April 28th.  PPT and/or PhillyTRU organizers will provide in-person and virtual support to help the fellow in establishing a process for the canvasses, volunteer recruitment and follow-up.

April 28th, 7-8:30pm Statewide Grassroots Transit Summit– Fellows and the local riders who they have organized will join for a historic statewide call of transit riders and workers from across PA. Riders and workers will use the call to build a grassroots transit funding platform, and sketch out a strategy for winning improvements at the state and local levels.

May – July

Strategy and Advocacy for Grassroots Transit Funding Platform– Fellows will continue recruiting volunteers & developing leaders to facilitate weekly mask distributions. Fellows will continue follow-up calls to contacts. 

Fellows will join a weekly statewide leadership call, and a bi-weekly statewide rider call, to stay up to date in executing our campaign.

Fellows will organize local riders to plan and participate the public launch of the grassroots transit funding plan for PA. Fellows will also plan local actions and meet with local elected representatives to present demands and win their support.

Fellows will keep up frequent communication with PPT and/or PhillyTRU.

The compensation

Compensation will be $20/hr, with an expected minimum of 50 hours of work over the 4-month period. Travel costs and equipment reimbursements will be provided as needed.

Applicants can apply by filling out the google form application here, by emailing answers to the application questions to josh@pittsburghforpublictransit.org, or by sending your answers via mail to PPT at  5129 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15224.

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Not interested in applying, but want to stay in touch about PA transit adovcacy? Sign up below!

Public transit is essential for Pennsylvanians – It keeps us moving to jobs, food, and healthcare. But state transportation funding is in jeopardy. But politicians have left transit riders and transit workers out of conversations about a solution.

Transit riders and workers won’t stand for another round of service cuts, fare hikes, and layoffs! We are organizing with riders and workers from all across Pennsylvania. We will build a grassroots vision for expanding transit in our state – and we need you!

Statewide Organizing Meeting to Expand PA Transit Funding
Wednesday // March 24th
7pm – 8:30pm

We need all Pennsyvania transt riders and workers to attend this meeting for expanded, progressive transit funding in PA. Together we can build a proposal that puts transit riders and workers first. We will win more service, increased frequency, cleaner bus, better bus stops, affordable housing, higher wages and more.

We will mobilize transit riders and workers.
We will sway politicians.
We will shift the public narrative.
We will win expanded transit funding to keep our buses running and transform our cities for our children.

Join us at this first Statewide Campaign Meeting of Transit Riders and Workers to begin this journey together

Hosted by the Philadelphia Transit Riders Union, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, the Amalgamated Transit Union Joint Conference Board, 5th Square and Transit Forward Philadelphia.

Give us a call if you have any questions about how to use Zoom, or if you have any accessibility needs: 412-626-7353. Or email us at info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org

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Pittsburghers for Public Transit and Philly Transit Riders Union are also hiring 5 organizing fellows across PA to help build this movement. Learn more and apply below:

This is a chance to advocate for the changes we want to see. We need to make sure transit riders are front and center.

This is an exciting moment for riders. Port Authority is doing its first long-range plan in decades. This means that we have a chance to advocate for some big changes and priorities to steer the course of our transit system over the next 25 years.

As part of their planning process, PAAC just released a map along with a list of new potential new projects and priority areas.

It’s only lines on a map, but it’s exciting to see a vision of transit that connects Allegheny County. PPT members have been on the frontlines of advocating for many of these projects and policies over the years.

Now they want to hear public input.

See Port Authority’s upcoming events here and take the surveys below

Port Authority also released these 6 surveys with more information about the projects and priority areas. See more details and give input by taking the surveys below.

Be sure to share these surveys with folks riding transit now.

Port Authority has been transparent with the fact that they receive a disproportionate amount of online feedback from folks who are white, younger, and more highly-educated. We need to ensure fair and proportionate feedback from transit riders and communities who are considered “hard-to-reach”

If you work with people riding transit right now please encourage them to take the survey.

Additionally, Port Authority has said that they are very willing to come to your organization’s meeting to speak with your members about working with the survey. You can send them an email here.

COVID hit us hard. But we still need transit.

COVID has caused thousands of us to lose jobs and income. But we still need transit to access life’s essentials: food, healthcare, jobs, housing, family.

Now more than ever, the Port Authority needs to start a low-income fare program. This would support riders, and support everyone throughout Allegheny County.

Please take this survey to advocate for a low-income fare program at Port Authority. We will not share any of the survey information from this survey without your express consent. Leave your contact info and we will follow up to learn more about you. We can fight for change.

Thank you. ❤️🚌✊

Would you benefit from an emergency low-income fare program?

Help PPT build an access-centered movement. Take the PPT Accessibility Survey now

In efforts to make Pittsburghers for Public Transit (PPT) a more accessible organization, we are conducting a survey to identify areas we need to improve on and things we can do differently.

Your thoughts irrespective of whether you attended a meeting or took part in a campaign are very valuable. We would appreciate it if you can spend around 15 minutes to complete our survey.

Your responses will help us to better engage transit riders and operators in Allegheny County in our efforts to expand and defend public transit.

* If you prefer to fill out a paper copy, need a large print copy, need the survey in another language, or need any other accommodations, email: Toni Haraldsen taharaldsen@gmail.com*
* If you prefer to fill this out over the phone, call or text to set up a time: Jessica Benner at 3042687672 *
* Si prefiere completar una copia en papel, necesita una copia en letra grande, necesita la encuesta en otro idioma o necesita cualquier otra adaptación, envíe un correo electrónico a: Toni Haraldsen taharaldsen@gmail.com *
* Si prefiere completar esto por teléfono, llame o envíe un mensaje de texto para programar una hora: Jessica Benner al 3042687672 *

And we wanted to share some resources that have been guiding PPT’s conversations around accessibility

• The Disability Visibility project their ACCESS IS LOVE campaign and others uplift disability justice campaigns from advocates across the country
• Rooted in Right’s Access That trainings on how to optimize your online tools for accessibility.
• Following the teaching and organizing of local disability rights advocate, Dustin Gibson. Check out his website. Follow him on Twitter. And catch one of his trainings at the Peoples Hub

PAT’s Final meeting as Downtown-Oakland-East End BRT system nears completion will be held Thursday, 1/28 at 6pm

For those of you who have followed the Downtown-Oakland Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, you’ll know about the vital part that transit rider organizing has played in bringing more equity to this project. For those who may not be familiar, you can check out a brief recap here.

We’re very close to having a strong and equitable BRT project that will serve riders through Downtown, Uptown, Oakland, the entire East End and Allegheny County – but rider advocacy is still needed!

The final public meeting for the Downtown-Oakland BRT project is Thursday 1/28 at 6pm.

You can join to support equity and raise any final changes you’d like to see!

• See the slideshow on the updated BRT Project that the Port Authority will be presenting at the meeting
• See the lastest article on the BRT Project, written by Ed Blazina at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Here are some concerns that riders have been raising to the Port Authority and the City during these meetings:

• The 61D, 71A, 71C, 71D will now end in Oakland, so transfers will now be needed for those riders who want to access downtown or the East End. This forces a transfer for riders in Uptown, Homewood, and other neighborhoods who rely on these routes to access food, healthcare and more.
• Housing affordability, gentrification and displacement concerns loom large for Uptown around this project. Transit projects like Bus Rapid Transit have been linked to significant increases in the cost of housing, goods and services in other cities. We need the City to step in with meaningful affordability protections for the neighborhood and the entire city.
• Accessibility for people with disabilities be addressed, especially in Uptown – Why is the City removing all accessible parking spots along Fifth and Forbes in Uptown, and into Oakland? Can’t the parking be moved to the right-hand side of the street? How is the City using this curb to curb development project throughout Oakland, Uptown and Downtown to address existing accessibility concerns like removing steps into businesses?
• The plan will also bring significant Bus Stop Consolidation to nearly 20 Local Routes in the Eastern portion of the Port Authority system. This means that riders with disabilities, seniors, and other people with limited mobility will need to walk further to access transit. Does bus stop consolidation really serve riders best? It’s worth checking out the plan and whether your stops will be affected. From what we can tell stops will be removed from the 69, 67, 28x, 54C, 54D, 93, 64, 58, P3, all the 61s and 71s, 81, 83, and maybe more.

Join tomorrow’s meeting to learn about this project and push it across the finish line as something the will benefit all:

PPT members are ready to organize for transformation

Pittsburghers for Public Transit is proud to announce that we far exceeded even our reach goal for the organization’s 2020 year-end fundraiser – “Transit Towards Transformation” – with over 320 people helping to raise $19,500! These dollars and the community who raised them are absolutely essential for keeping our advocacy moving forward.

The American system is built on inequity. As we started in 2020, 140 milllion people were in poverty. Tens of thousands were without healthcare, struggling with education, crushed with debt, and on the brink of eviction. Then COVID hit, and things got far worse.

The pandemic has decimated transit systems, the riders who rely on them, and the cities and states that they move. The only way that we can support each other and defend our freedom to move is to organize together.

This incredible support for PPT amidst this time shows we are ready to organize for transformation.

Together in 2020, the PPT community:

• WON WEEKEND SERVICE on 99% of local routes
• DEFUNDED THE MON OAKLAND CONNECTOR and moved $4-million to fund affordable housing, sidewalks, and support to small black-owned businesses
• WON AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEAR GREAT TRANSIT, and showed that essential community benefits – like affordable housing, improved transit, food access, and safe streets – can be built by eliminating structured car parking in new developments
• STABILIZED TRANSIT SYSTEMS AMID COVID-19 BY SECURING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS – PPT worked in collaboration with advocates across the country and the county to win $40 billion for transit systems across the country and $313 Million for the Port Authority
• WON AN EQUITABLE REDISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE to meet the needs of riders in low-income communities with higher rates of transit ridership who were experiencing overcrowding on buses due to COVID-19 restrictions
• DISTRIBUTED THOUSANDS OF MASKS to keep transit riders and workers safe during the COVID-19 crisis.
• FOUGHT FOR #FairFares – Launched advocacy for an emergency fare program to help low-income riders weather COVID-19
• LAUNCHED A STATEWIDE TRANSIT RIDER ORGANIZING PROJECT with the Philly Transit Riders Union that will play an essential role in elevating transit riders’ voices for increased transit funding in PA.
• MOBILIZED 80+ ORGANIZATIONS TO DEFEND TRANSIT FUNDING IN PA and block a dangerous proposal to move transit funding into the state’s general fund
• ORGANIZED A NATIONAL COALITION OF TRANSIT RIDER UNIONS with groups in 20 cities across the country – from Atlanta to New York, to Boston, to Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and more – to build skills and expand the network of riders advocating for equitable transit in their cities.

More is ahead for 2021. These campaigns and victories will only expand as we build our base and sharpen our vision for change together.

We want to send a huge thank you to the 280 people who donated to the year-end fundraising campaign, and the 40 people who volunteered to help make it a success. We want to send a special thank you to Ms. Teaira Collins, Ms. Terri Minor Spencer, Ms. Cindy Rulli, and Ms. Nora Kelley who all shared their stories as people who lead successful campaigns for weekend service.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who has been active with PPT over the last year. Whether you came to a meeting, canvassed bus riders, signed a petition, or followed PPT’s newsletters and social media – we all contributed to this success. We all make this work impactful.

We have what it takes to transit toward transformation. Please invite your people to join PPT, to come to a meeting, to donate, to subscribe. We are showing that democratic grassroots organizing can bring change and we all need to be involved.

Help bring an end to solitary confinement at the Allegheny County Jail, and pass Breonna’s Law to end no-knock warrants because transit justice is an intersectional issue!

Join members of Pittsburghers for Public Transit to support the county-wide effort to end Solitary Confinement and pass Breonna’s Law to ban no-knock warrants.

These campaigns are being led by the Alliance for Police Accountability. Visit APA’s website for more info on the campaign: https://apa-pgh.org/ballot/

We need 27,000 signatures to get these issues on the ballot in May.

Help pass these efforts into law by joining PPT on these volunteer canvass days. Opportunities to help either in-person or via phone will be updated throughout the campaign.

See our schedule of volunteer canvass days below to sign up. And reach out if there are any questions: info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org

Visit the Alliance for Police Accountability’s website to learn more and get directly involved with their organizing.

“We rely heavily on the 22-McCoy. We use it for everything.”

Last month, Port Authority announced that it would extend weekend service to 99% of all Local routes. This decision brought victory to 6 different communities who organized neighborhood service restoration campaigns with PPT!

System-wide weekend service will truly be transformative for Allegheny County. For PPT’s year-end fundraising campaign “Transit Toward Transformation” we are telling the stories of the leaders who worked with us on some of these campaigns.

Read below to hear from Ms. Cindy Rulli about the victory on the 22-McCoy. Check out this blog to hear from Ms. Teaira Collins about the 93-Hazelwood campaign. And read this blog to hear from Ms. Nora Kelly about the 39-Brookline.

A message from Ms. Cindy Rulli about her community’s weekend service victory for the 22-McCoy:

My name is Cindy, and I am a resident of Mckees Rocks. My neighborhood is a very tight-knit community, and I know many of my neighbors in our housing complex. We rely heavily on the 22 McCoy. We use it for everything.

One of our biggest problems is that the 22 McCoy stops running for the weekend on Saturdays at 8 pm, which means that me and my neighbors miss out on important opportunities. For those of us who ride the bus, this has really limited our access to good jobs, what churches we can attend, and what holidays we spend with family. It feels like we are trapped in our homes.

Last year, my daughter’s house was hit by a drunk driver. I couldn’t go comfort my daughter and my grandkids because it happened after the last bus had already left our neighborhood. 

In 2018, we held two community meetings in the West End with Pittsburghers for Public Transit  to talk through our neighborhood’s transit needs, and to launch a petition to the Port Authority. Winning weekend service is a game changer for my neighbors and I! I can’t wait to begin to attend church services again, and to celebrate the holidays with my family.

Give to PPT’s year-end fundraising campaign to help more riders like Ms. Cindy organize for expanded transit in their communities.

Transit riders and workers win $14 billion to keep their systems running during COVID-19. But more organizing will be needed in 2021.

We did it. With the stimulus package just ratified in the US. House and Senate, we have won $14 billion in emergency COVID relief for public transit. That will stave off the imminent transit cuts that were poised to pass with SEPTA in Philly and elsewhere across the Commonwealth. It is a down payment on transit to keep our systems and our riders moving, and something we can celebrate as this year comes to a close.

At a time of many hardships for transit riders and transit workers, it is an enormous relief that we are not also faced with critical cuts in access to food, healthcare and other needs, and nor facing imminent layoffs or supply shortages for transit workers due to funding.

Under this legislation, the Pittsburgh region will see an anticipated $162 million, and the Philadelphia region is set to receive $328 million.

For those of you outside of the Philly/Pittsburgh orbit, you can see a helpful detailed region-by-region breakdown and analysis of the federal legislation as it applies to transit on TransitCenter’s excellent blog.

This is the culmination of your work alongside thousands of other transit riders and workers across the country. It’s been a wild ride: from the beautiful 100+ transit rider call organized with our sisters and brothers at the Philly Transit Riders Union, to the statewide sign-on letter to our national delegation with more than 60 organizational signatories, to the Senator Casey Transit Town Hall with our ATU and TWU partners, and the TRUST Riders National Day of Action highlighting riders’ voices in 11 cities nationwide (check out this great video recap from PPT’s own Dean Mougianis!) Our friends at Transit Forward Philly and 5^th Square also hosted a powerful Transit Forum in November to uplift the National Campaign for Transit Justice principles, which took us over the finish line.

 The fact that our federal legislators recognized that public transit cannot become yet another casualty of the pandemic—that truly our lives, our livelihoods, our economy, our environment are all at stake—is a testament to how strongly you have made your voices heard.  

So thank you. Thank you, too, to our Senate and House delegation who voted to #SaveTransit. There is more work to be done in the New Year to ensure that transit is fully funded to survive this crisis, and that federal transit funding achieves parity with highways and bridges, but for now, a chance to rest and celebrate.

Wishing all riders and workers a safe and restful holiday. Let’s continue to organize together in the New Year!

In Solidarity and Love,

Laura and the PPT family