PPT had a large contingent at the Transit Rider Bootcamp hosted by Americans for Transit. It was an amazing and inspiring learning experience, and we got to hear from other transit justice organizations across the country!

From a great article in WESA:

Some concerned about BRT’s effects on the Mon Valley and other communities have said they think the project violates the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which outlaws discrimination by federally funded government agencies. Before a public transit agency makes any major service change, it has to conduct a Title VI assessment. A Port Authority spokesperson wrote in an email that because no service changes have yet been decided on, Port Authority has not made that evaluation. However, an Environmental Justice assessment is currently being conducted. The analysis considers health, social and economic impacts.

Laura Wiens is director of the nonprofit Pittsburghers for Public Transit, or PPT. She told a recent meeting of the URA board that she was troubled by how the service cuts came to be included in the proposal in the first place.

“I think…the process is a real problem,” she said. “We [PPT staff and members] have been at the Port Authority, we have been at County Council, and these folks should not have to fight after decisions are made just to mitigate the harm that you’re proposing to inflict on them.”

From the Post-Gazette:

“Pearl Hughey and her grandchildren recently watched a movie about Rosa Parks.

She told Allegheny County Council members Tuesday night that the youngsters asked her a lot of questions about what happened on that bus in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955.

‘The one thing I found myself explaining to them is that the way things that they saw in that movie were how things were then,’ Ms. Hughey said. ‘You can now get onto the bus, ride where you want, sit where you want. I ask you: Was I wrong or was I right?’”

*Image of trees, Hazelwood Green (Almano) site, bridge and the Cathedral of Learning by Darrell Sapp, photographer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

A public meeting to discuss the possibilities for the Mon Oakland connector raised some serious concerns about the lack of transparency around goals, the fact that this service threatens to compete with Port Authority rather than enhance it, and that there is no talk about the impact of autonomous vehicles on transit jobs. There is also no public discussion about costs to taxpayers (particularly the cost per rider), and the lack of accountability inherent to public-private partnerships.

PPT member Jonah McCallister-Erickson was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the project. “Jonah McAllister, spokesman for Pittsburghers for Public Transit, likes the idea of faster connections for Hazelwood, Greenfield and Oakland, and says the plan has gotten better after two years of citizen input. But he’d like to see more involvement of the Port Authority because public-private partnerships ‘could slowly starve the greater system,’ Mr. McAllister said.” 

The City of Pittsburgh is calling for feedback about the proposed “Mon-Oakland connector” at this email address: 4milerun.mobility@pittsburghpa.gov by March 6th. The website also has a presentation with their proposed routing and a chart showing the City’s preference for autonomous microtransit vehicles over buses.

We encourage folks to write to 4milerun.mobility@pittsburghpa.gov, particularly to ask why the Port Authority is not being invited to be a key planning entity in this process.

*Picture of around 40 61 A,B, & C campaign stakeholders and bus riders seated in the Braddock Library in a semi-circle, planning next steps for the fight to protect local bus service.

Last week, Next City wrote an article about Pittsburgh’s BRT plans and the concerns around cuts to the Mon Valley, quoting Laura Wiens as saying “’As transit advocates, there are certainly things to like about BRT”…’We definitely like the idea of bus only lanes and transit signal prioritization and electric buses. The sidewalk and pedestrian infrastructure improvements all make sense to us.’

But, she continues, ‘Our concern is it’s a huge capital investment project that’s undermining transit service for our most transit-dependent riders.’”

And three Pittsburgh news outlets raised the issue of proposed cuts to the 61 bus lines last week to the Port Authority and municipal representatives, unprompted by PPT or Just Harvest actions:  the Trib, Post-Gazette, and WESA all asked about the impacts of cuts to local bus service with the BRT project. The campaign has taken on a life of its own!

Si se puede!

February 8th, 2018 (not: Transit Equity Day was February 5th)

Happy Transit Equity Day, all! We’re celebrating Rosa Parks’ birthday with a reminder that transit is a human and civil right, that transit workers deserve fair wages, benefits and a union, and that public transportation is vital to our climate sustainability. Here’s a joint op-ed that came out in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette signed by PPT, the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 and the Sierra Club:

In honor of Rosa Parks Day, a group of organizations including the Amalgamated Transit Union, the Labor Network for Sustainability, Jobs with Justice and the Institute for Policy Studies are declaring Transit Equity Day for today, Feb. 5, to take action for civil rights and a climate-safe future.

King expanded the focus of transit rights from the right to ride anywhere in a bus to the right to ride to anywhere you need to go on a bus. We are similarly expanding what is included in transit justice:

• Transportation justice: Every person in every neighborhood regardless of age, race, class, gender or disability should have the right to safe, convenient transportation at an affordable cost.

• Workers justice: The workers who build public transit infrastructure, who operate and maintain the systems and who get us where we need to go have the right to safe, decent working conditions and family-supporting incomes and the right to choose to be represented by a union.

• Community justice: Cars, trucks and other transportation emit a large proportion of our dangerous pollution, causing asthma and many other life-threatening conditions. Replacing cars and trucks with public transit is far healthier for individuals and communities. A just transit system will provide all communities fair access to the jobs and amenities of metropolitan areas.

• Climate justice: The lives and futures of Americans and all people are threatened by devastating climate change. As a U.S. federal court recently declared, all people have a right to a stable climate. That will require a rapid cut in the burning of the fossil fuels that emit the greenhouse gases that cause climate change. And one of the easiest, fastest and cheapest ways to do that is public transit run on clean, renewable energy.

Transit justice, in short, is essential for building a just and climate-safe future”

For more information about Transit Equity Day, check out this Facebook Page hosted by the Labor Network for Sustainability.

February 8th, 2018

What an amazing month! PPT and Just Harvest have partnered in calling on the Port Authority board to not implement the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) at the expense of our 61 A, B, and C bus riders. On Friday, January 26th, more than 60 riders and bus drivers came out to rally and pack the Port Authority boardroom, sharing powerful testimony about how their communities would be harmed if the 61 A, B, and C service frequency was cut by 45% as proposed, or if they were required to transfer in Oakland to travel downtown. We submitted more than 300 rider postcards telling their stories of needing the bus, and we’re still collecting dozens more.

We had tons of press, including KDKA, WTAE, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Valley Mirror and the Trib cover the story!

Thank you to all the folks that joined us to call for equity with the BRT, and for your work collecting postcards and rallying and testifying. We are not going to give up this fight!

How you can plug in: We are continuing to distribute and collect 61 bus rider postcards, get organizations and municipalities to sign onto our BRT letter, and we are beginning the process of scheduling meetings with regional elected officials to talk to them about the harm of the bus cuts with the BRT. If you would like to help collect postcards, get organizational sign-ons, or join us for meeting with elected officials, let us know!

We are also holding our 2nd Mon Valley BRT planning meeting on Tuesday, Feb 13th, from 6:00-7:30 pm at Braddock Carnegie Library, to discuss possible next steps for this campaign. Please join us!

February 8th, 2018

Thank you to Lisa Gonzalez, Toni Haraldsen and Crystal Jennings for making our MLK Jr tabling session at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater such a success! Lots of students joined us to hear the story of Rosa Parks, transit as a civil right struggle, and tell us what their bus means to them!

When told that the Port Authority has proposed a cut in service frequency to the 61C, Derek Gordon, who works for the Steelers, said: “This is my only way to work!” He has a flex schedule, and service frequency is important for being able to plan his commute from day to day.

Along with our partner Just Harvest in this campaign for equitable access to jobs, food, healthcare, and other critical needs, we want to share your stories of how 61ABC buses are important to you.

Please tweet @JustHarvest or @Pgh4PubTransit or share your photos and comments with us on Facebook. And you can help start building solidarity between all your stories with the hashtags #WhoseBRT #OURpublictransit.

And please pass the word on about the rally and press conference this coming Friday, January 26th, at 8:45am at the corner of Wood St. and 6th Ave! The Port Authority board meeting will start at 9:30am at 345 6th Ave and many riders, drivers, small business owners, social service organizations, and many, many more will be speaking out together!